By its name alone, the Mediterranean Diet attracts a lot of current and would be dieters due to its exotic name. But what is it exactly? One concern of the Mediterranean diet is that it allows 40% fat consumption compared to the 30% of the American Heart Association. Let's go into more detail as it seems a waste to just let it go without giving it a fair reading.
The Mediterranean diet evolved from the respective diets of countries surrounding the Mediterranean basin. Among the countries surrounding the basin are the south of France, southern Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus. Originally introduced by American doctor Ancel Keys, the diet failed to gain popular recognition until the 1990's. Based on scientific data, people around the Mediterranean basin had lower rates of cardiovascular disease compared to Americans who, for all intents and purposes, consumed the same relative amount of fat. One possible explanation is the presence of olive oil and red wine. Olive oil lowers cholesterol levels in the blood while red wine contains flavonoids. Flavonoids are anti-oxidants that also help the body when dealing with allergenic material, viruses and cancer causing agents.
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