For many, following a Mediterranean diet is a simple and tasty way of eating healthy. It incorporates a number of nutritionally beneficial elements, with flavors that appeal to scores of consumers. However, formulating for the diet requires a degree of moderation and the realization that consumer attitudes do not change overnight.
Healthy Benefits
The benefits of the diet have been the subject of a variety of studies, research and investigation. Among the findings:
* In Germany, a Rostock University study linked Mediterranean food with the prevention of malignant melanoma.
* In Israel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Nuclear Research Center and Soroka Hospital found the diet to be effective in helping obese people reverse carotid atherosclerosis.
* A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found type 2 diabetic patients following the Mediterranean diet had less need for antihyperglycemic treatment.
* Writing in the journal Thorax, researchers from Greece, Mexico and Spain noted pregnant women following a Mediterranean diet could help ward off asthma in their offspring.