The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is an exciting new diet plan to follow – especially with tastes that are reminiscent of holidays such as yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, salmon and roast vegetables for lunch and snacks of crackers and houmous! Imagine a tasty Italian pasta dish or an exotic Greek dish – it’s really not like being on a diet at all!

Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that following a Mediterranean diet can increase longevity. This is because the Mediterranean diet is high in fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains as well as olive oil – a product rich in monounsaturated fats. And fish is often eaten instead of red meat - meaning that the diet is a rich source of essential fatty acids and antioxidant – a way to help improve cholesterol levels and protect the heart.

It is well documented that people living in the Mediterranean regions have a much lower incidence of heart disease and cancer – and it is not all down to the sun and sea! A Mediterranean style diet is jam packed full of goodness!

Italian researchers have also found that following the ‘Med’ diet (also known as the Sunshine Diet) is beneficial for people with metabolic syndrome (an early indicator of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk).

This diet is based on traditional cuisine in the countries around the Mediterranean, which means you get a varied, tasty selection from Turkish to Italian, or Moroccan to Greek foods – yum! Follow it and you’ll benefit from lots of health-related benefits as well as well drop those pounds!

And as red wine is packed full of antioxidant substances called flavenoids - and these protect against both heart disease and cancer - even a glass of red wine day isn’t a sin - it’ll be like being on holiday all the time!