Want to stay as healthy as long as possible? Then you may want to incorporate a Mediterranean diet into your life. Mayoclinic.com says the traditional Mediterranean diet reduces heart disease, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. The diet also has been shown to reduce the occurrence of cancer and cancer deaths. The European Food Information Council analyzed the results of a 2004 study on the Mediterranean diet in Greece. It found people who followed this diet most closely were 25 percent less likely to die during the study period.
Step 1
To practice the Mediterranean diet, you'll need to eat lots of plant-based foods such as beans, peas and lentils. Legumes are usually low in fat and are highly nutritious. They make good substitutes for meat in many recipes. Nuts are also used as part of the Mediterranean diet. Most of the fat in nuts is of the unsaturated kind, but don't eat too many nuts at one time, as they are high in calories. Choose whole grains as much as possible, whether in bread, pasta or rice.
Step 2
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. They are known to be good protection against cancer and heart disease. Tomatoes are used often in the Mediterranean diet, and they are high in disease-fighting antioxidants. Mayoclinic.com reports that residents of Greece eat very little red meat and eat on average nine servings of antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruit a day.
Step 3
Choose healthy fats. In the Mediterranean region, bread is not usually eaten with butter or margarine. Bread is dipped in olive oil, which has heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Olive oil is also used often in Mediterranean cooking.
Step 4
Eat fish and seafood at least twice a week. Good choices include salmon, sardines, trout, mackerel, herring and fresh or water-packed tuna. Sardines are a good source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fats. Avoid fried fish.
Step 5
Limit the amount of red meat you consume. Choose fish and poultry more often instead. When you do eat red meat, choose the leanest cuts.
Step 6
Limit the amount of high-fat dairy products you eat. Substitute 1 percent or skim milk for whole or 2 percent milk. Choose low-fat or fat-free cheeses, and low-fat or fat-free yogurt.
Step 7
Choose spices and herbs instead of salt in your cooking. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, report found that almost 90 percent of Americans consume more salt than is good for them, usually considered no more than 2,400 mg daily. Many Mediterranean dishes use spices and herbs to add flavor, so it's easy to leave out the salt.
Step 8
A low to moderate amount of red wine is thought to be of benefit in the Mediterranean diet. In some studies, red wine has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. Don't want to include wine in your diet? Then drink concord grape juice instead. A 1997 study showed that concord grape juice may have the same heart benefits as red wine.
References
- Mayoclinic.com: Mediterranean Diet--Choose This Heart-Healthy Diet Option
- "Journal of the American Medical Association": Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet, Cognitive Decline and Risk of Dementia
- Ohio Department of Aging: 9 Out of 10 Americans Get Too Much Salt
- Mayoclinic.com: Beans and Legumes
- European Food Information Council: Secrets of the Mediterranean Diet
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