Update April 04- 2010 Featuring Pro's Or Con's "The Mediterranean diet - Weight Loss program" By Health Experts -

Mediterranean diet is a type of diet inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of Southern Italy and Greece . The most famous one was presented by Dr. Walter Willett of Harvard University's School of Public Health in the mid-1990s. Based on "food patterns typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy in the early 1960s. The diet contains little low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat and dietary fiber.

Recommended Reading
The Mediterranean Diet
A Fundamental Guide to Using the Mediterranean Diet
for Improved Health, Weight Loss, Reducing the Risk
of Heart Disease, Blood Pressure & Common Allergies

Is the Mediterranean Diet Too Salty?

By Peter Boston

First the food police came after the butter in your movie theater popcorn, and then they came after the salt. But have they gone too far this time? You have heard it before...salt causes hypertension, yada, yada... but we all know that salt is essential for life too. Did you know that Roman soldiers were paid in salt? That's probably where the saying that a man is worth his salt comes from.

The Mediterranean diet, which has been famous for years now, is really a collection of the traditional cuisines of the 20 or so countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. Salt is a critical part of the Mediterranean diet which has a proven record of health benefits including reducing heart disease, diabetes and hyperlipidemia, and obesity.

Olive oil is the ingredient that most people associate with the Mediterranean diet. No other natural oil is as healthy for you as olive oil, but olive oil by itself is bland tasting and is almost always accompanied with a few shakes of salt, especially on salads and vegetables. Whole olives, another important ingredient in the Mediterranean diet, are soaked in brine for weeks before they can be ready to eat. Codfish, anchovies, and capers are all packed in salt for preservation. Feta cheese is made with salt and then stored in it.

Other exotic sounding dishes that are a regular part of the Mediterranean diet are Greek taramosalata which is made from salted codfish roe; tzatziki - made from salted cucumbers that are added to yogurt; baba ghanoush - made from egg plant, tahini, olive oil and, you guessed it, salt. All these Mediterranean dishes have been a staple in the diets of the people who live in the Mediterranean area for centuries if not thousands of years. Why is it then that the people who live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea have the lowest incidence of cardiovascular disease?

A study, called the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, confirmed what everybody already seemed to know, that the salt rich Mediterranean diet was healthier over all than the typical American diet and was effective in reducing blood pressure.

Of course you want to follow your doctor's advice especially if you have been advised to reduce your intake of salt or any other food products. What you do not want to do is unnecessarily be discouraged from trying the Mediterranean diet, not only because it has proven to be more healthy for you than the average American diet, but because the typical cuisine tastes so darn good. The empirical evidence is that preparing Mediterranean-style dishes with very little or no salt is bland and tasteless. Who wants that?

Personal health habits and fitness are a lifestyle choice. Do you have the right fitness training equipment to assure a fitter you?

Recommended Reading
The Mediterranean Diet
A Fundamental Guide to Using the Mediterranean Diet
for Improved Health, Weight Loss, Reducing the Risk
of Heart Disease, Blood Pressure & Common Allergies

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