History of the Mediterranean Diet

Eating Well for Good Health

Introduction

In recent years, a growing number of men and women in different
countries around the world have become increasingly concerned
about their health. Because of the fact that many people have
become more concerned about their overall health, these men and
women have paid closer attention to what they eat on a regular
basis. In the final analysis, these men and women are making
dietary decisions designed to improve their general health and
wellbeing.

As people have become more conscious of their health and diet, a
considerable number of these same men and women have become
interested in the Mediterranean diet regimen. If you are, in
fact, a person who appreciates the interrelationship between
diet and health, you may have a definite interest in the history
of the Mediterranean diet regimen.

Before you can appropriately understand what the Mediterranean
diet is all about, you need to appreciate that it is more of a
concept than a specific dining routine. In reality, there is no
such thing as a Mediterranean diet common to all of the
countries in the Mediterranean region of the world. Rather, the
“Mediterranean diet” consists of those food items that people
who live in the various nations in the region consume in common.

The Origins of the Mediterranean Diet

The concept of the Mediterranean diet is derived from the eating
habits and patterns of the people who populate the countries of
Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Tunisia, Lebanon and Morocco. As a
result, the Mediterranean diet actually includes a tremendous
array of delectable food. In point of fact, if a person elects
to adopt the concept of the Mediterranean dining scheme, or if a
person elects to follow a Mediterranean diet regimen, he or she
will have the ability to enjoy a remarkable assortment of
scrumptious fare.

The diet of the peoples that have populated the regions around
the Mediterranean Sea actually have remained nearly completely
unchanged for well over one thousand years. The history of the
region is replete with examples of men and women living longer
than similarly situated people who consumed alternate diets.
Through the centuries, the people of the Mediterranean Sea
region have enjoyed longer lives that people in other parts of
the world at the same historical epoch.

At the heart of the Mediterranean diet are foods and beverages
that are indigenous to the geographic landmass surrounding the
Mediterranean Sea. In short, the development of the
Mediterranean dieting and dining pattern initially developed by
providence. The people of the region naturally and
understandably ate those foods and drank those beverages that
readily were available in and around their homes.

The Historical Elements of the Mediterranean Diet Scheme

As mentioned previously, over the centuries, the diet of the
peoples of the Mediterranean Sea region has remained essentially
unchanged. The Mediterranean diet consists of the bountiful
consumption of a number of healthy food items including:

Fresh fruit

Fresh vegetables

Low fat nuts

Whole grains

Monounsaturated fat

In a similar vein, the Mediterranean diet utilized by people for
generation after generation excludes or limits certain food
items that have been deemed harmful in recent scientific
studies. These less than desirable food items include:

Saturated fats

Red and fatty meat

Rich dairy products

Fatty fish

The Historical Effects of the Mediterranean Diet Scheme

As has been alluded to earlier in this article on the history of
the Mediterranean diet regimen, the people who inhabit the
region have a demonstrably lower rate of heart disease and
related ailments that oftentimes have a direct dietary
connection. With the advent of scientific studies that have
correlated the incidence of health problems with a poor diet,
the positive effects of the Mediterranean diet have become self
evident.

Research over the course of the past two decades has
conclusively demonstrated that the men and women who populate
the Mediterranean region are afflicted with heart disease and
similar ailments far less often than people in other regions of
the world. The experts who have conducted these studies have
concluded that there is a strong likelihood that the diet scheme
that is common in the Mediterranean region is responsible for
maintaining the good health of the people who live in that
corner of the globe throughout the past one thousand years.

Conclusion: The Expansive Use of the Historical Mediterranean
Diet Scheme

During the past twenty years, a significant number of people in
different countries around the world have turned their attention
towards finding healthy diet regimens that are low in saturated
fat and that include bountiful servings of fresh fruits and
vegetable. Consequently, the Mediterranean diet has caught the
eye of innumerable people who want to include healthy eating
into their overall course of prudent living. In short, the
Mediterranean diet encompasses foods and beverages that, when
consumed in moderation, can work to lessen the threat of some
serious diseases and can aid in creating the necessary
foundation for a long, hearty lifetime.

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