The Mediterranean Diet

It is not difficult to associate the Mediterranean diet with delicious pizzas, pastas,and breads. However, a true mediterranean diet “consists mainly of fruits and vegetables, seafood, olive oil, hearty grains and more”(1). The Mediterranean diet highlights eating primarily fruits and vegetables, and replacing butter with healthy fats (1). It also stresses using herbs and spices to flavor dishes instead of salt, and reducing the amount of red meat and eating poultry and fish at least twice a week instead (1). The Mediterranean diet has been said to decrease the amount of strokes and “Research has shown that the traditional Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart disease.”(2). In 2013, research, lead by Dr.Ramon Estruch, found that “those
Eating a Mediterranean diet lessens the risk for other health problems such as death from heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease (2). The Mediterranean diet focuses on choosing healthier types of fats and discourages saturated fats and hydrogenated oils, these both contribute to heart disease, weight gain, and clogged arteries (2). A type of healthier fat is olive oil, which is an essential part of a Mediterranean diet (2). “Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat and can help reduce cholesterol levels” (2). Canola oil and some nuts are also sources of healthy unsaturated fats and decrease blood clotting, and the risk for sudden heart attacks (2). Making the switch from bad to good fats promotes health and
In fact, they are “almost polar opposites of each other”(4). The Mediterranean diet consists of fruits and vegetables, good oils and chicken and fish (4). The American diet however, is high in carbohydrates, sugars, bad oils, and red meats (4). Unlike the Mediterranean diet, the standard American diet does not put an emphasis on fruits and vegetables (4). American diet consists heavily of processed foods, fried and fast foods, red meats and bad oils. (4) This diet tends to lead to increase in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, even certain cancers (4). The Mediterranean diet, however because of their fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and poultry, and good oils, provides numerous health benefits such as lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and the risk of heart disease and stroke (4). Both diets contain a large amount of fat but, they are very different types of fat. The Mediterranean diet consists of healthy monounsaturated fats and the American diet consists of saturated fats which raise