When buying vegetables it is very important to know which ones are the best to get and how to pick up. Good quality vegetables can mean a world of difference to your health. So let’s get started so that we could eat healthy and lose that pesky fat around our midsection.

The artichoke, also known as the French artichoke, is native to the Mediterranean region of France. Surprisingly in the olden times, despite their well-established popularity in Europe, artichokes weren’t really known in North America until the 20th century. But now artichokes can be found everywhere, anywhere from supermarkets to high-class restaurants.

When cooking artichoke, make sure to strip it from petal to petal so that you can eat the flesh from the base of each petal by pulling it off with your teeth. Just remember, that the pale inner leaves form the heart of the artichoke, and surround the inedible choke. This choke must be moved away in order to reach the sweet tasting artichoke bottom.

Artichokes are good because they’re available all year round. However, their peak seasons are in March through May. California is one of the biggest exporters of artichokes. When buying an artichoke make sure it is unopened. Look for leafy, olive-green heads that are heavy for their size. Stay away from dry and tough artichokes, whose leaves spread slightly.

After you have bought an artichoke be sure to try to eat it soon. It doesn’t stay well after a few days. To stop an artichoke from drying, wrap it in a damp towel, and put it in a enclosed plastic bag so that moisture doesn’t escape.

Artichokes are good, because they provide potassium, calcium, phosphorus as well as a lot of fiber. These vegetables are very low in calories. However, people often serve them with a high calorie sauce.

If you’re looking to lose weight artichokes are a great idea. Not only are they delicious, but they provide a lot nutrients and fiber. The only drawback is that they take a little on the other vegetables of similar nutritional value. However, their taste is worth it! Learn how to make a low-calorie sauce to go with the artichokes. I often serve this with a small lean portion of steak and red wine. Bon Apetite!

Q: What is the best kind of alcohol to drink so that I do not gain fat?

Answer:
The easiest answer is none.

Booze contains calories that do not contribute to the improvement of your body in appearance or health.

Always remember, each serving of booze (1 shot of hard liquor, 1 beer, or 1 glass of wine) generally provides 100-150 calories.

Mixed drinks can be a huge source of calories, plus alcohol lowers your inhibitions to food intake. It is a 1-2 punch against fat loss. Staying away from the popular mixed drinks of summertime will help you stay lean despite summer outings.

If you choose to drink, please drink responsibly.

Q: Do I really need to drink Green Tea?

Answer:
Absolutely.

First, it will help you cut back on the liquid calories you consume as juice, soda, and whatever you put in your coffee.

And second, the most recent research* from Europe shows that Green Tea helps dieters lose weight and maintain their weight loss while on a low-caffeine intake.

*Westerterp-Plantenga, M.S., et al. Body Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance in Relation to Habitual Caffeine Intake and Green Tea Supplementation. Obes. Res. 13: 1195-1204, 2005.

Q: What is a good fat loss workout for someone that sometimes only has 15-20 minutes per day to workout?

Answer:
With all good fat loss workouts, an intense session using weight and interval training is best. You only need about 15 minutes to get in either an interval workout or weight training session. So in this case, just do weights on one day and intervals on the next day.

You can get a lot done with weights in 15 minutes. Beginners will be impressed by the gains they can make and advanced trainees will easily maintain their physique by training with weights for 15 minutes a couple of times per week.

It is easy to put together a weekly training schedule comprised of a weights plus interval session (or doing alternate days of lifting and intervals). A 5-minute warm-up and a 10 minute workout or 10-minute interval session followed by 5 minutes of cool-down will go a long way (when combined with proper fat loss nutrition).

So if you are running behind, don’t forego your workout even if you only have 15 or so minutes.
It is all about efficiency of exercise. You are going to have to work hard, but you will be thankful when you still manage to do some type of workout.

A fat loss routine should also have balance. Most people in the gym like to train the chest, biceps, and quadriceps, but by doing so they neglect the muscles that ultimately define their physical appearance!

You have to target the exercises and muscles that don’t get a lot of appreciation in regular training programs. These include rowing for the upper back, deadlifts for the entire posterior chain, and reverse lunges for the glutes and hamstrings.

Q: I am a female and I have been doing a lot of running and cardio for fat loss. What can I do to improve my results? I feel like I am stuck at a plateau.

Answer:
Drop the slow cardio and switch to interval training. Do a regular warmup, then run at a faster than normal pace for 1 minute. Then walk for one minute. Repeat up to 6 times, running almost as fast as you can during the 1-minute intervals. That will boost your metabolism by putting more turbulence on your muscles.

If you narrow it down to to follow this variety of diet there are a few important things you need to bear in mind. If you don’t follow them, then you are not truly following the Aegean style diet.

First and for most, the The Olive Diet emphasizes that you get a plethora of exercise. This is not a diet where you can simply consume exceptional things and never move a muscle. The cipher to better well-being for anyone is to get many of exercise. It doesn’t matter what subdivision of exercise you settle upon, just that you start moving. Walking is a great first step, requires no equipment, can be done alone or with friends, and everyone already understands how to do it, so there is no learning curve. Do what you can at first, and then slowly add more difficulty: walk at a faster pace, walk longer, walk up hills, and so on.. Extra great exercises include swimming, biking, hiking, running, and yoga. It doesn’t matter what you opt for though, the nitty-gritty is that you start to move.

As well, this diet is focused primarily on feeding on plant-based foods, which are low in fat, often high in dietary fiber, and filled with vitamins and minerals. Fruits and vegetables are the principal staple in this diet, as well as whole grains, legumes and nuts. All of these foods are well-endowed in the things that your body requires and deficient on the things it doesn’t. You are not totally denied other types of foods while following the aegean diet. You can still eat red meat, drink, even gobble junk food, but the key is to work at restraint. For example, red meat should be controlled to a few times a month at most. For me, the best solution is to limit red meat to once a week as a special treat.

Ingesting alcohol is not forbidden, though you need to keep it low. The across-the-board advice is to stick to red wine, due to its robustness benefits, but no matter what you choose, keep the amounts low. Also, make sure to eat fish and poultry at least twice every week, unless you are going vegetarian. These types of meat are healthier choices than red meat or pork and will keep you from feeling like you are being denied and enjoying the diet. Also, make a large effort to scale down the amounts of saturated and transfat sources in your diet. The first step I have previously referred to, and that comes from limiting the amount of red meat, as well as pork products. The second comes with a focus on including olive oil into your habits and diet. With the Aegean diet, butter is not often consumed. When you can, it is best to replace products like butter with healthy fats like olive oil or canola oil. Olive oil is used in cooking, as a topping for vegetables and salads, and even as a spread for bread. Dipping your bread into olive oil on its own or mixed with vinegar is an appetizing treat and a much healthier option than slathering butter all over it.

Finally, bear in mind to take the time to delight in your food. This diet and lifestyle focuses on the importance of enjoying meals with the folks in your life: your family and friends. Have a meal slowly, savor all of the flavors of the food, and enjoy the company around you. Eating hastily is a great way to end up overeating. If you slow down and take at least 30 minutes to eat a meal instead of woofing it down because you are in a rush, you will often find that you will consume a lot less food but still feel perfectly sated. And this in turn will help you to feel healthier and since you will be consuming fewer calories, as well as eating mainly healthy things, you will begin to lose weight and inches. The primary thing is to be healthier, and the aegean diet is unmistakably designed to help you carry through that goal.

It is imperative that each and every person realize that too much of fat in the body is very unhealthy. This is more so when we consider the saturated type of fats. The body is capable of storing the excessive calories derived from fats as body fats. This may lead to being obese. Also, the saturated fats found in animal produce including various meats and dairy produce can very easily find their way to the heart’s arteries where they can cause clogging which will eventually lead to some type of heart ailment or disease. It is very important that we all regulate the amount of fats that we ingest. Care should however be taken so as not to eliminate fats entirely from the diet. Fats are necessary as nutrients and help in supplying vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E to the body. These vitamins are essential in the development of a healthy skin and best growth. The body is unable to produce fats on its own and whatever content is there has to have been gotten from an external supply. The best tenet to adopt in the case of fats is moderation rather than total elimination. There are healthy sources of fat; olive oil is one of these. It supplies healthy monounsaturated fats to the body.

Both plant and animal foods contain dietary fats. Fats are of three different classifications i.e. monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and the saturated types. The fats that are unsaturated, mostly those in the first classification are deemed the healthiest. These include fats sourced from nuts, vegetable oils and various seeds. It is an established fact that taking a diet that contains much saturated fat is detrimental to health. Such fats are normally obtained from animal produce including lard, beef, butter and other dairy products. Though animal fats are considered to contain the most amount of saturated fat, tropical oil plants like the palms and the coconut do contain large amounts of the same. Another type of fat in addition to the three mentioned above are the trans-fatty acids. These are formed as a result of the hydrogenation process through which vegetable oils are hardened. The investigation into how harmful these may be is ongoing but experts call for moderation all the same.

What can one do in the attempt to reduce body fat? There are some tips that can help to cut down on fat intake. Some of these are:

a. Substituting cream with evaporated skimmed milk when making desserts or like foods

b. Reducing the fat content in salad dressings e.g. mixing vinegar and oil in the ratio 3:1.

c. Using things like wine, chicken broth or tomato juice to sauté various foods rather than using oil to fry them

d. Using a spray bottle to lightly coat sauté pans with olive oil

e. Replacing every three eggs that you use in various recipes with 6 egg whites and a whole egg

f. Making use of the healthiest oils in cooking especially olive oil.

A funny thing happens to us when we’re not paying attention. The problem? You hardly even realize it’s happening since you’re not even consciously in the same room with yourself at these moments. I’m speaking about the unconscious eating you so often indulge in. You know, you’re chatting and cooking, having a stress free hour or so and tasting this and that. Have you ever noticed that when you sit down to eat at your own dinner party that you aren’t at all hungry? You might even think to yourself, Wow, I’ve got this thing down! I cooked it up and dished it out and remained in complete control! I can’t recall ever being in this powerfully in control. I don’t think I need to go on with the obvious ending of this particular story, instead let me share a client’s story.

A client and friend was doing an amazing job having lost about 60 of the 100 pounds she planned to drop. It was slow going to say the least, but not a problem since it all did eventually come off. Every week I would review her food list for the previous week and would never see anything that stood out; mostly it was a portion control issue for her and we were dealing with it, or at least “we” thought we were. I say “we” because I she truly had no idea that she was engaging in unconscious eating

Our story takes place one winter evening when Sylvia decided to have a bunch of kids and adults for an impromptu dinner. The plan was to feed the kids while the adults visited in the living room. As it happened, I had a clear view of the kitchen from my perch on the couch, and watched as Sylvia busily served up plates of spaghetti to the ten kids. As I watched, not spying mind you, just casually observing, I was amazed at what was unfolding in that kitchen. To my utter amazement, this woman whose fierce determination had enabled her to monitor every ounce of food that had entered her body for the last year, was scooping up a forkful of spaghetti, placing it on one child’s plate, and then forking an equal portion into her mouth. After serving each child’s plate, she served herself an equal portion. By the time the kids’ meals were in front of them, Sylvia had consumed the equivalent of a very large dish of spaghetti! I was stunned, and not wanting her to think I was spying, I quickly scooted out of sight and waited for dinner with the rest of the group. When the adults were served, Sylvia enjoyed a glass of white wine and a moderate, healthy meal. She looked fabulous and felt confident in her ability to control her portion.

As you might imagine, I was anxious to review Sylvia’s food journal with her when she came for her weekly weigh in. I don’t recall if she was up or down, and honestly that was insignificant. What we needed to discuss was not a matter of good or bad, right or wrong. It was a matter of behavior, or more to the point, unconscious behavior. As anticipated, I read her food journal and low and behold, she happened to have completely omitted the kitchen caper with the kids. I shared what I witnessed that evening, and Sylvia was as shocked to hear it as I was to have seen it. She had no recollection of that extra course, and I believed her since she was meticulous about owning up to every morsel she consumed each week. The habit of tasting her children’s food or anything else she cooked was so ingrained that she wasn’t even aware of doing it. Almost like sleepwalking, Sylvia was sleepeating!

This was an enormous eye opener for the two of us, and by bringing her “tasting” to consciousness, Sylvia was able to stop the behavior and lose the remaining pounds. I gained an even greater awareness of how certain habits are so deeply ingrained that an outsider’s observant eye is sometimes needed to pick up on them. Therefore, the next time you’re cooking or serving food, please pay attention to what you are doing. If you are munching away oblivious of the amount you are taking in, you must stop yourself! This is not “free food”; these food calories contribute to your weight just like any others, and they might be the reason you aren’t having the level of success you desire.

Setting goals for your diet plan is as essential as exercising. Have you ever seen a football team make it to the Super Bowl without certain well-defined goals. Every sports team from pee wee to the pro sets goals and not just long-term goals.

This process of setting goals is very important and critical for you losing weight. The goals you set define what you need to do to lose weight. It becomes your road map to looking and feeling good on any diet plan. Use the goals as a model of different needs and activities, in other words make it your guide to losing weight and keep it off.

When you decide to lose weight you cannot mentally grasp what it would take to lose 40 pounds or more. Your mind can accept losing two pounds a week and understand the different steps it would take to achieve this goal. If you said I want to lose 50 pounds and stopped their how would you meet this goal and how long would it take. What about after you have achieved this goal do you go back to eating what got you obese. No you plan a maintenance program.

When you sit down to decide what goals you need to lose weight, take your time and do it in pencil at first. Get a piece of paper and set up three (3) groups or columns. Put a heading on them such as Daily/Weekly Goals, Intermediate Goals and long-term goals. Start with your long-term goal, Is it a weight amount you need to lose if you are not sure this is the time to make sure that you have the correct amount. Decide what your ideal weight should be and go from their. You know what you weigh now so do the math and come up with something you can live with.

After you have decided the amount of weight to lose it is time to figure a time frame that will be a doable. Take the amount of weight you need to lose and divide it by 2 pounds a week. This will be the number of weeks that it should take to lose your weight. From there you can plan Intermediate goals.

The intermediate goals are goals that can be like sign posts on a road or highway. They are designed to keep you going ion the correct direction. These goals can be hitting certain marks at certain times and giving yourself a reward for achieving these goals. It can be a dinner out a bottle of wine you like it can be anything you choose as long as you have attained the goal. Set these goals as possibly monthly goals but always make them attainable but goals that force you to work at them.

The daily/ weekly goals should be planned for a month and should be able to be used every month. You want to lose 2 pound every week, set this as your goal and then outline what you will do daily and then weekly to meet this goal. Be specific in your goals, write what and how you will attain these goals for the week. Explain as a goal how often and even as to what you will do to lose weight. Do not be afraid to map out your exercise program as part of the goals you set to lose weight and keep it off.

Plan for success and do it in a way that you can be mentally prepared and be understanding about how you are going to get their. Leave nothing to chance when it comes to your diet and health.

Overview. The diet, written by Judy Mazel, is based on a food combining principle (she called conscious-combining). Her original book, The Beverly Hills diet was written in the 1980′s, she has updated the “New” version. The new one forgoes many of the earlier extremes, and now, according to its author, meets recommended standards for a balanced weekly diet. Eating proteins, carbohydrates, and fats at the same time “confuse your enzymes” and your food will not digest properly.

The diet is a 35-day program, in which you eat carbs only with carbs, proteins with proteins and fruits by themselves. Mazel claims your body uses specific enzymes to digest carbs, proteins and fruit. When you mix these foods, she believes that your body has a difficult time breaking them down. Mazel also suggests that when your body is digesting properly you will see a decrease in body fat.

What we like about this plan. One can consume steak, shrimp, salad, baked potatoes, corn and wine during the first 10 days. The diet promotes plenty of fruits. There is no caloric counting, portion restriction or and you may eat as much as you like provide you stick with the guidelines. The expense is simply the expense of the book. The meals on this diet are simple to prepare.

What we dislike about this plan. Food combining can be difficult to follow correctly. This can make it hard to eat out. The “New Beverly Hills Diet” professes that fruits contain all of the enzymes necessary to break themselves down into nutrients for effective digestion, whereas proteins and carbohydrates require extra enzymes that slow down the process. The truth is the enzymes needed for digestion are found in the body, not necessarily in the foods we eat. These statements make the diet seem bogus.

How healthy is this plan? It should be stated that Judy Mazel does not have any medical or nutritional qualifications and her theories are widely disputed by experts in the business. Her suggestion that enzymes can’t properly breakdown combined foods and turns them into fats is refuted by experts who believe the body can’t absorb food that isn’t broken down. It is only these absorbed foods that can turn into fat. And take note to this quote from her book: “In my opinion, the only reason exercise helps reduce weight is because the person exercising is too busy to eat.” This is not a healthy way of thinking, so how can the plan possibly be.

Here Is The Bottom Line. The New Beverly Hills Diet fails to undertake the issue of portion control or exercise, both of which are directly relevant to any successful weight loss program. Mazel’s theories that exercise is unrelated to weight loss, that calories don’t really matter, and that food combining is the best way to lose weight, limit the diet’s usefulness long-term. Avoid this plan and go for a well-balanced program that includes exercise and promotes all nutrients.

© 2008 – 2009 Which Weight Loss

Gluten-free diet is all the rage now. Gwyneth Paltrow has been raving about it for the longest time. She even posts gluten-free recipes on her website, Goop.com. Chelsea Clinton ordered a gluten-free cake for her wedding. Jennifer Aniston and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham are on it too.

What is it about gluten-free diet? Why is it suddenly the “it” diet?

It used to be a special diet for people with celiac disease, as they are allergic to food with gluten, a protein usually found in wheat, barley, and rye. But that isn’t the case anymore. More and more people (who are celiac disease-free) are now jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon, even though gluten is so hard to avoid. It is present in breads and pastas, and is often used as a thickening agent in processed foods like ketchup and ice cream.

Proof of that is in the growing competition in gluten-free products. There are now a number of online direct sellers of gluten-free food, restaurants and bake shops that specialize in them, and even supermarkets are recognizing the potential of the market.

“When we went into Sainsbury’s we were the only gluten-free product on the shelves,” Chris Hook, founder of Nutrition Point, told The Telegraph. “Now our biggest challenge is getting shelf space. It’s the incredible growth of own-label gluten-free products. It’s getting harder and harder to get listings.”

That celebrities are endorsing it is definitely giving it a boost in popularity, but there is no concrete proof that it can lead to weight loss. There are claims though that going gluten-free can make you feel extra energetic.

“I feel better when I don’t do it. If I go out to a restaurant with friends and I have a beer and a plate of pasta I’m going to feel it the next day. No one wants a gluten hangover,” Silvana Nardone, former editor-in-chief of Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine and author of “Cooking for Isaiah,” a cookbook of gluten and dairy-free recipes, told the Associated Press.

It may be that people who follow a gluten-free diet eat more organic and fresh produce, so they have a healthier diet in general, said Dee Sandquist of the American Dietetic Association.

“G-free” is a relatively new diet though, and at most, it can be considered a fad at this point. There are, however, diet and weight loss programs that have been tried and tested over the years, and have been proven to work. Here are a few diets that work, according to health experts consulted by Forbes.com.

1. Organic

With an emphasis on avoiding processed food, those containing trans-fat,and food with artificial flavors and sweeteners, this diet consists mainly of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Organic foods are free of pesticides,preservatives, sugar, and were prepared or cultivated humanely. It is easily one of the most popular diets around, as seen by the explosion of companies like Whole Foods in the U.S., which earns billions of dollars annually.

2. Raw food

Ever wonder how most Japanese keep a trim figure and live long? Because they eat a lot of sushi? Probably. Heating food over 41 degrees Celsius is believed to destroy food’s natural enzymes and nutrients. Examples of raw foods that are healthy to eat are sushi, of course, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seared fish and meat.

3. The Sonoma Diet

This diet focuses on ten “power foods” – almonds, bell peppers, blueberries, broccoli, grapes, olive oil, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes and whole grains. It is inspired by the cuisine of the Sonoma wine country, which is a combination of Asian, Latin American, and Mediterranean cuisine. According to Connie Guttersen, author of the best- selling book The Sonoma Diet, it is all about enjoying food so it’s easy to stay motivated and stick with it.

4. Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers, the weight loss giant, has expanded to essentially become a support group for people who want to lose weight and get healthy. They offer two plans: a Flex plan lets a client eat whatever he wants but controls portions by employing a point system; a Core plan consists only of nutritious food but does not limit portions.

5. Glycemic Index

Also known as the GI Diet, it is a plan often preferred by diabetics because it promotes the consumption of low GI carbohydrates to keep blood sugar levels steady. The menu includes certain fruits and vegetables, oats, barley, bran, basmati rice, some pasta, chick peas, plain yogurt, and skim milk.

6. Macrobiotic Diet

Essentially a low-fat, high-fiber diet, it consists mainly of whole grains and vegetables – brown rice, soy bean products, beans, fruits and vegetables in season, seeds and nuts and fish taken in moderation. Its emphasis on physical and spiritual well-being makes it a popular choice.

7. The South Beach Diet

The plan starts with a combination of lean protein, a minimal amount of carbohydrates, and essential vegetables. After two weeks, more complex carbohydrates, such as bread and chocolates, is added to the diet. Its success, according to the author of the New York Times best seller, is due to the fact that if follows a very basic principle: “Eat good fats, nutrients and protein, and exercise.”

How can you lose weight and maintain the weight lost long-term? Many people have gone on all sorts of diet and slimming spa, but the bottom line is they don’t work for long-term.

There is no one single solution or approach that work for everyone. But one thing is for sure. When you analyze people who are not overweight, they generally adopt a healthy lifestyle of regular exercise and healthy diets.

Here are 10 tips for weight loss that will work for long-term:

1) Exercise daily

Walk, swim, run dance or do weight. Increase your activities each day to burn fat and tone the muscle. Even if you have no time to exercise, incorporate higher activities in your day. For example, walk up the stairs instead of taking the escalator or lift. Walk faster and longer.

If you can burn 500 calories a day or 3500 calories a week, that will cut 1 lb / 0.45kg of body fat. In one month, you will lose 4 lb / 1.8 kg of body fat which is almost translated to your body weight.

2) Drink more water

You should drink 30 ml of water for every kg of body weight. Replace the 20 oz/620 ml of soda beverages with the same amount of water will save you 90,000 calories a year. That is an equivalent to 25 lb / 11 kg of body fat.

3) Eat less

An average person will consume about 2000 – 2500 calories a day. Reduce 20% of what you normally consume each day would be reducing 100-200 calories.

4) Fruits & Vegetables

Eat lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends a minimum of 5-7 portions of fruits and vegetables a day for optimum health.

5) Avoid processed and junk food

Most processed and junk foods are high in calories but low in nutritional values. Give up the white sugar, white floor and all other starches that are commonly found in these foods.

6) Eat small meals throughout the day

Eat healthy snack meal 2-3 hourly will help to maintain your metabolism throughout the day. Examples of healthy snacks are apples, cut vegetables such as carrots, cucumber and celery, nuts and seeds, yoghurt and cereal bars.

7) Eat breakfast

Start eating a hearty breakfast. It starts your day with the right nutrition to fuel you up and reduce your urge to eat junk food as well as eat less for the rest of the day. For more information on how healthy breakfast can increase your work performance and school, check out my earlier post.

Limit alcohol intake

The impact of alcohol varies from person to person. But there are many people who lost significant amount of weight just by cutting out alcohol. Wine is made from sugar and 1 glass of wine will give you 85 calories. 1 can of beer is 153 calories and a serving of whisky is 97 calories.

9) Eating out

The typical restaurant entrée has 1000 – 2000 calories, not to mention the bread, appetizer, beverage and dessert. Therefore, where possible, eat half of the quantity and bag the rest. If you do eat a full meal in the restaurant, then cut your calories on other days to make up for the excess.

10) Supplements

While it is good if you are already eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, a high quantity of multivitamin and minerals will insure you are getting the extra to fight oxidative stress in the body.

There is no one simple solution that can let you lose weight and maintain the weight loss for long-term. But if you adopt the above 10 tips into your lifestyle, you are well on your way to achieving the healthy weight lost for good.

A diet regimen that is gaining in popularity in many parts of the world is based upon the dining practices of the people that populate the Mediterranean region. Many people have heard of the Mediterranean diet but are not particularly familiar with some of the specifics of the eating routine.

In order to assist you in becoming more familiar with the Mediterranean diet, a consideration of eight useful facts regarding the elements of this dining regimen can be most helpful to you. Of course, these are merely some basic talking points about this valuable dieting routine. Before you embark on any sort of diet plan, including the Mediterranean diet, you need to take the time to consult with your physician to make certain that a proposed regimen is appropriate to your medical status.

Eight General Facts About the Mediterranean Diet

The key elements of the Mediterranean diet are, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, fish, and wine in moderation. Because of this combination, the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest dieting regimens to be found anywhere on the planet.

Meat and animal products are consumed in very small amounts in the Mediterranean diet. Indeed, when meat is included within the diet scheme, it is poultry or fish in the vast majority of instances. Red meat is not a staple in the Mediterranean diet and is rarely eaten by adherents to this dieting routine. The people who actually populate the countries around the Mediterranean Sea are rarely seen eating red meats of any kind. In addition, dairy products are used only sparingly within the Mediterranean diet. For example, if milk is included in a meal or in the preparation of food, it is of the low fat or non-fat variety. Eggs are rarely included in Mediterranean meals. Indeed, a heavy egg eater is one who has four eggs a week.

With the moderate consumption of fish, the Mediterranean diet allows adherents a tremendous source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Research has demonstrated that a diet flush with Omega-3 fatty acids works to prevent heart disease, stroke and even some cancers.

Many uninformed people can be found making the statement: “The Mediterranean diet just isn’t for me — it is too high in fat.” In truth, the Mediterranean diet is high in certain types of fat. Upwards to thirty-five to forty percent of the calories taken in through this diet do come from fat. However, the Mediterranean diet is remarkably low in saturated fat. It is saturated fat that has negative consequences on a person’s health and wellbeing.

The diet relies heavily on olive oil. (This is the primary reason why the diet is higher in fat than one might expect.) Olive oil is proven to increase the level of HDL cholesterol (also known as “good cholesterol”).

The Mediterranean diet is extremely high in antioxidants and fiber, two elements that have been proven to be helpful in preventing heart disease and some types of cancer.

The dietary practices of the Mediterranean region trace their origins back to the days of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, beginning in about the Fourth Century BC.

The Mediterranean diet became of more international interest in modern times as early as 1945. A medical doctor named Ancel Keys was responsible for encouraging his own patients in the United States to turn to the Mediterranean diet scheme. His advocacy increased the awareness of the Mediterranean diet in other countries around the world as well.

Conclusion

Armed with these basic, elementary facts about the Mediterranean diet, you will be in a better position to determine if this diet regiment is appropriate for you and your lifestyle. As can be seen, the Mediterranean diet has been followed by people in many parts of the world beyond the Mediterranean Sea region for quite an extended period of time.