LIVING HEALTHIER AND LONGER ON THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET
The Mediterranean diet can help you lose unwanted weight, though it’s far more than a weight-loss plan.
Numerous studies have documented the positive effects of the Mediterranean diet on coronary health and the risks of stroke, diabetes, and even some types of cancer. The health benefits of following the Mediterranean diet should be considered the most important reason to choose this nutritional lifestyle, and the impact of the diet doesn’t stop with disease prevention. Because of its emphasis on avoiding processed foods and “bad” fats, the Mediterranean diet can help you shed unwanted pounds without calorie counting or strict rules.
Along with diet, the Mediterranean lifestyle involves regular, moderate exercise, which certainly helps with weight loss and also improves cardiovascular health and builds lean muscle. However, losing weight on the Mediterranean diet has nothing to do with a demanding physical regimen or lackluster meals devoid of your favorite foods. The diet is simple and straightforward and involves a vast array of delicious meals and snacks.
The more you learn about the Mediterranean diet, the more excited you will become about making this healthful lifestyle change.
The Incredible Health Benefits of Eating the Mediterranean Way
In February 2013, an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine made headlines in all of the country’s major newspapers. The article, “Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet,” detailed a five-year study on the health benefits of eating a Mediterranean diet, especially as it concerned coronary health and the risk of stroke.
In this latest clinical trial, over 7,000 people were divided into three groups. The first group of participants followed a Mediterranean diet and were also asked to consume at least one liter of extra-virgin olive oil per week. The second group also followed the Mediterranean diet, but they were asked to consume at least 30 grams of healthful nuts per week. The third group ate a low-fat Western diet. None of the participants was asked to exercise in any particular way and no calorie restrictions were placed on any of the groups.
At the end of the study, the results were newsworthy, indeed:
In this trial, an energy-unrestricted Mediterranean diet supplemented with either extra-virgin olive oil or nuts resulted in an absolute risk reduction of approximately 3 major cardiovascular events per 1000 person-years, for a relative risk reduction of approximately 30%, among high-risk persons who were initially free of cardiovascular disease. These results support the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for cardiovascular risk reduction. They are particularly relevant given the challenges of achieving and maintaining weight loss.
The study also reported that the risk of stroke was similarly reduced. In fact, it became so clear during the study that those on the Western diet were at an unhealthful disadvantage that the study was ended one year early due to moral and ethical concerns about asking that group to continue.
The results of this study were so dramatic and significant that they have garnered international attention. However, this is only one of many studies that demonstrate the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. The scientific and medical communities have been praising it for years for its benefits to heart and artery health and kidney function; its reduction of the risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome; and even its prevention of some forms of cancer.
Research Supports the Many Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet’s impact on heart health is one of its most commonly studied aspects, and there is copious research demonstrating its positive effect on coronary and vascular function.
In 2011, for example, researchers at the University of Miami published a study on the cardiovascular benefits of following a Mediterranean diet. The results of the study showed that consuming fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, nuts, and fish was an excellent way to improve heart health and decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Also in 2011, the journal Public Health Nutrition published the results of a study that demonstrated that the high volume of whole grains consumed in the Mediterranean diet makes it an effective method for reducing the risk of some forms of cancer, particularly colorectal cancer.
Then, in 2012, the Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at the University of Palermo, Italy, published the results of a study that showed that the Mediterranean diet had a positive impact not only on heart health, but also on the incidence of diabetes.
And again in 2012, Spanish researchers from the Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Nutrition Unit of Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital in Girona reported that a study of 127 elderly men who ate either a Mediterranean diet with nuts, a Mediterranean diet with olive oil, or a low-fat diet revealed that after two years, both types of Mediterranean diet resulted in a significant improvement in bone health.
As you can see, the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet have been widely and comprehensively studied. Again and again, the Mediterranean diet is found to be an excellent way to improve heart, bone, and overall health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and some types of cancer.
The fact that it’s a delicious way to eat that can also help you lose weight just makes the Mediterranean diet that much more appealing!
A Delicious Path to Weight Loss
One of the best ways to ensure that a diet will help you reach your weight-loss goals is to choose one that allows you to eat a wide variety of delicious foods and doesn’t require you to go hungry, do without all of your favorite treats, or buy a lot of expensive and obscure ingredients. This is where the Mediterranean diet really stands out. There are no strict rules to follow and there is no deprivation or any need to drive all over town hunting down exotic ingredients or expensive supplements.
DID YOU KNOW? Not only is the Mediterranean diet healthful and delicious, it can also be a very low-cost way to lose weight. The emphasis on eating whole foods (rather than processed) in season and shopping at farmers’ markets means that you’ll be buying produce at its peak of flavor and at the lowest prices. As everyone knows, an apple is cheaper than a strawberry in November, and it tastes better, too!
How the Mediterranean Diet Can Help You Lose Weight
For many people who follow it, the Mediterranean diet results in weight loss in a natural and effortless way.
While most weight-loss diets focus on counting calories, following a strict menu, weighing and measuring foods, or undertaking a rigorous exercise program, the Mediterranean diet focuses on enjoying a wide variety of healthful foods and taking the time to savor meals and share them with others. It’s a joyful way of eating as well as a healthful one.
By removing processed foods and fast foods from your diet, which are laden with unhealthful fats, sugar, and chemicals, you can significantly decrease your caloric intake while actually eating more food. Without counting calories or fat grams, you can trade unhealthful, “empty” foods for those that not only promote good health but also support the loss of stored fat.
For years, the low-fat diet has been promoted as the only real way to lose weight, but we now know that this just isn’t true. In fact, a low-fat diet very often results in weight gain and can be unhealthful to boot.
A research hospital in Switzerland recently examined six separate studies comparing the Mediterranean diet and a low-fat diet. People who followed the Mediterranean diet for the studies experienced greater weight loss, lower body fat percentages, lower blood pressure, and better blood sugar levels than those on the low-fat diet.
Because it includes such a wide variety of healthful, fresh foods, the Mediterranean diet supplies a healthful amount of fiber and “good” fats, both of which support weight loss by helping you to feel full. A high-fiber diet also slows the rate at which sugar is absorbed into your bloodstream, which helps control both blood sugar and insulin levels. Too much insulin in the bloodstream stops fat loss, as insulin triggers fat storage. Fiber from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables also helps to improve digestion, which can be an important factor in weight loss. Many of the antioxidants found in fresh fruits and vegetables, such as lutein in apples, have also been shown to encourage weight loss.
Overall, the Mediterranean diet allows people to lose weight naturally and healthfully, without going hungry or eliminating food groups. You’ll not only be able to lose weight on the diet, you’ll enjoy yourself while you do.