The last post Mediterranean Diet Plus Nuts! described research that indicated that eating a Mediterranean diet results in health improvements and a lower risk of heart disease, even without any weight loss. This post is about the book, “The Omega Diet”, which describes a Mediterranean Diet.

First a little history.

Studies of rates of cardiovascular disease in different countries found that those with the traditional Mediterranean diet had the lowest rates. Since much of this research was done in the low fat era, this was quite a surprise, since the traditional diet is not low fat.

The most quoted fact is probably the long life expectancy of the people of Crete. Cretan men low rates of heart disease. Further research on the Mediterranean diet have shown that is also a much lower risk of diabetes and slow increases in blood pressure (hypertension).

Recent research suggests that Mediterranean style diets are effective for weight loss.

A book that has information about foods, diet plans, menus and recipes is The Omega Diet. The book is subtitled “The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete”. The main author is Artemis Simopoulos, an MD, who grew up in Greece and is involved in nutritional research.

The book is easy to read, with thorough explanations and several diet plans (weight loss and maintenance). The plans and recipes used regular food. It is more a change of ratio of foods that are eaten. (The only foods which you may not be so familiar with, that you should eat more of, are greens and flaxseed meal. For greens try chard first, it has the mildest flavor and is totally yummy. You can buy flaxseed meal in most supermarkets. I throw a tablespoon onto all kinds of things.)

The Omega Diet emphasizes omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated oils (mainly olive and canola) vegetables and fruits, moderate amounts of dairy products, fish and poultry, low amounts of red meat, desserts and baked goods.

Overall the book “The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete” provides a realistic, easy to follow approach to eating in a more healthy way. At the time of writing the book in $10.17 on Amazon – a bargain.

[tags]The Omega Diet, Mediterrranean diet, Crete[/tags]