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Healthy Eating Mediterranean Style

Another diet with much fanfare is the Mediterranean diet eaten by inhabitants of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, particularly southern Italy, southern France (accounting for only a small portion of the French people), Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, and Spain. Their diets are high in fruits and vegetables, bread and other grains (e.g., pasta), olive oil, and ?sh, making it generally low in saturated and high in monounsaturated fats (found in olive oil), healthy omega-3 fats (found in ?sh), and dietary ?ber. In that area of the world, olive oil is used in preference to margarine and other oils. People in the Mediterranean region also consume red wine regularly, but almost always in moderate quantities and usually with their meals.

Like the French diet, the Mediterranean version is also a para­dox. Mediterranean inhabitants consume relatively high amounts of fat (but mostly olive oil, not saturated fats like the French) and lots of oily ? sh; however, they also experience far lower rates of heart problems than fat-conscious Americans. High in essential fats, olive oil has been demonstrated to lower cholesterol levels in the blood, and people who eat extra calories in the form of this oil appear to gain very little, if any, excess weight from it. Once again, the ? avonoids found in red wine with their powerful anti­oxidant properties also may be contributing to better heart health. Of course, you can’t rule out that the improvements from this diet may simply come from the fact that inhabitants of the Mediter­ranean, and of Europe in general, rely less on cars and are far more likely than Americans to walk relatively short distances, making many Europeans more physically ? t.

Action Steps for Better Health Tip

Try out a Mediterranean diet—rich in olive oil, ?sh, and red wine— today for better health. While you’re at it, try to walk as much as people in Mediterranean countries do to gain all of the antiaging bene?ts of their lifestyle