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Mediterranean Diet
Most North Americans live a work-driven 9 to 5 lifestyle that may not give
them the time to kick back, relax and enjoy a home cooked meal. This can lead
to obesity and other health problems such as obesity. North Americans then turn
to quick fix diets or radical diets that often alter their lifestyle.
This varies dramatically from the people of the Mediterranean Sea. This includes
Spain and Portugal (Iberia), Southern France, Italy, the western Balkans, Greece,
and much of North Africa. People who live in these regions often live a sun
soaked laid-back lifestyle that has given them some of the longest lives. Part
of this lifestyle includes a daily diet of foods that many researches have determined
blesses these people with lower levels of chronic disease such as heart disease
and cancer.
One of the remarkable benefits of the Mediterranean diet is the rich diversity
of plant sources it draws from. This includes fruits and vegetables, legumes,
nuts, beans and seeds. In North Africa they add couscous to the mix and in the
Eastern Mediterranean a large amount of bulgur rice is consumed. Naturally grain
based breads and pastas are also widely consumed, often without butter or margarine.
While all of these foods are rather tasty, the health benefits have only recently
been taken advantage of by North American dieters. In what has become known
as the Mediterranean diet or Mediterranean diets. While this is not a diet per
se, like the Atkins diet, or the South Beach diet, it is a lifestyle that mimics
the healthy eating patters of people in that region.
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