What Is The Mediterranean Diet? - Weight Loss Article

By:Kirsten Hawkins

In 1993, the Harvard Medical School released the results of research that studied the diets of those countries bordering on the Mediterranean. Their findings suggested that fat and carbohydrates were NOT the main culprit in obesity and heart disease, but rather that the RIGHT fats and carbohydrates should be the base for a healthy diet. The study pointed to low rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease throughout the region as proof of their contention.

Exactly what is the Mediterranean diet and can it help you lose weight? There actually is no 'Mediterranean' diet - it's a compilation of the way that people in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea eat. Despite the differences in actual specifics, all of those studied based their diets on the same proportions of food groups and calories, and all included olive oil as their main source of fat. In fact, their diets contained far more than the recommendations made by the USDA - 40% rather than the 30% recommended for most healthy Americans. Still, the evidence was irrefutable. Therefore, it must have been the KIND of carbohydrates and fats that make the difference.

The Mediterranean diet consists of the following guidelines:

60% Of Total Carbohydrates From Grains, Fruits And Vegetables

Those include whole rice, fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grain breads and cereals, polenta, pasta (made with whole grain, not refined white flour)

Sparing Use of Red Meat, Fish And Poultry

The typical adult Mediterranean consumes about 15 ounces of red meat and poultry per week. Another 5-15 ounces of fish per week account for the bulk of their meat protein intake. Compare that to the typical American diet which might include a 1 pound steak for dinner one night, a 1/2 pound chicken breast the next, and on and on.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is not a miracle oil. It is, however, mono-unsaturated - a good fat. Mono-unsaturated fats help lower cholesterol rather than raising it, and are healthy ways to add fats to your diet (and yes, even though we think of fat as a dirty word, your body does need some, or it can't use many of the vitamins you feed it!)

The other important component of the Mediterranean lifestyle was activity. The typical Mediterranean day includes walking rather than driving, physical activity in the fields or the home and recreation. Physical activity is vital in helping the body to lose weight, and to maintain your new weight once you reach it.

The secret to losing weight with the Mediterranean diet is to base your meals on healthy carbohydrates - leafy green vegetables, brightly colored vegetables, whole grains and meals. Use meat sparingly - no more than 3-6 ounces per day. Derive dietary fat from vegetable sources - or from fish oil. Exercise regularly to rev up your metabolism. The Mediterranean diet isn't a weight loss regimen. It's a new way of eating that will help you reach your goal weight and stay there when you get there.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Kirsten Hawkins is a nutrition and health expert from Nashville, TN. Visit www.popular-diets.com/ for more great nutrition, well-being, and vitamin tips as well as reviews and comments on popular diets.

Top Weight Loss Articles
1). Every Diet Gets Harder - The Self-fulfilling Prophecy Of Failure By : Helene Desruisseaux The two reasons why every diet gets harder, and what to do to about it.
2). How To Drop Weight and Become Healthier Using These 7 Simple Everyday Life Tips? By : Monty Lee These days more and more people are getting intellectual instead of physical jobs. Sitting in the office chairs all-day long has become a norm for many of us. Stress, busyness and rush make us forget about regular food and stuff our stomachs with cheeseburgers and sodas, which don’t do anything good for our bodies. As a result of such crazy life rhythm, we rarely find time for exercises, gyms or balanced nutrition.
3). Is there Any Hoodia in that Hoodia Weight Loss Product? By : Richard Keir Copyright 2006 Richard Keir Gotten any email spam lately with a 'warning' about buying fake Hoodia products or Hoodia products with a variety of fillers? Of course, they assure you that THEIR product is 'the original product.' It may be the original product, whatever that might mean, but the chances of it containing Hoodia are pretty close to zero.
4). The Difference Between Liquid Hoodia And Hoodia Pills By : Rand Hanes For those interested in taking hoodia, they will be presented with a choice between pill and liquid forms. As with any natural supplements taken, there are certain distinctive differences between liquid and pill forms of consumption. Similarly to taking multivitamin supplements, hoodia in liquid form is more expensive but has been shown to assimilate into the body system faster and have a greater amount of the substance used by the body than when it is taken in pill form.
5). Can Hoodia Help You Lose Weight ? By : Ken Black How can Hoodia help you lose weight, or is there more to it than that?
6). 8 Ways To Create Balance To Achieve Lasting Weight Loss By : Meri Raffetto Need to lose weight? Dreading the thought of another diet program? You don’t have to follow diets to lose weight. There are many people discovering this for themselves and they are the ones who are finding long term weight loss apposed to short term fixes. The key to weight loss is finding the right balance of what you eat, what you think, and what activity you do.
7). The Secrets of Long-Term Weight Reduction and Disease Prevention By : John Savage The Mediterranean Diet is probably the most realistic and safest way not only to lose weight, but to also prevent serious disease.
8). Weight Loss Myths Exposed By : Kim Beardsmore It probably won’t come as a surprise to hear there is a great deal of confusion around nutrition. In fact, many people reading this article will have only a scant idea about the different food types and what our body actually needs to keep healthy. One of the simplest systems I’ve encountered is this. If the food tastes good, then it has to be ‘bad’ for you! And then there’s its counterpart, “If the food tastes ‘bad’ then it must be ‘good’ for you”.
9). Your Anchors & How They Keep You From Your Weight Loss Goals By : Kelly Burris Anchors are the reasons that attach you to any behavior. Your anchors originated from extremely strong repetitive memory associations, which are triggered by your five senses of hearing, vision, smell, taste, and touch. You are constantly being anchored in different ways through out your life. For example, when you hear a certain song and it brings back a memory of a certain person, or a place in time, this is an audio anchor or an anchor triggered by your sense of hearing.
10). Overweight and Dying - Mummy Stay With Me A Little Longer By : kacycarr Scientists have now discovered that skeletal frame humans are more vulnerable to bouts of anxiety than that of oversized happy porkers that at the time of study were found to be less prone to depression in their recent research. Then in the same article a snippet revealed how a 16 year study stated that slim people are more confident and content, surely this is a great factor for happiness denoting a safe healthy life.

New Weight Loss Articles
1). What Everybody Ought To Know About Doctors, Diets And Weight Loss By : Glenn Freiboth The truth of why a record number of doctors are prescribing drugs for weight loss to put a quick fix on very complicatied problem.
2). Fat Consequences In Children By : Mark Kimathi As the world battles with an epidemic that is proving difficult to manage and showing signs of becoming a costly affair, our children are getting caught in the cross fire. Adult onset diabetes, weight loss surgery and weight loss medication for children is not exactly what parent had in mind when planning for their posterity.
3). Exercise Is The Winding of a Spring to Help Your Body/Mind Clock Beat the Eroding Effects of TIME. By : Johan Tonsbeek Regular daily exercise, especially for Baby Boomers, can be compared to the winding up of a spring in a watch or a clock to help it display the proper time.
4). Some Healthy Tips To Lose Weight By : Abbas Abedi Learn about a few important tips to lose weight easily.
5). Weight Loss Tips Without Losing Your Appearance By : Casey McCarthy The top 7 weight losing tip are all here. If your looking for the best weight losing tip in a sure cut way to lose lots of weight you must read on.
6). How Your Big Stomach Is Breaking Your Heart, Literally By : Gregg Hall If you are anything like me you told yourself over and over that you would never let yourself get out of shape like your parent; totally inactive, major overweight, and also having the health problems that come along with it.
7). Why Herbal Weight Loss Is A Highly Effective And Natural Diet By : Clive Jenkins Before ingesting any herbs as part of a herbal weight loss programme it is important to check they are recognized medically as been safe for human consumption. There are some substances which should not be consumed, as they contain highly toxic properties which are potentially very dangerous for our vital organs.
8). Using the Safe and Natural Method of Self Hypnosis for Weight Loss, You Can Be Slim & Trim for Life By : John Leogue The strategy of slim people remains a mystery to anyone who battles their weight. Could it be that slim-and-trim folks simply approach food and eating with a different mindset?
9). Hypnosis For Weight Loss Works By : Joyce Jackson Learn why losing weight with hypnosis is not only effective but offers long term permanent weight loss results.
10). Before Considering Gastric Bypass Surgery Be Sure That It Is Covered By Your Insurance By : Gregg Hall The gastric bypass procedure can be very expensive; it can also have many complications. But the big question for so many is, "Will my insurance cover a Gastric Bypass operation?"