By now, the benefits of the Mediterranean diet have become well known. This celebrated way of eating has been praised by scientists, doctors and nutritionists for the many health benefits it brings. Although there is no doubt that the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest diets known to mankind, there’s actually more to it then that.
As important as healthy eating is however, the Mediterranean diet takes it a step beyond nutrition. The Mediterranean diet follows the eating habits of the people who live in the 16 countries that the Mediterranean diet comes from.
These countries aren’t just about what they eat, but how they eat it. Meals are eaten slowly and socially with friends and family. Homecooked meals prepared with fresh ingredients are always preferred over processed foods.
Eating at a slower pace for example, has real benefits for the human body. Americans tend to wolf down their food at the same pace we live the rest of our lives—as quickly as possible. When we do this, we are ignoring our hunger signals, and fail to realize when we’re actually full.
The result is that we end up consuming much more than we intend to. By the time we realize we are full, we may have eaten several hundred more calories than we actually needed. By adopting the Mediterranean way of eating, you may find yourself eating less and enjoying it more.
Eating with others also has unique benefits. People who eat with others are more likely to choose healthier foods, and to have better eating habits. In fact, poor eating habits are associated with eating alone.
People who eat alone are more likely to binge-eat or stress-eat compared to those who eat with others. On the flip-side, eating with others promotes beneficial neurochemicals, and also helps aid in digestion. When you eat with others, you tend to relax more, which helps stimulate the Parasympathetic Nervous System.
Together, the result is that you will digest better, and feel better both emotionally and physically when you eat with others. This is common sense. When you gather together with friends and family, you tend to feel better than when you eat alone. You’re laughing and chatting about life, while also eating foods you enjoy.
The Mediterranean diet is not just food, it’s a lifestyle. Eating whole foods and eating them with others will benefit you in every area of your life, from your most intimate relationships to how long you live.
If you’re new to the Mediterranean diet and want to try it out, consider stopping by Aladdin with your family or friends. By choosing Mediterranean as your food of choice, you’ll be not only choosing food that will benefit your body and mind, but also choosing the Mediterranean lifestyle as well by eating together.
Fast pace living has its benefits, but when it comes down to food it is better to slow down, and enjoy the precious time we have together with our friends and family.
https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/food/the-health-and-social-benefits-of-the-mediterranean-diet/article_d878ac07-a54a-581c-9ed8-449e5cea1e41.html
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It’s truly incredible just how much a Mediterranean diet can help in improving the health of average people around the world. Over the past few years, Mediterranean diets have been proven to help stave off dementia, control heart disease, aid in weight loss, and so many other health benefits.
Yet another study on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet has been released, and it shows that switching up your diet could also help with migraines—especially if you choose foods that contain oily fish.
How It Works
Omega 3 fatty acids are an often-neglected part of American diets. Omega 3 fatty acids come from oily fish and a few specific seeds such as chia. Omega 3 fatty acids are special because they are precursors to important pain reducing molecules called oxylipins.
Most people don’t get enough of these pain reducing fatty acids, but they do get quite a bit of a pain amplifying precursor—omega-6 fatty acids. These come from grains, and are far more prevalent in our diets than Omega 3s.
In the recent study, published in the British Medical Journal, scientists wanted to see if balancing that ratio would help. They found 182 patients who suffered from migraine headaches frequently (between 5 and 20 times a month) and divided them into 3 groups.
Each group had a diet change, with the only difference between the diets being the quality and source of omega 3s, and whether omega 6s were lowered or kept the same. The final group was a control group, which kept the level of omega 3s and omega 6s about the same.
In both groups that increased omega 3s, the patients experienced fewer headache hours, and fewer headache days. While the headaches weren’t lower an intensity, they didn’t last as long or come as often.
How Mediterranean diets help
Both of the diets that reduced headaches were similar to a Mediterannean diet. The focus is on fruits, vegetables, oily fish and poultry, with red meats limited. Whole grains are part of the diet, but in balance with omega 3s.
This diet naturally falls into line with diets that reduce migraines. Oily fish in particular are an important part of the Mediterranean diet, with pan-seared salmon, grilled mackerel, and other oily fish favorite foods. Even the diet that included more poultry but shifted away from highly processed grain made a difference in migraines.
Not sure if the Mediterranean diet is right for you?
Stop by Aladdin’s and let us show you the best a Mediterranean diet has to offer. Try our “Catch of the Day” to get your omega 3 fatty acids, or try anything on the menu to start experiencing better health, one day at a time.
The Mediterranean diet has huge benefits, and can help in almost every aspect of your life. If you’ve been looking for an easy way to improve your health, it can be as easy as choosing a new place for dinner. You never know until you try.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jun/30/mediterranean-diet-with-oily-fish-could-help-reduce-migraine-frequency
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801
June is “Brain Awareness month” a movement meant to draw attention to brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. During this month, people are asked to wear the color purple to show their awareness of brain health, and to get screened for brain diseases if they’re over the age of 60 or think they have symptoms of a brain disorder.
Diseases that cause a mental decline are serious, and many of them have no cure. There are ways to reduce your risk of developing a disease such as Alzheimer’s, or slow its progression. As you can probably guess, a Mediterranean diet is one of those things.
A 2018 study looked at beta-amyloid deposits, a protein that collects in the brain of Alzheimer patients, and brain activity. In those who followed a Mediterranean diet, the protein deposits were much lower, and they also had more brain activity.
This study backed by the NIH (National Institute on Aging) found that eating a Mediterranean diet could delay onset of Alzheimer’s by as much as three and a half years. While it doesn’t outright prevent the disease, it means many more years without cognitive decline for those prone to brain diseases.
Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases that cause the broader term, dementia, are no joke. It can be devastating to watch a loved one slowly lose their cognitive abilities to a disease. Thankfully, this research really brings us hope because we know more about why these diseases are happening, and more importantly, it gives us a concrete thing we can do about it.
Dr. Lisa Mosconi from Weill Cornell Medicine, who lead the project, had this to say about the research. “We’re seeing these changes only in parts of the brain specifically affected by Alzheimer’s, and in relatively young adults. It all points to the way we eat putting us at risk for Alzheimer’s down the line. If your diet isn’t balanced, you really need to make an effort to fix it, if not for your body, then for your brain.”
What we eat has a profound effect on our brains. The saying goes, “You are what you eat.” Western diets have proven again and again to have unhealthy ramifications throughout our bodies, again and again.
We all know what it means to eat healthy. Fruits and vegetables should be eaten more often than meat. Healthy grains and fermented foods should have their place at the table. It can be overwhelming however, to try and put together a diet by yourself.
Fortunately, stopping by a Mediterranean restaurant can take some of the work out of making changes. The food is already cooked to perfection, and every single item on the menu is a healthy choice.
This June, for brain awareness month, making a change in how you eat is a great tribute. Mediterranean food tastes great, and is more a way of life than a real diet. It’s good for your heart, your weight, and best of all, your brain as well.