The Mediterranean Diet
Eat Your Way to Better Health

If you have vacationed on the Mediterranean at any time you may have preferred sampling the Mediterranean diet rather than seeking out your home country cuisine, especially when you have all those Greek physiques to gaze upon! I mean the statues of course! And didn’t you feel better for it! The diet that is!

It is world famous because in those countries where it is traditionally consumed, the people suffer from less cardiovascular disease even although they consume, relatively, the same amount of fat as people of other European countries.

One of the possibilities could be because the consumption of a variety of vegetables, especially greens, and fruit are consumed in large proportions as opposed to other cultures.

Olive Oil

Another factor could be the olives which are in abundance and commonly served as a starter along with crusty bread in many restaurants. In the Mediterranean olive oil is used frequently in cooking in preference to other forms of oil or fat, especially most margarine’s because they are made from polyunsaturated oil and as hydrogenated oils, they don’t taste as good as the olive oil.

Olive oil has also another secret ingredient that those of you with high blood pressure will be interested in. Oleocanthal! This active ingredient is found in fresh green olives and it cleverly works as an anti-inflammatory which could be the reason why it’s been known to reduce blood pressure. It works by blocking an enzyme that contributes to inflammation.

Red Wine

Then there is the flowing wine. Well in moderation anyway in the Mediterranean diet book! Yes the red wine is good for the heart they say, and there is an element of truth in this. Even the French are cutting down their wine, but not completely! Why? Well it could be that it contains powerful antioxidants known as flavonoids. Give our nice French man a click to get more information!

Fish – Omega 3

Fish is also a favorite in the Mediterranean diet, while white and red meats are kept to a minimum. Fish high in Omega 3 oils that is! If you are not a lover of fish you can always add a good source of omega 3 in the form of supplements. They are very effective. I eat fish often and still like to supplement because I’m not getting any younger and it helps keep my skin and veins supply.

Pity some of us can’t have that sun, sea and sand all year round, but what we can have is the healthy Mediterranean diet that helped us feel soooooo good.

Pity some of us can’t have that sun, sea and sand all year round, but what we can have is the healthy Mediterranean diet that helped us feel soooooo good.

We discussed the Dash and Gi diet as both good for blood pressure on our HBP Diets page.