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

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.

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