Melissa Brown
Published: February 8, 2006
Cabbage Soup Diet. Jenny Craig. Raw. Atkins. The Zone. Medifast. The Biggest Loser. South Beach Diet.
With the list of diet styles increasing daily, it can be a painstaking process finding the one that works best for you.
Eating the Mediterranean way, however, isn’t a fad that comes and goes. It’s a way of living that withstands the test of time and is now drawing national attention.
By centering meals around fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, using olive oil almost exclusively, and eating few animal products, the peoples of the Mediterranean have flourished for thousands of years, living longer and healthier lives than the average American.
The countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea benefit from the mild climate, enjoying hot, dry summers and mild winters. Seasonal vegetables abound, functioning as nourishing morsels of color in everyday dishes. The freshest organic fruits are offered for dessert, an important distinction from a traditional American sugary, calorie-filled treat.
Marwan Taha, co-owner of Pita Grill on Nine Mile Road, missed the traditional foods from his native Kuwait so he opened his own Greek and Lebanese style restaurant in the old Schlotzsky’s building, and business is booming.
“Customers eat here every day for their health,” he said, chuckling with his business partner who wishes to remain nameless. “We see that BellSouth guy almost everyday.”
Taha remembers the change in his own diet after opening Pita Grill: “When I first opened the restaurant, I lost 14 pounds the first couple of weeks. I was only eating here and not eating that fried fast food.”
Contrasting most American food, the traditional diet of Mediterranean cultures employs sparse amounts of meat and dairy, utilizing the flavor in special dishes. Legumes, nuts, and seeds provide the main source of protein in this heart-healthy way of eating.
“A fancy restaurant back home may serve 10 dishes before one that includes meat, and only a little bit.” comments Taha’s colleague, his green eyes shining with reminiscence of “back home.” He brings out a sample of shawarma (shaved roast lamb) with tahini (olive oil, ground chickpeas, and a dash of lemon juice) to dip in, adding it to the expanse of delicacies spread on the table: couscous with stewed fresh vegetables, baba ganouge, hummus, falafel, spanokopeda, taboule.
“It’s exactly like back home,” he asserts. “Nothing changes. Low in sodium and hardly any carbohydrates.”
When asked about Mediterranean cuisine, PJC graphic design technologies major Adrian Coates, 24, responded: “The textures, the flavors, the aromas – they all speak of a point of origin-not a landmass, but a way of living. The Mediterranean is not a landmass, it’s a region and all the foods of that region have similar origins.”
That origin is the olive.
The foundation in most Mediterranean recipes is oil pressed from locally grown olives. About 80 percent monounsaturated fat – the good kind – “olive oil contains antioxidants that discourage artery clogging and chronic diseases, including cancer,” as reported in a Jan. 17 article located at www.mediterraneandiet.gr/health. The commentary further describes the many benefits of this vitamin packed substance, even calling it “a panacea, the perfect oil for all ages.”
In a recent newsletter available at http://lpi.oregonstate. edu/f-w/mediterr.html, scientist Francesco Visioli, Ph.D., mentions a 1990s clinical research trial conducted in Lyon, France: “The Lyon Heart Study is important because it provides the first clinical proof of a protective effect of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular disease.A diet resembling the [Mediterranean] diet, i.e. rich in plants.afforded better protection from the recurrence of myocardial infarction than the Step I American Heart Association prudent diet.”
In other words, eating the Mediterranean way may even be healthier than the American Heart way. The AMA embraces the Mediterranean diet, as noted on its Website, www.americanheart.org: “Mediterranean-style diets are often close to our dietary guidelines.the incidence of heart disease in Mediterranean countries is lower than in the United States.”
These local merchants feature Mediterranean food:
* Pita Grill, 204 E Nine Mile Rd, 474-1627, 474-1628 to fax orders;
* Mediterranean Plus Restaurant, 2900 E Cervantes, 469-9225;
* Founaris Bros, 6911 Pensacola Blvd, 969-9099;
* Simply Delicious,1217 N 9th Ave, 439-2800;
* Caf‚ 22, 22 N Palafox St, 432-8221;
* Four Winds International Food Market, corner of Creighton and 9th, 477-2808;
* Ever’Man Natural Foods Co-Op, 315 W Garden St, 438-0402;
* Aegean Breeze, 913 Gulf Breeze Pkwy, 916-0430