The people who live in the Mediterranean basin are healthy, so it was only natural to create a Mediterranean diet for others to follow. The Mediterranean basin is an area that surrounds the Mediterranean Sea and has mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. This area includes areas of France, the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian peninsula, and the Balkan Peninsula. It also includes areas of the Sahara desert, and Africa.
The most known form of the Mediterranean diet was created in the mid-1990s by a Harvard health professor named Walter Willett. In addition to physical activity the diet proposes eating a lot of dairy, fish, and meats along with a healthy dose of olive oil and plant food. The diet strictly control fat so that only a total of about 35% of calories come from fat. It's considered a low-fat high dietary fiber diet. It has been around since 1945 when the version of the Mediterranean diet was first published Ancel Keyes who lived in Italy. But it did not become popular until the 1990s.
Whereas American diets rely on animal fats, the Mediterranean diet utilizes olive oil. Olive oil is known to lower cholesterol levels in the blood, as well as blood sugar and blood pressure. Studies have shown that olive oil helps reduce the risk of many types of cancer as well as of ulcers. Red wine also adds to the mix in that it contains elements with antioxidant properties.
The American Heart Association recommends diets like the Mediterranean diet . However, the AHA frowns on the amount of fat allowed by the Mediterranean diet. They say obesity is a growing health concern in the Mediterranean basin. However, the American Heart Association does like the fact that most of the fat in the Mediterranean diet comes from olive oil, mono saturated fat, that doesn't raise cholesterol. That's a good thing for heart health, but healthier hearts in the Mediterranean areas may be more due to increased physical activity rather than strictly to diet.
A Google search is a great source of information on the Mediterranean diet. - 15338
The most known form of the Mediterranean diet was created in the mid-1990s by a Harvard health professor named Walter Willett. In addition to physical activity the diet proposes eating a lot of dairy, fish, and meats along with a healthy dose of olive oil and plant food. The diet strictly control fat so that only a total of about 35% of calories come from fat. It's considered a low-fat high dietary fiber diet. It has been around since 1945 when the version of the Mediterranean diet was first published Ancel Keyes who lived in Italy. But it did not become popular until the 1990s.
Whereas American diets rely on animal fats, the Mediterranean diet utilizes olive oil. Olive oil is known to lower cholesterol levels in the blood, as well as blood sugar and blood pressure. Studies have shown that olive oil helps reduce the risk of many types of cancer as well as of ulcers. Red wine also adds to the mix in that it contains elements with antioxidant properties.
The American Heart Association recommends diets like the Mediterranean diet . However, the AHA frowns on the amount of fat allowed by the Mediterranean diet. They say obesity is a growing health concern in the Mediterranean basin. However, the American Heart Association does like the fact that most of the fat in the Mediterranean diet comes from olive oil, mono saturated fat, that doesn't raise cholesterol. That's a good thing for heart health, but healthier hearts in the Mediterranean areas may be more due to increased physical activity rather than strictly to diet.
A Google search is a great source of information on the Mediterranean diet. - 15338
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