Now that you are in Italy you should try and make the most of the traditional menus or diets that can help you lose weight, lower the risks of chronic or life-threatening illnesses, and allow you to live even longer! After all you want to show off a splendid figure this summer when you hit the Italian beaches...don’t you? It is one of the healthiest diets in the world, not an extreme diet, but what can only be described as a healthy approach to food in general, and, for real food lovers, also a highly delicious one! So really and truly you have come to just the right place, haven’t you!? We are, of course, suggesting the famous Mediterranean diet that is mainly composed of cereals, fruit, beans and vegetables. Surveys of world dietary habits have shown only too clearly that the inhabitants of Mediterranean countries - living on a diet consisting mainly of bread, pasta, fruit, vegetables and fish - almost all of it seasoned with olive oil - enjoy the lowest recorded rates of chronic diseases and the highest adult life expectancy. Even so, while sharing similar characteristics, it varies considerably according to the country and area. Olive oil is the basic - and very healthy - fat common to all Mediterranean countries, where animal fat is rarely used. It adds a special flavour to all the other foods, from vegetables to the various beans and meats. It can include nuts, bread, pasta, cheese and yogurt, all important components in the Mediterranean diet, while fish is almost an essential. Small amounts of red meat and eggs complete the diet, together with a little red wine with meals as it prevents cancer and heart disease. Last but not least, physical activity is a must, more likely, for the moment, among the inhabitants of the Mediterranean than most Americans.
[Mlada Falkirk]
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