Recently it was discovered that people of the Eastern Mediterranean live longer than population of the industrialized Western countries and do not suffer from severe chronic diseases, despite the fact that people in West have a higher level of health services. One of the reasons is the difference in food that led scientists to explore the Mediterranean diet.
Although the diets of the population of Western Europe and the Mediterranean region include the same amount of fat, the Mediterranean diet contains healthy monounsaturated fats, unlike Western diet which is high in saturated fats, leading to clogging arteries.
Usual Western diet contains animal fats and preservatives but not enough fruits and vegetables. Thus, widespread "fast food", causing appetite, contain a lot of unhealthy saturated fats and excess salt. Scientific studies have shown that such food may trigger many chronic diseases. A healthy alternative is to replace the excess salt with herbs, as Mediterranean peoples do.
The Mediterranean diet is not just a list of harmful products. Rather, the Mediterranean diet contains nutrients needed for keeping health through diet every day in the long term. The transition from a Western to a Mediterranean diet menu is a choice of healthy life.
The Mediterranean diet has been tested and found to be containing all the nutrients needed for good health. Moreover, it also prevents excess ingredients associated with poor health. Studies have also shown that stick to the Mediterranean diet helps reduce the risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, the risk of early death and chronic diseases.