Weight Loss and the Mediterranean Diet

By Ray Darken

The Mediterranean Diet is named after the traditional diet of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It traditionally focuses on including a large amount of fruits and vegetables, and healthy, unsaturated fats like olive oil. The diet rounds itself out with small portions of nuts and regular servings of oily fish, such as tuna, salmon and mackerel. It avoids red meat and other sources of saturated fat, such as butter.

Just understand that the menu at your local Italian restaurant is not the true Mediterranean diet. The diet is recommended by nutritionists to lower cholesterol, and it is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which lower "bad cholesterol". In addition, it promotes a healthier lifestyle overall, especially considering that the fresher the produce and fish, the better.

An apparent contradiction in the diet is that it can lower your weight, but the diet itself is high in fat. The reason is that it matters greatly what kind of fat you have. Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol tend to increase your blood's cholesterol, whereas the polyunsaturated vegetable oils and fish oils that constitute much of the Mediterranean Diet tend to lower cholesterol. And finally, extra virgin olive oil is a monounsaturated oil. That makes it "neutral" in terms of cholesterol.

Oppose this with the typical American diet of red meat, starch, and deep-fried fats. Corn oil and corn products are about the most fattening forms of oils we can find on the planet. You need only consider that corn is used as a feed because it fattens livestock. If corn can put 1000 pounds on a cow, imagine what it can do for you! In addition, most of the American meats are beef, pork, and chicken, all of which are also the most saturated fatty meats.

The Mediterranean Diet is winning more converts every day, as more people discover that it's a diet easy to stick to, since it tastes better than any other diet out there!

Copyright 2007 Ray Darken - Ray has included immediate access to a his down-loadable Mediterranean diet guide . If you think you would like more information first, you can visit his site and read about how to lose weight safely with a Mediterranean diet.