What is it...? What does it represent.....?
...Here you are, a few words about what I eat ALL the time, and if YOU can (with the odd breakfast "British" style allowed) then you'll be doing the best possible thing for yourself and those around you!
Firstly, it isn't really a diet.....it's a lifestyle! If you have weight problems, then you can of course turn it into a diet, just by limiting quantities. Of course the "Med" countries are not spared certain things that are found world wide, such as too much fried food, too much fatty food, but the locals do eat more simple, unfortunately often (outside of the Med areas)
more expensive items.At least when you're on holiday, you could try to eat like the locals, preferably one of the OLDER locals...that's the proof in the eating!
..for both sexes!
The "mediterranean diet" is really a reference to the fact that in those countries surrounding the Med are to be found the oldest people, onaverage, in Europe ! The "stats" show this.....
..and - as a male of British Nationality, I'm amazed to see that 5 times more deaths occur in UK than in France, but since I live in the latter ....I'm not too worried!Even the Germans have almost less than half of the death rate than the UK, and Greece - where effectively the origins of the "Med Diet" theory are to be found doesn't even have a tenth of the rate!
It is said that the consumption of two things in particular basically permit the longevity.
Image by iwmpop via FlickrFish.....(but not in batter)......and not with chips....
and the use, generally, of Olive Oil.
Unfortunately both of these items are becoming more and more expensive, and as such less available for many people in the Med Regions or elsewhere!
Fish always has been a staple part of the diet around the Med, logically, and - of course - the "omega" oils
and fats in fish are particularly good to ward off various diseases such as heart or cancer based problems.
Olive oil is of course the same, and can actually LOWER
the Cholesterol levels in the blood. Unfortunately it's price is prohibitive, but other oils can be used as well - 
.. "Colza" (also known as "rapeseed") is a noted replacement, much cheaper, for Olive Oil. It has the same benefits, just not the same taste, and it is less resistant to heat than olive oil, and is therefore less useful for frying foodstuffs.Just to round off the oils - the favourite and so healthy sounding "Sunflower" oil come much lower in the values list than these two, and going further down the list, "grape seed" oils are very low in the value list and high on the danger list.
The absolute- to- be -avoided- at- all- cost (from a nutritional and health point of view) oil, is the exotic sounding "Palm oil"
The "Med diet" is also a very varied diet. It doesn't BAN meat, it just limits the quantity in favour of fruit, vegetables, cheese and other animal products - outside of meat.
The reason for this is obvious. All "Med" countries being basically amongst the "poorer" countries, it was - and still is - preferred to use "renewable animal products" such as the milk for cheese, and to appease the appetite to "fill up" with other easily and cheaply produced items such as vegetable, fruit and other cereal products.
This habit is unfortunately changing more and more, with younger people wishing to have hamburgers and the like available permanently.
Not unusually, the death statistics indicate this!
So.....if you can......try the MED DIET...you'll enjoy it ....for longer...!
and....YOU'LL SEE MORE SUNRISES.............!
http://www.mediterraneandiet.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_diet
http://www.mediterraneanbook.com/the-mediterranean-diet/
(for a FREE Mediterranean diet plan....!)
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