Not very long ago, the Mediterranean climate was thought to be the reason why people live longer and are healthier in the region. Now it has become rather clear that while the weather of the Mediterranean area may be pleasant and refreshing, it is the diet of the people in the Mediterranean that account for their longer lives.
The Mediterranean diet is not a designed easy weight loss diet plan like the Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet or The Zone Diet. It is the healthy dietary habits and food source of the Mediterranean people which they are eating everyday.
Many food sources that are part of a Mediterranean diet are high in anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are important compounds found in certain types of food that mopped up dangerous free radicals. Free radicals are produced when the body burns oxygen to produce energy.
The accumulation of these free radicals in the body accelerates the ageing process. Cellular tissues such as skin and muscles wear out and lose their elasticity. Human organs function with less efficiency. Studies have also shown that free radicals clog up arteries which may result in a stroke, high blood pressure and even heart attack. Free radicals are also blamed for other dangerous medical conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
The types of fruits and vegetables that form the Mediterranean diet include richly colored leafy green vegetables which are high in anti-oxidants which are excellent free radical destroyers. Scientists have also found that the Mediterranean diet reduces the risks of certain types of cancers.
The Mediterranean diet includes very little animal fat or saturated fat. Since there is a direct link between the consumption of saturated fat and colorectal cancers, heart diseases and strokes, the risks of getting these diseases are reduced. The main fat source in the food of the Mediterranean people is the olive oil. Not only that the olive oil is a healthy fat source, it had been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
It is concluded on a firm basis that the Mediterranean diet has played a very important role in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease amongst the people of the countries around the Mediterranean region.
There is strong evidence to suggest that eliminating certain items from a diet, like processed salts can lower the risk of hypertension and high blood pressure. There are also evidence that a diet which is rich in fiber and low in animal can help to reduce the risk of hypertension and high blood pressure.
A person who eats like the Mediterranean people will get tremendous health benefits. Not only will the person live longer, because of the moderate carbohydrate, low fat high fiber Mediterranean diet, weight loss and weight control comes naturally with this healthy diet.
If you want to go on a healthy weight loss diet, then the Mediterranean diet will be indeed a good option.
A Lose Weight Diet
If you were to suddenly cut down your intake of food drastically then you would do more harm than good. For one your body would think you were suffering through a famine, so when you do eat it will store fat and this is not what you want. The ideal way to start a diet is slowly and the same applies to starting exercise. Exercise is good for you but not if you suddenly put on running shoes and try to do a ten mile run. An exercise and diet plan needs to be started at a slow pace.
You should also be aware of any lose weight diet that severely restricts what you can and cannot eat. Different foods are essential in any diet when it comes to losing weight while remaining fit and healthy at the same time. Leaving out certain types of food as some diets dictate could mean that you lose out on essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals, which would be detrimental to your wellbeing.
The best lose weight diet would be one that follows the simple solution of reducing the amount of calories that you eat in a day while increasing exercise slowly. By doing this you will encourage your body to use the stores of fat it keeps and by doing so shed some weight. Individuals start and stop diets regularly, they lose a little weight get bored with the diet and then end up gaining more weight than they lost and so diet again. This type of dieting is called yo-yo dieting and again causes more harm than good. When attempting to lose weight and keep it off then you should think about a change of lifestyle. A good diet will ask that you lose no more than 1 or 2 pounds per week and so if you have a lot of weight to lose then it can take months or longer.
If you base your diet on losing 1 to 2 pounds per week then you need to cut 300 to 500 calories out of your diet per day. While 1 or 2 pounds does not sound like a lot, over a 12 month period you would lose 3 stone. When starting on a lose weight diet there are some steps you can take to get into it gradually. Replace fizzy drinks with plain water or fruit juice and use low fat margarine or none at all on sandwiches. If you drink tea of coffee then have one less sugar or use sweetener and drinking a glass of water before your main meal can make you feel fuller and stop you overeating. All these tips are excellent ways of getting started without actually having to make harsh changes.
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