Jan 8, 2020
Title: “Myths of the Mediterranean Diet”
Guest: Steven Masley
Dr. Steven Masley has helped thousands of patients improve cognitive function and reverse type II diabetes and heart disease in his years as a practicing physician and with his bestselling books, including The Better Brain Solution, The 30-Day Heart Tune-Up, Ten Years Younger and Smart Fat.
Main Segment
MYTH #1. YOU CAN EAT ALL THE HEALTHY FOOD YOU WANT
There’s no need to put a hard limit on daily servings of vegetables (you won’t overdo it because you’ll naturally fill up on fiber), but it is possible, for instance, to overeat walnuts or almond butter, or use too much olive oil, particularly if you’re dipping pieces of bread into it.
MYTH #2. EATING MEDITERRANEAN MEANS EATING PASTA, BREAD AND PIZZA
You can easily overdo the portion size, even with whole grains. When you see grains and cereals on the Mediterranean diet, this doesn’t mean a giant platter of pasta, unlimited bread (even if it’s organic and whole grain), or bowls of rice (even if it’s brown rice). It’s important to control your portions of grains and cereals, and as you’ll see, of all the foods listed in the Mediterranean diet, whole grains provide the least benefit.
MYTH #3. EATING SEAFOOD ON OCCASION WILL BENEFIT YOUR HEART
Eating fish merely a few times a month won’t yield the disease-fighting benefits of the Mediterranean diet, particularly for the heart and brain. Aim for seafood at least twice a week—preferably three to five times per week.
MYTH #4. ALL CHEESES (AND YOGURTS) ARE CREATED EQUAL
Treating pasteurized cheese as a go-to food—compared, for example, with raw, probiotic-rich and vitamin K2-loaded camembert—is a mistake. The same goes for yogurt. Many of my patients are shocked when I explain that fruit-flavored yogurt has more sugar than ice cream. As with so many components of the Mediterranean diet, when choosing your foods, simple is best.
MYTH #5. YOU CAN SKIP THE BEANS
Don’t miss out on this fiber-packed superfood that is one of the best foods for controlling blood sugar, and it’s the #1 all-time top food for blocking disease-causing oxidation. In Mediterranean cuisine, beans can become the healthy foundation for countless meals.
MYTH #6. TAKE SHORTCUTS WITH PROCESSED FOODS
Refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats such as trans fats, and risky preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and other chemical additives that can damage your health are impossible to avoid if you eat processed foods—and some people do so because they’re rushed at mealtime. But buying the additive-packed “instant” version or choosing fast food as a shortcut is a bad bet in the long run.
MYTH #7. YOU CAN DRINK WINE LIKE WATER
Red wine only provides health benefits if it is consumed in moderation. Enjoy a glass or two with dinner, but quench your thirst with water.
MYTH #8. YOU CAN USE EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL FOR ALL YOUR COOKING NEEDS
Don’t use extra-virgin olive oil for high-heat cooking, or even medium-high heat. Once it reaches 400ºF—its smoke point, the maximum temperature it can reach before it breaks down and becomes a damaged fat—extra-virgin olive oil starts losing nutritional value, not to mention its complex and delicate flavors. Save flavorful extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling over foods and making dressings, and use virgin olive oil and a handful of others (such as avocado and/or almond oil) for medium-high cooking.
MYTH #9. ITALIAN FOOD PROVIDES ALL THE BENEFITS OF A MEDITERRANEAN DIET
Don’t limit yourself to the “safe” and familiar flavors of Mediterranean cuisine from Western Europe. Remember the influences from North Africa, Turkey, Israel, and other Middle Eastern regions, where you’ll find spices such as inflammation-fighting turmeric and gut-healthy fermented foods like kefir (which originated in Russia). If you remain open to new flavors and ingredients with proven health benefits, you’re not only broadening your palate and enjoying new foods, you’re increasing your chances of preventing chronic disease and living a longer, happier life.
“Executive Medicine Moment”
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“Pressing Health”- Health news that’s fresh off the press
Want to tame the flu bug? New research shows that the Ketogenic diet may be just what you need. According to a new study out of Yale University, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet may be just what the doctor ordered. The research showed that mice fed a ketogenic diet who were already infected with the influenza virus had a higher survival rate than mice on a high-carb normal diet. The ketogenic diet triggered the release of gamma delta T cells, immune system cells that produce mucus in the cell linings of the lung -- while the high-carbohydrate diet did not trigger the same response.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191115190327.htm
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