Why the Mediterranean Diet is Good for Women

Six Reasons the Mediterranean Diet Promotes Good Health



Introduction



Over the course of the past forty years, women the world over

have become particularly concerned about their diets. They have

become concerned about diet related issues for two primary

reasons:



Women have expressed concern over how a particular diet plan

effects their appearances



Women have expressed concern over how a particular dies plan

effects their health



As a result, a growing number of women have found themselves

attracted to the Mediterranean diet.



When it comes to the

Mediterranean diet, there are six primary reasons why women find

themselves strongly attracted to the diet regimen.



Weight Loss and Healthy Weight Maintenance



In many countries around the world, a record number of women are

being classified as overweight and even obese. As a result, a

growing number of women find themselves seeking effective and

healthy dieting regimens to lower their weight to appropriate

levels -- for both cosmetic as well as health reasons.



The Mediterranean diet has proven itself to be very effective at

providing a means through which women can lose weight in a

healthy manner.



Additionally, the Mediterranean diet has proven

incredibly effective as being a solid path a woman can take to

maintain a generally ideal and healthy weight.



Anti-oxidants and Aging



The Mediterranean diet regimen is flush with foods that are rich

in anti-oxidants. This includes leafy, dark green vegetables as

well as certain fish that are common features in this dietary

scheme.



Anti-oxidants have been proven to slow the appearance of aging

in women. Additionally, anti-oxidants have been demonstrated as

being effective at preventing organ and skin deterioration in

women.



The consumption of foods that are high in anti-oxidants

has been proven to enhance longevity in both women and men.



Metabolic Syndrome



Metabolic syndrome is an ailment in which a person ends up

afflicted with both Type Two diabetes and hypertension. Most

experts believe that diet can play a significant role in

reducing the likelihood of metabolic syndrome in men and women

who are prone to the ailment.



Without exception, medical experts who have studied the cause

and effect of metabolic syndrome universally have agreed that

the Mediterranean diet is the perfect dietary scheme to prevent

and control metabolic syndrome.



Heart Disease



Multiple studies in a number of different countries have

concluded that the adoption of the Mediterranean diet lowers the

incidence of heart disease in women (and men). Indeed, an

analysis of the incidence of heart disease in the Mediterranean

nations suggests that the use of the Mediterranean diet can

lower the incidence of heart disease in women from twenty-five

to forty percent.



Hypertension



Recent scientific studies have examined the rising incidence of

hypertension amongst women.



Many researchers attribute the

increase in hypertension amongst women in recent years to a

number of changes that have occurred in their lives, including:



-- a greater number of women entering the workforce



-- a growing number of women being forced to juggle the raising

of children with a full time career



-- the food and beverage choices that women are making in the

21st century



Research studies in a dozen different countries over the course

of the past twenty years have suggested that the Mediterranean

diet is effective at lowering the incidence of hypertension in

men and women.



Because the Mediterranean diet is high if fruit,

vegetables and whole grains and because the diet is low in

saturated fats, most nutritionists and other experts believe

that the dietary scheme works to lower hypertension in both men

and women.



The Mediterranean diet combined with regular exercise has been

demonstrated to have a marked effect on reducing the incidence

of hypertension amongst middle aged women.



Breast Cancer



Perhaps the most important "ingredient" of the Mediterranean

diet is olive oil.



Save for fresh fruits and vegetables (in most

instances) olive oil universally is present in the Mediterranean

diet. As a result, on the surface, the diet scheme appears to be

high in fat. Indeed, upwards to thirty percent of the caloric

intake of the Mediterranean diet does come fat. What is

important to keep in mind is that nearly 100% of the fat in the

Mediterranean diet is unsaturated and comes directly from olive

oil. In other words, the fat in the Mediterranean diet

essentially is healthy.



Olive oil, and the fat contained in the

product, simply does not trigger the negative consequences that

flow from saturated fats, from animal fats.



In addition, there have been several important scientific

studies undertaken in the past decade that have demonstrated

that a diet high in olive oil works to lower the risk of breast

cancer in women. Thus, one of the beneficial results of adopting

the Mediterranean diet is a lowering of the risk for breast

cancer.