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Luciana Fair, Director
Our on-the-go lifestyles can make healthy eating a challenge. Many of us eat what is easiest rather than what is healthiest more
often than we'd like. A diet that can help your entire body: The Mediterranean Diet. How did the Mediterranean diet come about? In the late 1950s, a comparative dietary study of seven countries found that people living on the Greek island Crete had the lowest heart attack, stroke, and mortality rates. It was called the Seven Country Study and was one of the first times diet was linked to health. Since then, the Mediterranean diet has been the subject of countless studies and continues to be associated with an array of health benefits.
What are the key elements of the diet? While it's originally from Greece, eating a Mediterranean diet doesn't mean eating Greek food. It's a plant-based diet that features plenty of fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, certain types of fats, and whole grains. The Mediterranean diet includes: fruits and vegetables-between 6 and 10 servings every day; beans; peas; lentils; nuts and seeds; red meat (beef, pork, and lamb)-only once or twice per month to be replaced by poultry, fish, or plant protein such as beans; fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, tuna, sardines, and herring-twice a week; extra virgin olive oil and canola oil in place of saturated and trans fats; fat-free or low-fat dairy-1 to 2 servings every day.
What are the health benefits of the diet? There have been many studies reporting health benefits, including the Lyon Diet Heart Study,* which found that people who stuck to the Mediterranean diet experienced the following:a 73 percent decrease in coronary events; a 70 percent decrease in mortality from all causes; a 61 percent decrease in cancer. In addition, The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study in 2004 that linked the diet to a decrease in inflammation-which is associated with many diseases from heart disease to cancer-and a lowered risk for metabolic syndrome.
Other studies have shown that the Mediterranean eating style may lower your risk for Alzheimer's, diabetes, high blood pressure, and even breast cancer in post-menopausal women. What does a sample menu look like?
Breakfast: whole-grain cereal or oatmeal with fat-free/soy milk and fresh blueberries
Dinner: whole-grain bread with nut butter grilled salmon
Lunch: steamed broccoli lentil soup brown rice salad with walnuts, fresh veggies, and a splash of extra virgin olive oil and vinegar salad as above sliced bananas, oranges, and apples fruit for dessert Keep Fit and Healthy!
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