Following a Mediterranean Style Diet is an incredibly healthy way to eat. Studies from all over the world have indicated that you can expect to lose weight, lower your risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and increase your life expectancy. What’s more, it will also help improve your gut bacteria. The Fast 800 is based on the Mediterranean Style Diet which is helping many people to reverse their Type 2 diabetes.
Mediterranean Style Diet foods:
Olive oil is one of the healthiest fats that you can eat. It contains a range of polyphenols and antioxidants, which are good at damping down inflammation, including in the brain, the breast and the gut.
Oily fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel are a big part of the Mediterranean Style Diet. In the case of oily fish, one of the key ingredients is omega 3, which many of us don’t get enough of in our diet.
As well as being a core part of the Mediterranean way of eating, incorporating a range of coloured fruit and vegetables into your diet is also important for your biome. The pigments in these are made up of hundreds of different bioactive compounds or phytonutrients. These will give your gut bacteria something to chew on, as well as giving you lots of healthy nutrients.
Full fat dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt are all included in the Mediterranean Style Diet. There’s good evidence that yogurt, with live active cultures, can help improve antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, may lessen the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and help reduce constipation. Studies have also shown that cheese that contains live bacteria can be good for your biome.
Eggs have been rehabilitated as a healthy staple in the diet. They contain a wide range of vitamins, minerals and high quality proteins and can improve your cholesterol & lipid profile. And if eating eggs stops you eating sugary breakfast cereal or having that muffin in the middle of the morning, then that is mission accomplished.
Nuts are great to cook with and also make the perfect fast food, giving an energy boost as they contain healthy slow burn oils, along with lots of lovely fibre to keep your gut happy and are a good source of protein.
Red wine: Studies have shown that drinking red wine in moderation can reduce blood pressure, CRP (a measure of inflammation) and triglyceride levels (the amount of fat circulating in the blood). Red wine has also been shown to improve gut health by increasing the levels of healthy bacteria, including Bacteriodes and Bifido bacteria, types of bacteria associated with slimness and lowering cholesterol respectively.
In short:
The Mediterranean Style Diet involves replacing processed foods, where possible, with fresh whole foods and grains. It means eating relatively little of the starchy foods such as bread, pasta, white rice and potatoes as these tend to increase weight and raise blood sugars. Along with a high sugar diet, they also tend to have a negative effect on our gut bacteria, reducing the diversity of our microbiome (not a good thing for your gut). Swapping these foods for lentils and whole grain alternatives will help improve your blood sugar levels and boost your biome.
To find out more about how a low carb mediterranean style diet can help you lose weight and live longer visit thefast800.com – bringing together all the latest science in healthy eating.
