Celebrities personal trainer in NYC love The Mediterranean Diet

21 June 2003
Begin eating European style - The Mediterranean Diet! Celebrities love it!

You Are What You Eat! I have achieved great results with this diet with some of my Celebrity Clients. Although have to say that I did a carb rotation a lot with this diet and customization for weight training. I am an European guy, born and raised in Mediterranean Europe. Our diet is different from the diet in the USA and north Europe. In many European countries, there are only few people overweight. Europeans have access to many variety of healthful foods. In the Mediterranean, we eat an abundance of fruits, vegetables, fresh fish, lean meats, and olive oil. Studies have shown this diet can result in a long, healthy life. Read about this Study on CNN 'Mediterranean diet' cuts health risks

I will give you some tips how to eat healthy - Mediterranean Way:

- Take some time for breakfast. Do not eat breakfast while you are running to get to your job. Relax and enjoy 30 min breakfast. You deserve it. Eat cereal, fruit salad and yogurt for breakfast. Stay away from fast food and foods high in fat (example for bad breakfast bagels with cream cheese). Perfect breakfast would be: mix fruits (strawberries, apples, banana etc.....) with yogurt or kefir and blend it with a blender. Drink it like a shake. Please, please, people stay away from breakfast bars and protein bars that you can buy in every shop. Those bars are processed foods in other words the biggest BS that you can get for breakfast. Do you want processed foods already for the breakfast? Read ingredients on that bar and you will be amazed what you will find inside that bar.

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- Lunch should be your biggest meal of the day, not a dinner! Americans make a big mistake and have a big dinner when they come home (usually around 7 PM). No my friend, your metabolism is slow at 7pm. Your dinner should be very light in calories and low in carbs. Perfect dinner would be grilled chicken salad with italian dressing and 1 glass of red wine. Researchers are homing in on how a glass of red wine can offer more than just holiday cheer, but also protection against heart disease, according to a study out today. Scientists had always wondered why the French have had a relatively low rate of heart disease, despite a diet that often includes rich foods laden with artery-clogging fat. Other studies have shown that drinking red wine may boost the blood levels of HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol. Try italian red wines, not French :) They are best out there. I will confirm that :)

- Do not to eat dinner after 7 PM. If you get hungry until you go to the bed, snack on fruits and nuts.

- Avoid fast food restaurants. We, Europeans celebrate summer. Dear God gave us many fruits and vegetables. Take advantage of it. Summer is here and enjoy many fruits and vegetables we have now in summer. Avoid vegetables from labs and glass houses! Go to your local farmer market and buy fresh vegetables, organic. If you live in NYC, go to Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, where many italian americans are living. There you can find great shops with fresh organic vegetables imported from Europe. Stay away from potatoes, yams and starchy vegetables. Europeans eat starchy vegetables mainly in winter. Why should we eat it in summer again? We had starchy vegetables all winter long. Right? Boring!

- Grill your vegetables : Peppers, Mushrooms, Eggplant, Tomato, Onion, Zucchini, Cauliflower
- Eat tons of salad. Avoid heavy dressings. Use virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar as your dressing.

- Cook all foods with virgin olive oil. The health and therapeutic benefits of olive oil were first mentioned by Hippocrates, the father of medicine. Never fry food. NEVER! The traditional Mediterranean diet delivers as much as 40% of total daily calories from fat, yet the associated incidence of cardiovascular diseases is significantly decreased. As a monosaturated fatty acid, olive oil does not have the same cholesterol-raising effect of saturated fats. Olive oil is also a good source of antioxidants. Read more about olive oil benefits

- Grill your meats. Always buy organic meats. You do not want to buy beef injected with steroids! It is forbidden in Europe to inject animals with steroids. Unfortunately many farmers make a quick buck with it!
About half the beef in the U.S. have received a small implant at the base of the ear. This implant simulates the natural endocrine system allowing the animal to grow more muscle (protein) and less fat. The process only increases the estrogen content of steer beef from 1.3 nanograms to 1.9 nanograms. Compare this to a vegetable such as a potato that has 245 nanograms of estrogen per 3.5 oz. serving. This is insignificant when we consider a pregnant woman produces 20,000,000 nanograms of estrogen per day. An adult male produces 68,000 nanograms of estrogen daily.

- Eat fish. Mediterraneans love fish. Oh my God nothing better than grilled fish with a good italian wine. My favorite food is grilled Calamari. You have to try it! Follow my advice and try to have grilled fish at least 3X per week. Fish Oil will assist you with weight loss, depression, arthritis, fibromyalgia, heart disease and neurological problems including poor concentration and memory will benefit from increased blood flow and decreased inflammation.
- Do not snack sweets while you are watching TV. Instead snack on nuts, fruits and vegetables.
- Chew your food. Take your times while you eat. Nobody is going to kill you if you are late 5 min. - expect your boss :) Take some time for yourself. Chew really good your food.

- Avoid stress - Stress will slow your metabolism and will make you eat more! More stress=more stored fat on your body
- Drink yogurt and kefir daily. Researches suggest that the live bacterial cultures of yogurt may have contributed to the regions good health.
The benefits of consuming kefir regularly in the diet are numerous. Easily digested, it cleanses the intestines, provides beneficial bacteria and yeast, vitamins and minerals, and complete proteins. Because kefir is such a balanced and nourishing food, it contributes to a healthy immune system and has been used to help patients suffering from AIDS , chronic fatigue syndrome, herpes, and cancer. Its tranquilizing effect on the nervous system has benefited many who suffer from sleep disorders, depression, and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
The regular use of kefir can help relieve all intestinal disorders, promote bowel movement, reduce flatulence and create a healthier digestive system. In addition, its cleansing effect on the whole body helps to establish a balanced inner ecosystem for optimum health and longevity. Kefir can also help eliminate unhealthy food cravings by making the body more nourished and balanced. Its excellent nutritional content offers healing and health-maintenance benefits to people in every type of condition.
Read more about Kefir benefits

- Eat low or moderate amount of cheese daily

- The people of the Mediterranean incorporate physical activity into their everyday lifestyle - walking, swimming, soccer, basketball, exercising. Remember to exercise.

- Eat minimally processed foods

The Mediterranean diet is high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and olive oil. Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, which may, in part, explain why countries that consume olive oil have lower rates of disease. Olive oil (especially extra virgin olive oil) contains substances called polyphenols which may have beneficial effects on health as well.
In a recent study in France, heart attack patients given a Med-diet had 70% fewer recurrent heart attacks than those following a low fat, low cholesterol diet. This research has stimulated a great deal of interest in the benefits of olive oil in the diet, particulary for heart attack patients.

The Mediterranean diet, with its emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, crusty breads, whole grains, and reliance on olive oil is really a composite of the cuisines of several countries -- including Spain, southern France, Italy, Greece, Crete, and parts of the Middle East. Now you know why people in this part of world have a lower incidence of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer than we see in other parts of Europe and the Americas.
It's not just the olive oil my friend.

By Karen Collins, R.D. Special to MSNBC
Two new studies bring positive attention back to the Mediterranean Diet. One study tracked more than 2,300 healthy elderly men and women from eleven different European countries for ten years. Those people with eating habits that met at least half the criteria of a Mediterranean diet suffered at least 25 percent fewer deaths during that period.

In fact, people who ate a mostly Mediterranean diet, exercised moderately, drank little to moderate amounts of alcohol, and didn’t smoke had 65 percent fewer deaths than those who followed none or only one of these healthy habits. Avoidance of these healthy habits was strongly linked to death from cancer or heart disease. The other new study involved people with metabolic syndrome, a disorder linked with heart risk. The warning signs for this disorder are waistline obesity, low HDL (good) cholesterol, high blood triglycerides and insulin resistance. Half of the participants in this study were told to follow a Mediterranean-style diet and the other half a traditional low-fat diet. Both groups were asked to increase their exercise. In time, the Mediterranean group showed reduced markers for inflammation, which is linked to a risk of heart disease and cancer. Markers for blood vessel health also improved for this group. After two years, less than half of the group on the Mediterranean diet still had metabolic syndrome, while almost everyone on the traditional low-fat diet still had it. Studies back earlier findings
The associations seen in these two studies between a Mediterranean-style of eating with a lower risk of heart disease repeat the findings of past studies. A recent review of many studies on the Mediterranean diet found that the risk of heart disease can drop from 8 percent to 45 percent if people follow this diet. More surprisingly, a recent study found that those who met most of the criteria for a Mediterranean diet lowered their risk of heart attack by more than 80 percent compared to those who met only one or two criteria.

In addition to heart disease and cancer, the Mediterranean diet may help control weight as well. In the new study with people afflicted by metabolic syndrome, those on a Mediterranean diet lost more weight than those on a low-fat diet — a total difference of nine pounds in two years. In an earlier study, a group with a Mediterranean-style diet of moderate fat content lost the same amount of weight at first as another group on a low-fat diet, but the Mediterranean group kept the weight off better. In fact, only one-fifth of the low-fat group could stick to their diet.

Not all foods get a green light
Not all so-called Mediterranean foods should form a frequent part of a health-oriented Mediterranean diet, however. Many high-fat dishes and rich desserts, like lasagna and tiramisu, have become even less healthy in America. Originally, these dishes were special occasion treats. And although this diet does feature olive oil as the main source of fat, the large amounts traditionally used were appropriate for extremely active farming people. Olive oil can still be the primary source of fat for us, but it should be used in moderation to suit our lower calorie needs.

Furthermore, alcohol in a Mediterranean diet means one or two glasses of wine daily. For example, in the recent study of older Europeans, the healthy women averaged about three glasses per week.
To create a healthy Mediterranean-style diet for yourself, focus primarily on eating vegetables, fruits and whole grains with daily servings of dried beans, nuts, or seeds. If you eat red meat, consume only small amounts. Serve fish regularly. Olive oil should be your main source of fat, instead of butter or margarine. And instead of high-fat, high-sugar desserts and bakery products, choose fruits, except for special occasions.

Email me at nycjoe@hotmail.com