Reasons to Love the Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy eating plan thought to reduce the incidence of heart disease. The New England Journal of Medicine published an extensive study of thousands of participants in Spain between the ages 55-80 with high risk for cardiovascular disease confirms the health benefits of this eating plan. It found those following the Mediterranean diet had a 30% reduction in the chance of having a heart attack or stroke.
What Makes the Mediterranean Diet so Great?
New York Times reports, “About 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes, and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet.” The diet included an eating plan full of nuts, fish, fruits, beans, and vegetables, and even wine.
The Mediterranean diet is abundant with fruits and vegetables and includes whole grains, olive oil, fish, nuts, beans, and legumes. It is almost absent in foods high in saturated fats—such as meat and butter—and is also low in processed foods.
What Are the Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet?
How is a Mediterranean diet good for your health? For people of the region, the Mediterranean diet is not a weight-loss diet, but rather a healthy lifestyle plan and a way of life.
It’s delicious and flexible for everyone
The Mediterranean diet is a tasty diet because it incorporates Italian, Greek, French, and Spanish cuisines along with influences of Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisines. Whether you are a vegetarian, pescatarian, or have a food allergy, the Mediterranean diet is one of those diets tailored and fixed for everyone.
Although there are certain food staples in the foundations of the diet, they usually are substituted for having very similar effects. In addition to the low meat consumption, vegetarians or vegans can easily replace it or gain their required nutrition from other sources present in the diet.
Healthy variety
Recipes for similar dishes vary across the entire Mediterranean. For example, they make dolmades (stuffed vine leaves) with mint and no meat in Greece while they include minced meat and no mint in Cyprus. Moussaka and Pastitsio also vary in different regions of Greece and neighboring countries. Although you may not like one way of cooking a dish, you may want it from another area.
Research shows a Mediterranean diet helps in reducing heart disease, lowering cholesterol, The eating plan also helps with irritable bowel syndrome. Mediterranean diet eaters live a healthier lifestyle due to the complex carbohydrate content and high fiber.
An extensive weight management menu
There are a lot of recipes and dishes out there from all parts of the Mediterranean region. Meal prepping is easy because you can go through weeks of different meals without ever having the same foods week after week. Eating out doesn’t mean you break your eating plan because most places usually have a dish following the Mediterranean diet.
By switching to olive oil, as well as whole wheat bread and potatoes, your body is getting all the carbohydrates. In addition to that, there is an insufficient number of sweets and the high number of fruits in the diet. The diet means you don’t get a lot of sugary desserts.
It includes WINE
Wine is an essential alcoholic beverage for the Mediterranean diet and often the drink of preference when dining. Red wine is useful for controlling heart disease, and white wine is an excellent antioxidant. Drink wine three times a week in moderation. It complements the food you are eating, so drink up!
Start Your New Mediterranean Diet at Paymon’s
Eating delicious, fresh Mediterranean food in the Las Vegas area has never been easier! Join us at Paymon’s Mediterranean Restaurant and Lounge for the fresh Mediterranean grill menu. We feature Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Vegan and Vegetarian specialties.
