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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

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% 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 is 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 wholegrain. When choosing foods from the starchy food group, replace refined cereal foods with wholegrain varieties. Wheat, oats, barley, rye and rice can all be eaten in the wholegrain 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.

I will say that if all this is right up your ally, 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

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.