The great pyramid?Here's the "Traditional Healthy Mediterranean Diet Pyramid The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid is a nutrition guide that was developed by Oldways, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the World Health Organization in 1993. It refers to the traditional Mediterranean Diet pattern of eating, suggesting the types and frequency of foods that " put out by the Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, the Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard School of Public Health is (colloquially, HSPH) is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, next to Harvard Medical School and Cambridge, Massachusetts, , and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. We've added our comments. A Few Times per Month (or somewhat more often in very small amounts) Red Meat Sounds good to us. It's rather bold to sharply limit even lean red meat. But frequent red-meat-eaters have higher rates of colon and prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. . A Few Times per Week Sweets Eggs Poultry Cutting back wouldn't hurt. Much of the chicken and turkey we eat--the things, the wings, and the skin, fried or not--boosts our saturated fat saturated fat, any solid fat that is an ester of glycerol and a saturated fatty acid. The molecules of a saturated fat have only single bonds between carbon atoms; if double bonds are present in the fatty acid portion of the molecule, the fat is said to be and cholesterol. Fish Cheese and Yogurt If it's not low-fat, the pyramid allows just one cup of yogurt and a quarter-to a half-ounce of cheese a day. We're talking a tablespoon of parmesan here and there, not pizza-as-we-know-it. Olive Oil Why not canola? It's also mostly monounsaturated monounsaturated /mono·un·sat·u·rat·ed/ (mon?o-un-sach´er-at?ed) of a chemical compound, containing one double or triple bond. mon·o·un·sat·u·rat·ed adj. . The pyramid pushes olive oil because the healthy 1960s Cretans were using it--the extra virgin kind, which may contain anti-cancer phyto-chemicals. Canola oil may be just as good. variable Variable? Most people assume that the pyramid recommends a 1960s Cretan diet that gets 40 percent of its calories from fat. That's what makes it so controversial. But the pyramid notes that the healthy southern Italians of the 1960s got only 30 percent of their calories from fat, and it cautions that more than 35 percent is "compatible with excellent health...for an active person with no weight problem." Couch potatoes, are you paying attention? Fruits Beans, Other Legumes Legumes A family of plants that bear edible seeds in pods, including beans and peas. Mentioned in: Cholesterol, High legumes (l , and Nuts Vegetables Wine in Moderation (optional) Any alcohol, not just wine, raises HDL (Hardware Description Language) A language used to describe the functions of an electronic circuit for documentation, simulation or logic synthesis (or all three). Although many proprietary HDLs have been developed, Verilog and VHDL are the major standards. ("good") cholesterol. It also increases the risk of breast cancer. While one drink a day (for women) or two drinks (for men) may be beneficial for some adults, don't start drinking or increase the amount you drink. There are safer ways to lower your risk of heart disease. Daily Regular Physical Activity Don't forget that it would take a brisk 20-minute walk to burn off the 120 calories in each tablespoon of olive oil. Breads, Pasta, Rice, Couscous cous·cous n. 1. A pasta of North African origin made of crushed and steamed semolina. 2. A North African dish consisting of pasta steamed with a meat and vegetable stew. , Polenta po·len·ta n. A thick mush made of cornmeal boiled in water or stock. [Italian, from Latin, crushed grain, barley meal.] Noun 1. , Bulgur bul·gur also bul·ghur n. Cracked wheat grains, often used in Middle Eastern dishes. Also called bulgur wheat. [Ottoman Turkish bul , Other Grains, and Potatoes Make them whole-grain, whenever possible. The pyramid doesn't mention salt. But if you follow its advice to eat unprocessed foods, you needn't worry about salt. It's the frozen dinners and pizzas, processed meats and cheeses, and canned soups and Rice-A-Roni that'll get you. Copyright [C] 1994 Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust What is the Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust? It raises money to hold conferences where scientists can hammer out advice to the public. But many people don't realize that the main booster of the Mediterranean Diet is funded in part by the olive oil, wine, produce, and nut industries--all of whose products are plugged by Oldways. One of Oldways' founders, K. Dun Gifford, once served as chairman of the board of the American Institute of Wine & Food. Another, Greg Drescher, managed the Greek Food and Wine Institute. Since 1991, the non-profit, Boston-based group has held conferences in Greece, Hawaii, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey. Journalists, authors, chefs, food brokers, restaurant owners, winemakers, and scientists are wined and dined on elegant dishes that reflect the traditional cuisines that Oldways is trying to preserve. Oldways' next project: an Asian Diet Pyramid. Wanna bet that the olive oil and wine industries won't be funding that one? |
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