Wednesday, February 4, 2009

American Heart Association and The Mediterranean Diet

By Maggie Henderson

The Mediterranean diet is a diet based on eating the foods people who live in the Mediterranean basin eat.

The Mediterranean basin is an area that surrounds the Mediterranean Sea and has mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. This area includes areas of France, the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian peninsula, and the Balkan Peninsula.

It also includes areas of the Sahara desert, and Africa.

Walter Willett, a professor, created the most widely known form of the Mediterranean diet.

In addition to physical activity the diet proposes eating a lot of dairy, fish, and meats along with a healthy dose of olive oil and plant food.

Not much fat is taken in " only about 8% of total calories are from fat.

One of the main features of the Mediterranean diet is its use of olive oil instead of the animal fats used typically in American diets.

The benefits of olive oil are well known " it helps control blood pressure and blood sugar.

Olive oil is also good for treating ulcers and for lowering the risk of many types of cancer.

Studies have shown that olive oil helps reduce the risk of many types of cancer as well as of ulcers.

The Mediterranean diet is also abundant with red wine which is an antioxidant.

Versions of the Mediterranean diet are recommended by the American Heart Association.

However, the AHA frowns on the amount of fat allowed by the Mediterranean diet.

It is a positive that the fats come from olive oil, therefore they are mono saturated fats that don't raise cholesterol.

However, the American Heart Association does like the fact that most of the fat in the Mediterranean diet comes from olive oil, mono saturated fat, that doesn't raise cholesterol.

Look around the Internet for more information on the Mediterranean diet.

A Google search is a great source of information on the Mediterranean diet.

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