The Mediterranean Diet is good for your health

Due to the high life expectancy rates and low incidence of chronic diseases of people eating the traditional diets of the Mediterranean Basin, the Mediterranean Diet has been studied extensively over the past few years. It can be difficult to define a precise Mediterranean Diet, because there are more than 16 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, and there are differences in diets between the countries, and even in different regions within the same country.

However, there are a great many similarities between the diets of this region: fish, poultry and red meat are included sparingly, there is an emphasis on plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and beans, high consumption of olive oil, low to moderate consumption of dairy products, drinking wine in moderation, and physical activity.

Researchers have come up with a Mediterranean diet pyramid. The most striking facet of this pyramid is that olive oil, rather than being classified as a condiment, is actually considered a food group, just like fruits and vegetables. While this makes the Mediterranean diet high in fat (approximately 40% of caloric intake), the fat is of the healthy monounsaturated variety. Saturated fat content of the diet is around 7 to 8 percent.

If you're interested in giving the Mediterranean diet a try, here are the recommendations of researchers:

• Include an abundance of minimally processed fresh food from plant sources, such as vegetables, fruits, potatotes, bread, beans, and nuts and seeds.
• Use olive oil as the main source of fat, replacing other sources.
• Eat low to moderate amounts of yogurt and cheese. Other dairy foods are only eaten occasionally.
• Consume low to moderate amounts of fish and poultry.
• Only eat red meat a few times a month.
• Limit eggs to four servings per week
• Limit sweets; have fresh fruit for dessert.
• Incorporate regular physical activity.
• If you wish, incorporate moderate wine consumption with meals-one or two glasses daily for men, one glass for women.