publication date: Jul 18, 2007
Studies of the
diets of thousands of people around
Europe have
confirmed the health
advantages of the Mediterranean -style diet.
The
good news is, no matter where you live, the
closer your diet
matches the typical Mediterranean one, the
lower your l
ikelihood of developing problems such as
heart disease,
cancer and
type 2 diabetes.
For
families wishing to follow a
Mediterranean-style diet at home, the
British Dietetic Association recommends the following
five top tips:
- Fill up on fruit and veg. Aim to eat a minimum of five portions of a variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables each day. They contain a wide range of protective plant nutrients (phytochemicals). Fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruits and vegetables all count. Beans and pulses and 100 per cent juice or smoothies count too but only as one portion a day - no matter how much you have!
- Feast on fish. Go for fish dishes more often including at least one portion of oil-rich fish a week. Choose from salmon, trout, mackerel, herrings, sardines or pilchards. Fresh, smoked, frozen and canned varieties all count.
- Choose your fats wisely. Use vegetable oils, such as rapeseed or olive oil, in moderation for cooking and to dress salad and soft spreads made from these oils on bread. Use butter and cream very sparingly. Cut down on fatty cuts of red meat and meat products such as sausages, pies and streaky bacon. Trim the fat from cuts of red meat and the skin from chicken and limit your intake of fried fast food.
- Make it wholegrain. Replace refined cereal foods with wholegrain varieties. Wheat, oats, barley, rye and rice can all be eaten in the wholegrain form. Aim to get at least half your starchy carbohydrates as wholegrains - at least two to three servings a day.
- Go easy on alcohol. Moderate drinking has been shown to have protective health effects in men and post-menopausal women. In particular, red wine contains beneficial substances that may protect artery walls. Experts recommend only moderate consumption of alcohol - one to two units per day. Over this amount, the detrimental effects, for example liver cirrhosis, are greater than any positive effects.
