Description: This traditional Diet delivers as much as 40% of total daily calories from fat, yet the associated incidence of cardiovascular diseases is significantly decreased.As a monosaturated fatty acid, olive oil does not have the same cholesterol-raising effect of saturated fats. Olive oil is also a good source of antioxidants. Eating fish a few times per week benefits the Mediterranean people by increasing the amount of "Omega-3 fatty acids" - something that the rest of the developed societies don't get enough of. Eating red meat sparingly seems to also increase health.There is a general consensus among health professionals that the Mediterranean Diet is healthier than the North European and American diet because more grains, such as spaghetti, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and olive oil are consumed. Reviews (12):

I am Mediterranean Reviewer: Greg       03-31-2004 This sounds like a typical European meal plan. I don't know if I would call it a diet, its just what i am used to eating. I have been eating this way for many years. I am 28 years old now and I am the same weight since High School. I combine this way of eating and about 30 minutes of exercise 2-3 times per week.

Pure Quackery Reviewer: John       03-30-2004 Anyone genuinely interested in diet, nutrition, and nutritional supplements should take a strong stand against Nutrition Quackery, Food Faddism, and Nutritional Supplements Quackery anywhere they see it. If you don't, no one will take your interests seriously. Quackery is the promotion of a health claim that doesn't have any basis in published scientific research.

2 types of this diet Cretan & Italian Reviewer: Fudwa       03-30-2004 The Cretan Mediterranean Diet is a Moderately-High Carbohydrate diet. The Italian Mediterranean Diet is definitely a High Grain diet.

Med Diet Reviewer: Fred       03-30-2004 I suffered heart disease and had a bypass surgery 3 years ago. I have read many books and tried to find information from the internet regarding the use of oil for diet and yet has come to no conclusion as to which type of oil is good for a heart disease patient.I think there left 2 options, one is > canola oil and the other is olive oil. Which one is more favourable? I don't know for sure

This is my favorite diet. Reviewer: Brennan       03-30-2004 I will share some books for this diet that i recommend reading before starting this wonderful diet. Harmon Jenkins, Nancy. The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook. This has a lot of standard recipes. She has a new one out, but I haven't used it. Wright, Clifford. A Mediterranean Feast. Very deep with lots of interesting history. This is good reading even if you don't make a lot of the recipes. Yudkin, John, M.D. Eating for a Healthy Heart. Science oriented (red wine benefits and all of that) but a nice selection of recipes. Sailhac's Arlene Feltman. Mediterranean Cooking. A small book with recipes from various famous cooks. All are pretty easy to follow. Simopoulos, Artemis. The Omega Diet. This isn't a really a cookbook, but it does have a section in the back with some good recipes in it. Though it's not mediterranean, it is consistent with what's typical of healthy mediterranean food.

Healthier than western diet Reviewer: TC       03-28-2004 The Med. Diet is apparently healthier than the western diet, which happens to be very high in refined carbs. The Med. Diet is much, much lower in refined carbs and higher in whole-grain and other whole-food carbs. The Med. Diet has significantly more fat, 40% of the diet is from fats. One would think that it would be generally heart-unhealthy and conducive to causing obesity. Yet, apparently not. Does this not fly in the face of the calorie = obesity and the fats = heart disease concepts? This study supports the low-carb concept.

unrefined? whole grain? Reviewer: Buddy       03-27-2004 I don't think there's a lot of unrefined cereal grain eaten in southern Europe. "Whole grain" has become a religious motif. I think people are seeing "whole grain" where it doesn't exist, sort of like seeing images of the Virgin Mary all over the place.

Good for heart disease? Reviewer: JW Wright       03-24-2004 I've read the Med diet was good for heart disease and i also read an item recently that explained the data used was old data and that the disease rates werre now increasing. But in any case, i can't see the Med diet being the basis for a CR diet any more than any other good diet. As i understand it some CR'ers are low fat and some low carbo. The key is low energy. It seems to me if this radical new thing (CR) works you wouldn't to gear it to any old philosophies, especially those which are not defineable in the first place. CR appears to be specifically oriented to low energy intake with sufficient nutrients, while the med diet is just a different subset of foods and certainly not a low calorie diet.

A New Study Reviewer: Ellis       03-21-2004 The latest study, published last month in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, is a four-year follow-up of more than 400 men and women in France, all of whom had already suffered one heart attack and therefore were at risk of another. About half the participants were told to switch to a Mediterranean-type diet rich in fruits, vegetables, cereals, fish and beans, and the other half were advised to eat a more traditional Western diet that was relatively low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol. Those following the Mediterranean diet were 50 percent to 70 percent less likely than the comparison group to develop recurrent heart disease, including fatal and nonfatal heart attacks.

A New Study Reviewer: Ellis       03-21-2004 The latest study, published last month in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, is a four-year follow-up of more than 400 men and women in France, all of whom had already suffered one heart attack and therefore were at risk of another. About half the participants were told to switch to a Mediterranean-type diet rich in fruits, vegetables, cereals, fish and beans, and the other half were advised to eat a more traditional Western diet that was relatively low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol. Those following the Mediterranean diet were 50 percent to 70 percent less likely than the comparison group to develop recurrent heart disease, including fatal and nonfatal heart attacks.

We can learn something from people of Mediterranean Reviewer: Martha       03-18-2004 As I am not one to follow any "diet", however, I do think there is much we can learn from the people of the Mediterranean. Their lives are slower-paced, more enjoyable. Europeans don't work anywhere near the hours we do, they take time to relax, sit at a cafe, enjoy nature, their gardens, etc. They take twice as much paid vacation as Americans (usually getting four to five weeks starting time off per year). They also don't spend half their day commuting to and from work, racing around in their SUVs all over the place. Their focus is on enjoying each day as it arrives, rather than going on and on like crazy people for some unspecified time in the future called "retirement". Perhaps if we slow down just a bit and enjoy each moment as it arrives, we can also lead a healthier life. I worked a ten-hour day today, we have a project at work that must be finished this Friday, and all I wanted to do when I got home was gobble up my dinner because I was starving! It is hard work to tell myself to relax and enjoy. My boyfriend is European (Danish) and he sometimes has a hard time understanding the American Lifestyle. Heh, so do I. Needless to say, I ate much too fast and didn't enjoy it very much.

Worried about the fat content in this diet plan? Reviewer: Joan       03-13-2004 Worried about the fat content in this diet plan? Don't! People who live in the Mediterranean tend to have lower cholesterol levels and lower rates of heart disease and cancer than Americans. However, they also walk instead of drive, work outdoors, and watch very little TV.

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