Monday, 23 April 2012

A Basic Guide to the Mediterranean Diet

In the Mediterranean area is known for the Mediterranean diet that is famous for stressing the importance of fats that are heart-healthy and fresh fruits. This diet will be ideal for you if you are a lover of vegetables, fruits, olive oil, fish as well as red wine.

Vegetables and Fruits as Base

Vegetables and fruits servings must be eaten for nine times at least. To make a healthy snack, blueberries can be added to yogurt.

Make Healthy Selection of Protein Sources

There is not much red meat in the diet of those in the Mediterranean area. Instead, they eat fresh fish like tilapia and salmon as well as lean poultry like turkey and chicken. At least two servings of fish every week should be consumed. For lunch, you could have lentil soup. A little bit of nuts daily is also ideal. The best ones include walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts.

Carbs and Cheese

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes dairy sources that are low in fat. Use feta on salads instead of aged or cheddar cheeses. Purchase creamy-textured Greek yogurt that has low levels of fat and skim milk rather than whole milk.

There are also carbohydrates sources in the Mediterranean diet but these are generally from grains like whole grain breads and brown rice. Avoid high-level fat source in butter or margarine. There should be a low level of carbohydrates in your diet.

Bonuses

Mediterranean diet is popular for the heart-healthy advantages that it offers. These mainly come from canola or olive oil. Consumption of these results in triglyceride levels being lowered as well as arterial plaque. These oils have omega-3 fatty acids and healthy or monounsaturated fats.

Red wine, as reported by the Mayo Clinic, is beneficial for the heart and has antioxidants that fight inflammation. Women should not have over 5 ounces and men under 65 years of age should have less than 10 ounces each day.

The Mediterranean diet generally involves staying away from foods like packaged sweets and chips which are food that are highly processed. Also on the list of foods to avoid is any fried fruit of that which has high levels of saturated fats. When whole, natural foods are selected, individuals who are on the Mediterranean diet will notice increased heart as well as overall health.

It is very easy to follow a Mediterranean Diet and practically every individual who follows this diet will take pleasure in the health benefits and also weight loss. Several generations of persons of the Mediterranean have learnt that the Mediterranean diet in addition to being good for weight loss is a very healthy way of eating worldwide.

http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Basic-Guide-to-the-Mediterranean-Diet&id=6927587

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