The Mediterranean Diet
This is the pattern of healthful eating that's most familiar to people. See a description here. And here's the American Heart Association's take on the Mediterranean diet.
If you adopt the diet, you'll eat a lot of plant-based, minimally processed foods. You'll use olive oil instead of butter or margarine, thereby substituting monounsaturated "good" fat for unhealthful saturated and trans fats. (The fat content of the diet is higher than in many other recommended diets, such as the DASH diet, so if you're looking to lose weight, be careful.) Fish is the central meat, and red meat is eaten pretty rarely. Dessert is fresh fruit, and, yes, you're allowed a glass of wine a day. Studies have associated the Mediterranean diet with a host of good health outcomes—but don't forget the exercise. And be careful eating out; American restaurants, especially chains, have a way of making even a traditionally healthful cuisine caloric and fatty. (Read up on the do's and don'ts of Italian dining, and check out this detailed take on two popular chains.)
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