PopSugar

Another Reason to Love the Med Diet: It Fights Depression

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:30:18 -0700

We've been touting the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for a while now - it reduces allergy symptoms, helps with weight control, supports longevity, and is good for vision and heart health. A new study gives us yet another reason to go the way of Mediterranean: it may protect against depression.

Researchers studied a pool of 11,000 Spanish adults over a four-and-a-half-year period and found that those who stuck closely to a Mediterranean diet were 30 percent less likely to develop depression than those that didn't.

It's unclear exactly why the diet acts as a mood lifter, but researches noted that the diet may improve blood vessel function, reduce the risk of heart disease, fight inflammation, and repair oxygen-related cell damage, elements which may be key in warding off depression.

To learn how to eat like a Mediterranean, check out our tips.

5 Things About the Mediterranean Diet

FitSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:00:00 -0700

People have been following the Mediterranean Diet for ages, and researchers continually discover new benefits to this style of cuisine. The diet has an impressive collection of attributes - besides its delicious focus on nuts, whole grains, legumes, and more, there are a number of health benefits associated with the diet. Check out five ways the Mediterranean Diet can do your body good.

View Slideshow ›

The Only Proven Heart-Healthy Diet

FitSugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:00:00 -0700

By now we know that certain types of food do more for our health than others, but when it comes down to it, a lot of the research we read states that a particular item "may" promote heart health. Researchers sorted through 50 years of studies to weed out the definites from the maybes and discovered that only some diets claiming heart-healthy benefits are supported by strong evidence.

They found that the Mediterranean diet, incorporating plenty of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, whole grains, cheese or yogurt, and fish, legitimately promotes heart health, and diets rich in vegetables and nuts also serve to lower your risk for heart disease. While there's some evidence about the ability for omega-3 fatty acids, whole grains, alcohol, vitamins E and C, beta carotene, folate, fruit, and fiber to positively affect heart health, the jury is undecided on whether or not these elements live up to the claims.

While more research needs to be done to qualify those dietary factors as being heart healthy, there is conclusive evidence that diets high in red meat, butter, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products, high-glycemic index foods, and trans-fatty acids are harmful to heart health. If you're concerned about heart health, revising your diet to resemble the typical Mediterranean diet could be a good place to start.

Source

Mediterranean Diet and Low-Carb Diet Neck and Neck

FitSugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0700

When it comes to dieting, we all want to know what is most effective. A new study performed in Israel found that a low-carb Atkins like diet and the Mediterranean diet outperformed the low-fat diet. The study lasted two years, considerably longer than previous studies, and the weight loss period was limited to 6 months with a maintenance period of 18 months – I think the maintenance period is truly where a diet's success can be measured.

To see what the different dieters ate, just read more.

Here's a breakdown of what randomly assigned 322 moderately obese participants ate:

Low-Fat: Based on the American Heart Association guidelines, women ate 1,500 calories a day and men ate 1,800. Only 30 percent of daily calories came from fat, and dietary cholesterol was restricted to 300 mg – an egg has about 210 mg. Meals were built around low-fat grains, veggies, beans and fruit.
Low-Carb: Based on the Atkins plan, calories were not restricted but the daily intake of carbs was limited to 20 grams of carbs a day, for the first two months, but increased to 120 grams for the remainder of the study – a half cup of cooked white rice contains about 30 grams of carbs. Participants were to obtain fat and protein mostly from vegetarian sources and avoid trans fat.
Mediterranean: Based on Harvard Medical School's Walter Millet's dietary suggestions, women ate 1,500 calories a day and men ate 1,800 calories. Only 35 percent of the calories were to come from fat, mostly in the form of olive oil and nuts. The meals were high in veggies, but low in red meat. Beef and lamb were replaced with fish and chicken.

The results were pretty interesting. On average, those following the low-carb diet lost 10.3 pounds and the average weight loss for the Mediterranean diet was 10 pounds even. The low-fat diet average weight loss was 6.5 pounds. Interestingly enough, the women following the Mediterranean diet lost 13 pounds compared to the women on the low-fat diet who only lost one pound. All the diets show other health benefits as well, with an increase in healthy cholesterol in the low-carb diet and a decrease in blood sugar levels in the Mediterranean diet.

The bottom line is that all the diets offer benefits and there is not a one size fits all approach to dieting. If counting calories doesn't work for you a low-carb option might be best for you, but if limiting carbs is beyond measure for you then go Mediterranean. The trick is to pick a diet, or should I say lifestyle, that you can follow for the long term.

Have you followed any of these diets? Tell us how it worked for you in the comment section below.

Source

Another Reason to Go Mediterranean

FitSugar — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:00:00 -0800

I am a big fan of the Mediterranean Diet. It is full of nuts, whole grains, and healthy fats - what's not to like? A new study provides yet another reason to go Mediterranean – it could help you live longer.

In a large five-year study conducted jointly by the National Institute of Health and AARP, both men and women who followed a Mediterranean-style diet were about 20 percent less likely to die during the study. In particular, deaths from cancer or cardiovascular disease were significantly lower in the Med style diet group as well.

Eating a diet rich in fish, nuts, fruits, and veggies and eating red meat and milk products in limited amounts seems to be the way to go. To read more on this style of eating, check out: What's the Deal With: The Mediterranean Diet.

Also look for the med mark stamp on food labels; they will appear on foods that are considered healthy Mediterranean Diet food, drinks, and products.

Hummus here I come!

5 Ways to Eat Like a Mediterranean

FitSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:30:00 -0700

The Mediterranean Diet has gained a lot of popularity because not only is it healthy, but it's darn delicious too! Who can pass up tasty fruits and veggies, fresh fish, and the occasional glass of wine? Not me!

Before you jump right into the diet, though, the British Dietetic Association has five tips so you can follow a Mediterranean-style diet without having to hop on a flight or read the whole book:

Fill up on fruit and veg. Aim to eat a minimum of five portions of a variety of different colored fruits and vegetables each day. They contain a wide range of protective plant nutrients or phytochemicals. Fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruits and vegetables all count in the diet. Beans and pulses and 100 percent juice or smoothies count too but only as one portion a day, no matter how much you have.
Feast on fish. Go for fish dishes more often, including at least one portion of oil-rich fish a week. Choose from salmon, trout, mackerel, herrings, sardines or pilchards. Fresh, smoked, frozen, and canned varieties all count.
Choose your fats wisely. Use vegetable oils, such as rapeseed (canola) oil or olive oil, in moderation for cooking and to dress salad, and soft spreads made from these oils on bread. When using animal fats, such as butter or cream, do so very sparingly. Cut down on fatty cuts of red meat and meat products such as sausages, pies, and streaky bacon. Trim the fat from cuts of red meat and the skin from chicken and limit your intake of fried fast food.
Make it whole grain. When choosing foods from the starchy food group, replace refined cereal foods with whole grain varieties. Wheat, oats, barley, rye, and rice can all be eaten in the whole grain form. Aim to get at least half your starchy carbohydrates as whole grains - at least two to three servings a day.
Go easy on alcohol. Moderate drinking has been shown to have protective health effects in men and post-menopausal women. In particular, red wine contains beneficial substances that may protect artery walls. Experts recommend only moderate consumption of alcohol - one to two units per day. Over this amount, the detrimental effects (for example, liver cirrhosis_ are greater than any positive effects.

If all this is right up your alley, then you may want to consider reading The Mediterranean Diet book.

Source

Start Looking for the Med Mark

FitSugar — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:15:00 -0700

The folks that brought you the Whole Grain food stamp have created the Med Mark to help shoppers quickly identify healthy Mediterranean Diet food, drinks, and products.

Oldways, a food think tank, has been promoting the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet for over a decade, has created a stamp to help us choose healthy foods that meet their standards. While the diet is not a formal lose weight "diet", like the Atkins or the Pritikin Diet, it is more of a food philosophy and a food culture. Nobody "owns" the Mediterranean diet, and since Oldways is a non-profit organization, they are not seeking to make money off the Med Marked products you buy. They simply created the Mediterranean Diet Food Pyramid a few years back to work as a guide in meal planning - that is the diet.

Although manufacturers pay Oldways a fee to place the Med Mark on their products, the stamp ensures that the product bearing it meets the following standards:

Contain no trans fat
Limit saturated fat to 8 percent of total calories
Limit sodium to 480 milligrams for an individual food or 600 milligrams for meal-type products
Keep added sugars to four grams, or about one teaspoon

The easy-to-identify symbol, of an amphora (the pottery jug used for 3,000 years by all Mediterranean cultures to store and ship their foods and drinks) comes at a time when nutritionists and other health experts are praising the Mediterranean diet as the “gold standard” of healthy eating. Research on this way of eating has linked the foods to decreased risks of heart disease, cancer, lung conditions, Alzheimer’s, allergies and asthma.

Look for the stamp at your next outing to the grocery store; it is about the size of a postage stamp.

Mediterranean Diet and Allergies: Go Nuts

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:30:20 -0700

Are your allergies going nuts right now? Well the answer might be to eat more nuts. New findings seem to indicate that eating a Mediterranean style diet can reduce respiratory allergy symptoms like wheezing, runny nose and sneezing.

Britain's Royal Brompton Hospital and National Heart and Lung Institute conducted research on 690 children between ages 7-18 on the island of Crete. The children that ate at least 2 servings of fruit a day as well as nuts were less likely to suffer from childhood respiratory allergies and asthma compared to those children that ate the most margarine.

The local produce on Crete is mainly grapes, apples, oranges and tomatoes and these were the fresh foods the children were predominantly eating. Researchers also noticed a relationship between nuts and and a reduction of these symptoms.

"A high consumption of nuts was found to be inversely associated with wheezing, whereas margarine increased the risk of both wheeze and allergic rhinitis (sneezing and runny nose)."

While only children participated in the study I am optimistic that this diet will help adults too. I sure do hope someone will be conducting a study on this soon.

If you are as intrigued by the Mediterranean style diet as I am, you should check out the food recommendations and food pyramid to learn more about it.

Source

What's the Deal With: The Mediterranean Diet

FitSugar — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Folks are often out pimping their new diet books, trying to make a buck with a fad diet based on the bottom line rather than decreasing your waist size or helping you get healthy. Well, have you heard of the Mediterranean Diet?

Introduced in 1993 by the "nutrition meets gastronomy" group Oldways, Harvard School of Public Health, and the World Health Organization, the Med Diet is a not-for-profit diet. The diet was created in reaction to the non-fat food craze of the early 90s and incorporates good fats, namely olive oil, into meals.

Oldways promotes satisfaction over deprivation and believes eating should not be about denying foods, but instead about enjoying them. Take pleasure in the foods you eat. Notice the foods you put into your body, enjoy and savor them, share a meal with friends, and realize that eating healthy is about management, not banishment.

Here are the basic guidelines of the diet:

Make olive oil your primary source of dietary fat
Incorporate an abundance of food from plant sources, including fruits and vegetables, breads, grains, beans, nuts, and seeds
Eat low to moderate amounts of fish and poultry weekly
Eat low to moderate amounts of cheese and yogurt daily
Drink a moderate amount of wine (one to two glasses per day for men, one glass per day for women)

Here are a few tips for following the Med Diet:

Substitute olive oil for butter.
Snack on almonds instead of fat-free cookies.
Spread avocado on a sandwich to replace the mayonnaise.

This diet is considered
a healthful diet for heart patients to follow. If it is good enough for folks with heart conditions it is good enough for me.

Curious to see their version of the food pyramid? Then read more

To read more about the diet visit Oldways - it is a great website chock full of information.

What's the Deal with: The Saint-Tropez Diet

FitSugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 03:00:00 -0800

Saint-Tropez will no longer be known just for "Ban de Soleil tan", because it now has its own diet. Written by Apostolos Pappas, Ph.D. (food scientist/biochemist) with famous French chefs from the Cote d'Azur consulting on recipes, this diet book contains 8 weeks of meal plans (that is a lot!!!! most books provide 2 weeks of menus).

The main principle seems to be increase your intake of omega three fatty acids. Those fatty acids seem to be very popular these days (they are even added to some fancy chocolates, I sense a new health trend building up steam. It seems like a good trend to follow.

Following this diet you basically:

Eat more foods containing large amounts of healthy unsaturated fats, especially omega-3 essential fatty acids.
Eat foods rich in vitamin A together with foods containing omega-3 essential fatty acids.
Eliminate foods with unhealthy ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids.
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to boost your consumption of antioxidants.

Out of the 147 pages of the book, the most popular chapter by far is probably Why Wine is Good for Your Diet. The Saint-Tropez diet promotes lifestyle changes in eating habits with excellent French Rivera cuisine and some cutting edge nutritional science. It seems like a version of the Mediterranean Diet.

Some of the recipes look quite appealing. Order the book directly from the Saint-Tropez Diet website.