- A Mediterranean-style diet with added plant foods may help you burn fat faster, new research suggests.
- A nutrient-dense meal plan may help reduce the types of fats associated with a higher risk of disease.
- Dieters avoid meat and processed foods and prefer olive oil, tea, nuts and leafy greens.
A Mediterranean diet with extra nutrients may help reduce a dangerous type of body fat linked to cancer and heart disease, new research suggests.
Known as the “green” Mediterranean diet, the meal plan is based on the cuisine of the regions where people live the longest and healthiest lives, and adding foods such as green tea and protein-rich plants, studies show that even may become healthy. September 30, at BMC Medicine.
A team led by researchers at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, Israel, looked at data from 294 adults to compare the health benefits of two types of Mediterranean diets to the general population, eating less fat and salt and eating more vegetables. It was compared with general healthy eating recommendations.
Researchers wanted to see if the diet helped reduce visceral fat.
Regular Mediterranean diet participants ate less red meat, processed foods and refined carbohydrates (such as white bread and sweets) and more healthy fats such as olive oil. The group lost an average of 7% of visceral fat by the end of the 18-month study, compared with a 4.5% fat loss in the moderate diet group.
However, the modified green Mediterranean diet was twice as effective, helping me lose 14% of my visceral fat. In addition to cutting back on red meat and processed foods, these dieters drank four cups of green tea a day and green shakes made with a high-protein, vitamin-rich plant called duckweed. The diet also led to slightly more weight loss overall.
The results are a “dramatic achievement of easily changing diet and lifestyle,” lead researcher Hira Zelicha, a postdoctoral fellow at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, said in a press release.
By helping reduce visceral fat, a green Mediterranean diet can improve heart health and blood sugar control and prevent chronic disease, according to the study authors.
Foods such as green tea, nuts, and leafy greens are rich in beneficial nutrients called polyphenols.
Researchers have theorized that the benefit of the green Mediterranean diet is that it is rich in plant-derived nutrients, polyphenols, which are associated with protective effects against chronic diseases.
The traditional Mediterranean diet is already high in foods such as olive oil and leafy greens that contain polyphenols.
Mediterranean diets in both recent studies also included a handful of walnuts per day. Rich in 3 fatty acids, it is considered one of the healthiest foods.
A green Mediterranean diet contains even more polyphenols and other antioxidants in the form of green tea, which can reduce cholesterol and inflammation and promote brain and heart health. , the green shakes included in the diet also added protein and a specific type of B vitamin called folic acid.
The results of the study, according to Iris Shai, senior author of the study and professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the university, suggest how important what people eat in their diets is. Research continues to reveal which specific foods are uniquely helpful in burning fat and protecting against disease, Shai said in a press release.
“A healthy lifestyle is a strong foundation for any weight loss program. Experimental results show that diet quality is just as important as calories burned,” she said.
