Summary: Adhering To The Mediterranean Diet

This article was to examine how the US government uses dietary guidelines for Americans and how the guidelines were supposed to help us eat and stay healthy. Diet and chronic diseases are sometimes connected. For example, it is proven that nutrient deficiency disease like scurvy can be cured by consuming the lost nutrients. However, it is also shown that some nutrient exposure can cause chronic illness such as energy, fats, sodium dietary fiber, and food exposures, etc. making it difficult to set dietary guidelines. In addition to some nutrient causing chronic diseases, nondietary factors such as stress, lack of exercise, smoking and other environmental factors are linked to causing chronic illnesses (Slavin, 2012).

Highlighting from the research publication, “A Prospective Study of Dietary Fiber Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Among Women” from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers developed a food-frequency questionnaire assessing 39,876 female health professionals with no previous history of CVD or cancer to support the concept. Women were followed for an average of six years for incidence of various CVD or death confirmed by medical records or death certificates. Evidence from epidemiological studies suggests a strong inverse association between dietary fiber and coronary disease, high intakes of fiber and 20% to 40% in reductions to risk, as well as increased intake of fiber and reduction of plasma cholesterol. The data generally support current dietary recommendations to increase the consumption of fiber-rich whole grains and vegetables as a primary preventive measure against Cardio vascular disease.

In the article “A low carbohydrate Mediterranean diet improves cardiovascular risk factors and diabetes control among overweight patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a 1-year prospective randomized intervention study”, 256 overweight type 2 diabetic patients were randomly assigned to one of the three diets in a 12 month trail.^1 The three diets were low carbohydrate Mediterranean (LCM), a traditional Mediterranean (TM), and the 2003 American Diabetic Association (ADA) diet. All subjects were between the ages 30-65, had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), body mass index (BMI) 27-34 kg/m2, last HbA1c measurement 7–10%, last plasma TG level 1.8–4.5 mmol/l, last serum creatinine <123.2 µmol/l, and no change in diabetes medication for at least 3 months before entering the study. Prior randomization patients entered a 2-week maintenance period where the patients were

The subjects for this study were adults of 64 years of age and over, from a previous study called the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Ageing and Diet (HELIAD). All

Some of the other health advantages to eating the Mediterranean way is lower the risk of dementia, Parkinson’s, overcome anxiety and depression. Prevent cancer, and lower risk of heart disease (2).

Age related Macular Degeneration or AMD is a disease that affects millions of Americans every year. There are several factors that contribute to this disease, those being: exposure to bright light, diet, hereditary factors and gender. The main ones that can be controlled consist of exposure to bright light and diet. Those that cannot be controlled are hereditary factors and gender. Prevention of macular degeneration consists of reducing the eyes exposure to bright light and the daily diet of the person at risk. What I seek to explore is if adopting to the Mediterranean diet will create the needed health benefit to prevent the onset of AMD. The Mediterranean diet is one which focuses on eating seafood, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and healthy fats from things such as olive

The Meditaerranean diet is modeled after the way people in Medittarean countries such as Greece, Israel and Turkey eat. It's known for its ability to improve heart health, lower cholesterol and reduce chances of different cancers. In addition to lots of heart-pumping exercise, there are many elements of this particular diet.

One of the staples of the Italian diet are tomatoes because they are packed with vitamins A & C, potassium and folate. Another staple is olive oil and extra virgin olive oil which are high in monounsaturated fat, antioxidants and are linked to heart health. Garlic is a big staple in their diet due to its flavor dimension addition to any dish such as homemade salad dressings and tomato sauce. As well as garlic studies show it may lower stomach, throat and skin cancers. Whole grains pastas and breads are staples due to how they are digested more slowly. Red wine is the most common drink of choice because it is healthier than other wines since it helps to increase HDL (good) cholesterol and will absorbs nutrients and helps digest the food.

This may be the only diet that includes drinking a glass of red wine, but that has been proven to be very good for your heart. The Mediterranean diet is based around the typical cooking styles of the countries on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They love to use olive oil in their cooking, so you can expect to get plenty of good meals made with the health benefits of olive oil.

One such study was found, however it was only a three study that had no control. Regardless, the results show a clear indicator of significant weight loss when following the Paleolithic diet. The study was performed by M. Osterdahl, T. Kocturk, A. Koochek, and P.E. Wandell and was published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The participants were no allowed to consume any dairy products, grains, legumes, or processed foods. After the three weeks the participants showed a 2.3kg decrease in weight, .8 point reduction in body mass index, and a waist reduction of .5 cm. As far any risk the only that were identified was a reduced intake of calcium which is due to the elimination of dairy and legumes that would normally supply the needed calcium. Although the study was short it provides valuable insight to the weight loss prospects of the Paleolithic diet. The main reason why weight loss observed was not because the body is more has trouble processing dairy, grains, and legumes but rather because of the elimination of processed foods and foods that high in calories but low in

characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters and located between about 30° and 45° latitude north and south of the Equator and on the western sides of the continents . To live a longer and healthier lifestyle, the Sardinia Blue Zone person favors the Mediterranean Diet. The Mediterranean Diet emphasizes: “Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts; using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods; limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month; eating fish and poultry at least twice a week .”Researchers have determined that the Mediterranean Diet reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases

Since March is a nutrition month, the food and nutrition services director would like the FNS employees to receive nutrition education that would beneficial for their own well-being. She assigned me to work side by side with Mrs. Jessi Hann, a dietitian who is specialized in cardiovascular and diabetic health. And with her guidance I develop a survey for the employees to see what would be the most interest nutrition topics for them. The survey gave the options between cardiovascular health and diabetic health, and the subjects could pick more than one topic. The result, they are interested to learn about cardiovascular health, with the focus on the Mediterranean diet.

Change in our ever adapting world has largely impacted the way we eat as well as live our daily lives, this contributes to the increasing rate of chronic diseases affecting all countries. Causing immense burden on the patient and family, chronic diseases are the main cause of deaths worldwide. Improvements in diet as well as the fitness of an individual can contribute in massive proportions to the decrease in such scenarios. Studies have indicated the treatment effectiveness of any medical condition is improved with the implementation of changes in lifestyle The present day “nutritional transition” from traditional plant-based diets to those that are elevated in animal fats and sugar, along with a sedentary lifestyle are the underlying factors that influence the risk of the spread of such chronic diseases.

If you’ve ever talked to somebody after they 've traveled to a country such as Italy or Greece, they probably mentioned how delicious the food was. Food is one of the more common affiliations with countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea; and understandably so. The food this region produces is so notable that there is a diet based off it, companied with endless research elaborating the health benefits it accommodates. Fittingly named The Mediterranean Diet, this compilation of foods including fish, fruits, vegetables, beans, high fiber breads, whole grains, nuts, olive oil and red wine are targeted to help prevent a number of diseases as well as promote health in different sectors of the body. This essay will touch upon each component, benefit, and precaution of the Mediterranean diet, in depth, all with a main focus on the nutritional factors.

Saturated fats include nuts, and in a recent study not only were nuts a good source of saturated fat, but they were also proven to improve lipid profile of inflammatory biomarkers. Participants from cohort studies has high risk for cardiac disease, but those who had a higher consumption of nuts and exercised consistently were more likely to have lower c-reactive protein and IL-6 concentrations (5). They ate higher amount of nuts because they replaced red meats, processed meats, and refined grains with nuts. This reduced their risk of getting heart disease because their overall state of inflammation was reduced, and chronic low-grade inflammation is known for being a culprit in all phases of atherosclerosis. The studies strengths were that