Mediterranean: The Smartest Top-Rated Diet
With all of the diets claiming to be the very best today, it’s hard to decide which one really is the best for you as well as your unique lifestyle.
Whether you are on the hunt for the best diet or even thinking that you might buy diet pills, a Mediterranean diet is one to consider, as it is considered one of the healthiest in the world.
Food: A Lesson in History
Several years ago, researches began noticing a disturbing trend in mortality rates throughout the world.
For some reason, mortality rates throughout most of the world fell significantly lower than mortality rates in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including Greece and Italy.
Why was this so? This question puzzled researchers until they started paying attention to the average diet of Mediterranean folks.
Instead of eating processed sugar, they ate fruit. Instead of red meat, seafood. Instead of trans- and saturated fats, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.
In short, there was a huge discrepancy between the average American diet and a Mediterranean diet.
What is a Mediterranean Diet
Contrary to what you might think of when you hear the word diet, a Mediterranean diet is not a list of Do’s and Do Not’s. Instead, it is a way of life that focuses on eating more of certain types of foods and less of others.
The most important part of a Mediterranean diet that serves as a foundation for eating habits is any plant that grows from the ground.
In the American diet, Meat is generally the center of a meal. In Mediterranean countries, however, fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, and herbs are the center of any meal, with fish and other types of seafood as a side dish.
After vegetables and seafood, meat from fowl and dairy products are eaten moderately, with red meats and sweets eaten far less often.
What are the benefits of a Mediterranean Diet?
The benefits of a Mediterranean diet are many and several. You risk for heart disease, blood pressure, and high cholesterol will decrease drastically. Additionally, you will be able to control or even prevent diabetes entirely.
What we really are talking about here is health that will add years of healthy living to your life.
What About Weight Loss?
The great thing about a Mediterranean diet is that it will make it so much easier to lose weight.
Because you will be eating foods that are better for your heart, it will be able to sustain exercise much more easily. This will allow you to lose weight like you never have before.
Since it is a lifestyle change, you likely will not see immediate results, but your results over the long run will be dramatic.