Mediterranean
Diet is a nutritional model based on the diet
of people who live in the Mediterranean region of southern
Europe and northern Africa. The diet encourages the
consumption of large amounts of fruits and vegetables,
olive oil and fish, while limiting red meat. It also
suggests moderate alcohol consumption.
In
general, the Mediterranean Diet follows the patterns
of most dietitian-recommended diet plans. This is particularly
true in its emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables,
whole grains, consumption of fish and the limiting of
red meat. The Mediterranean diet is approved by the
USDA for use by both adults and children, with extra
water replacing wine in the children’s diet. |
| The
most substantial health benefit that the Mediterranean
Diet offers is the large amounts of antioxidants provided
by the foods in the diet. Antioxidants are substances
found in fruits, vegetables and other foods that protect
cells from being damaged by free radicals in a process
called oxidative stress. Oxidative stress happens when
free radicals steal electrons from healthy tissue. Antioxidants
neutralize the free radicals that cause oxidative stress
and this may reduce the signs of aging as well as the
risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke. |
