Pasta is part of a healthy Mediterranean Diet says study!!

Hey pasta lovers, a new study finds that noodles may not be so bad for your waistline after all.

The study, from researchers at IRCCS Neuromed Institute in Pozzilli, Italy, explored the potential health benefits of eating pasta. Though the Mediterranean diet has been much touted for its health benefits, with many in the region consuming high levels of fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, olive oil and similarly healthful foods, pasta — another major food in the Mediterranean — has often been overlooked or associated with weight gain.

When researchers looked at the data of more than 23,000 Italians, they found that moderate pasta consumption was associated with less abdominal obesity, a healthy body mass index and a lower waist circumference. Researchers didn't specify how much pasta constituted a "moderate level," though they did conclude that the Mediterranean diet in moderation, pasta included, is good for health.

North Jersey Health News

The Mediterranean Diet is not only Healthy but also better for the Environment.

The Mediterranean diet has been lauded as one of the healthiest diets in the world because of its high consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits and olive oil, and low intake of animal protein.
A recent study has revealed that the diet predominant in Mediterranean countries creates a much smaller carbon footprint than the standard diets of countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.

The study conducted by a team of five Spanish researchers from the University Hospital Complex of Huelva, Jaume I University of Castellón and the University of Huelva, analyzed the contents of meals served at Juan Ramón Jiménez Hospital in Huelva, southwestern Spain. The menus of 448 lunches and 448 dinners, each totaling 2,000 calories, were analyzed over a period of four seasons.

The study concluded that diet has a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions, with a Mediterranean diet being associated with a lower environmental impact than diets dominated by meat.

In 2006, a United Nations report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concluded that the meat industry is one of the most significant contributors to environmental problems and that meat production is responsible for 18 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, more than transportation.




Olive Oil Times 

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Hot Flashes

Healthy eating can positively impact our lives in many ways such as weight loss, increased energy or better blood pressure. A recent study published this May in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that a diet that includes fruits and Mediterranean-style foods can decrease the risk of night sweats and hot flashes in women going through menopause. The Australian-based research looked at 6 types of diets and how they impacted the menopausal symptoms of over 6,000 women, concluding that fruits and Mediterranean food decreased symptoms. Further conclusions of the study state that a diet high in fat and sugar actually increase the risk of women developing vasomotor menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.

Professors of the Harvard School for Public Health recommend the Mediterranean nutritional approach for both men and women due to the benefits of reducing risk of heart attack and stroke. This diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, whole grains, and healthy fats from olive oil and nuts. You certainly don't need to be from the Mediterranean to "Feel Better and Live Longer!" Follow these nutrition tips to experience the benefits of the Mediterranean diet in your own home town.

• Consume four or more servings of both fruits and vegetables a day.

• Eat one or more servings of beans or nuts per day.

• Enjoy fish at least 2 times a week.

• Make all of your grains whole grains.

• Limit yourself to 1 glass of wine, beer or alcohol a day.

Nourish your way to better health, and enjoy the health benefits!





Jody Anderson, RN, CHC
Succeed Health, LLC- Algoma
http://www.succeedhealth.com

Mediterranean diet has long term positive effects

Even if people have regained some weight several years after going on a healthful Mediterranean or low-carbohydrate diet, they can enjoy lasting beneficial effects, according to a follow-up study at Dimona’s Nuclear Research Center and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba.

The study, published last week as a peer-reviewed letter in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, updates the landmark diet study carried out on 322 moderately obese personnel in the workplace over a period of two years, and followed up four years after the end of the intervention. The original study was called DIRECT, for Dietary Intervention Randomized Controlled Trial.

Dr. Dan Schwarzfuchs of the Dimona center, where employees were put on diets and the results observed, said: “Our follow- up subsequent data shows lasting, positive effects of Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets six years later.”

BGU researchers Dr. Iris Shai and Rachel Golan added: “Data from trials comparing the effectiveness of weight-loss diets are frequently limited to the intervention period. The results after four years suggests that the lipid profile (lower cholesterol, triglycerides and arteriosclerosis) improved over the long term, regardless of partial regain.”

The Mediterranean diet of low meat intake and high consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, pulses and olive oil, as well as the low-carb diet, had a beneficial effect even though the participants regained some weight. But people on a low-fat diet did not have the same consistent and beneficial results.

Four years after the trial was concluded, participants had regained an average of almost 2.7 kg. Since the beginning of the trial, participants who followed the Mediterranean diet lost an average of 3.1 kg., while those on the low-carb diet lost 1.7 kg. Thus the Mediterranean diet was significantly more effective.

After four years post-intervention, more than two-thirds (67 percent) of the DIRECT participants had continued with their original assigned diet, 11% switched to another diet and 22% were not dieting at all.

The researchers also found that after six years, the highdensity lipoprotein (HDL or “good cholesterol”)/low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad cholesterol”) ratio remained significantly lower only in the low-carbohydrate diet. Triglyceride (another potential harmful blood fat) levels remained significantly lower in the Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets.

The researchers are now performing a new long-term dietary intervention trial that targets weight-loss mechanisms relating to other different dietary strategies, including novel techniques.

jpost

Mediterranean diet helps protect bones‎,says recent study

By DR. SWATI SHROFF, ABC News Medical Unit

Could olive oil be the new milk? A new study suggests that this might be the case — though not all health experts are convinced yet.

The study, which looked at 127 elderly Spanish men, found that those who ate a Mediterranean diet enriched with olive oil had higher levels of a protein called osteocalcin that plays a role in bone formation. The research was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

This could be an important finding since osteoporosis is the most common bone disease in the United States, affecting more than 10 million people. Osteoporosis mainly affects elderly women, but men can develop the disease too. In 2005, there were an estimated 2 million osteoporosis-related fractures, 29 percent them in men.

Earlier studies have found that there are lower rates of osteoporosis in the Mediterranean basin, compared to the rest of Europe, and that may have something to do with the Mediterranean diet. This diet consists of minimally processed fruits, vegetables, breads, beans, nuts and seeds. Olive oil is supposed to be the main source of fat, and there is usually limited dairy, egg, and red meat.

Past studies have suggested that the Mediterranean diet has the potential to lower cardiovascular risk, increase weight loss, lower cancer risk, improve diabetes, and reduce pain and swollen joints in rheumatoid arthritis. What if improved bone health could be added to this growing list?

“We have more evidence that what is good for health in one way, tends to be good for health overall,” says Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University Prevention Research Center. “The very same Mediterranean diet known to be good for cardiovascular health may also confer benefits on your bones.”

However, Dr. Beth Kitchin, a patient educator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Osteoporosis Clinic, cautions that osteocalcin is simply a marker of bone health — in other words, the new study doesn’t actually look at whether the Mediterranean diet increased bone density or lowered fracture risk.

“This is very interesting data but much, much more work needs to be done before you can say if this has a true clinical impact on bone health,” says Kitchin.

On this point, Katz agrees. “This is not a study of bone density, or clinical effects; it is a short-term study of biomarkers. Interesting, but [it is] more useful for hypothesis generation than anything else.”

Nutritionists were also quick to point out that this study shouldn’t undermine the importance of calcium and vitamin D in bone health.

“It doesn’t replace calcium and vitamin D in the diet, however,” says Keith-Thomas Ayoob, a dietician and professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “But including all three, and regular exercise, are showing promise as the best way to ensure good bone health.

“I was brought up on a high-olive oil [Mediterranean] diet. It’s how we ate. But not much milk or calcium-containing foods, and my elders paid a price for it.”

ABC News Medical Unit

Mediterranean diet 'aids fertility'

Men who eat a diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fish could boost their chances of becoming a father, according to a new study.

A Mediterranean-style diet, which also contains leafy vegetables, pulses and whole grains, can enhance sperm motility by 11%.

This could be especially important for couples who are trying to conceive naturally due the need for sperm to be "strong swimmers".

The research comes as a separate study found that men who take moderate exercise can also positively impact their sperm motility. Both studies were presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) conference in Orlando.

In the first, experts from universities including the Harvard School of Public Health, examined the diets of more than 180 men aged 18 to 22. They split those who ate any Mediterranean-type items into four sub-sets, from those with the highest intake of these nutrient-rich foods to those with the lowest. Those in the highest group had an increased sperm motility of 11% compared to the lowest.

Audrey Gaskins, from Harvard's Department of Nutrition, said: "I think motility is most important for couples who are trying to conceive naturally. It's our hope that a small increase could lead to a small increase in fertility rates."

Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer from the academic unit of reproductive and developmental medicine at the University of Sheffield, said the influence of a man's diet on semen quality had been of interest for some time. He said the latest study "nicely illustrates that a good diet is of benefit when trying to conceive".

In the second study, from experts at Yamaguchi University in Japan, 215 men attending an IVF clinic completed a questionnaire about their exercise habits and gave semen samples.

The group reporting moderate exercise had the highest average sperm motility as well as a significantly lower percentage of men with less than 40% sperm motility (14.3%). In the lowest exercise group, 30.8% of men had sperm motility under 40% and 27.1% of men who exercised intensely had sperm motility under 40%.

Dr Dolores Lamb, president-elect of the ASRM, said: "Exercise is a component of an overall healthy lifestyle, which contributes to reproductive health. This study which uses frequency, intensity, and duration to quantify the amount of exercise a subject gets, shows that a moderate exercise routine may be recommended to modestly improve semen parameters in men with no known conditions that impair their reproductive capacity."

UkPress