Mediterranean culture, lifestyle, sights, and people are something that the whole world founds incredibly attractive, but recent studies have suggested that adopting their way of eating can improve your health and weight.

The Mediterranean diet is unlike the usual fare of Americans. It consists of lots of fruits and vegetables, very little red meat, the occasional red wine, a good amount of fish, and a few helpings of nuts. Mediterranean people don’t view fats as totally evil, but there are certain types that they consciously avoid. Most dishes are cooked using olive oil as well.

At Emory University, a short-term study revealed that the Mediterranean diet offered healthy benefits for the heart. The British Medical Journal Thorax, on the other hand, had reported findings where the Mediterranean diet could lead to selective cancer protection, lower heart risks, and longer life. They did, however, emphasize the need for further research to ascertain if the Mediterranean environment, culture and lifestyle as well as genetics could have contributed to the effects.

As for weight loss, some experts say that the Mediterranean diet is essentially a health plan rather than a weight loss program. The Mediterranean may, nevertheless, pull down your weight as it improves your health. An overweight man, for instance, may lose approximately six to eight pounds within two weeks of sticking to a Mediterranean diet while an overweight woman may lose four to six pounds in the same period. After the first two weeks, followers of the Mediterranean diet can still look forward to losing one to two more pounds on the subsequent weeks.

The Mediterranean diet can be safely followed for one and a half months, but beyond that, it’s best that you consult your doctor first.

[image from hydroxi]

Tags: Meditteranean diet, Mediterranean food, weight loss