Can North Dakota Compete With The Mediterranean Diet?
1 Comment Published July 17th, 2008 in Wellness.New research released earlier today indicated that the Mediterranean Diet may be better than a low-fat diet.
The research covered a low-carb diet, a low-fat diet, and the Mediterranean diet which includes lots of fruits, vegetables and healthy fats. The people on the Mediterranean diet lost more weight and had the most success improving blood sugar levels.
It reminded me of the Burleigh Diet Daily Plate, a concept developed by Wanda Agnew, a dietician with Burleigh County Health in Bismarck. The plate gives a visual example of the proportions and kinds of food that are the healthiest. Because of the variety of foods listed and the healthy tips, it seemed similar to what I know about the Mediterranean diet–although it didn’t emphasize healthy fats.
It makes me curious. Could North Dakota’s Burleigh Diet Daily Plate work as well as the Mediterranean diet?
While it most likely won’t work as well as the Mediterranean diet, the Burleigh Diet Daily Plate will work a LOT better than the standard American diet.
The biggest difference as you pointed out is probably the amount of healthy oils found in the Mediterranean diet, both from olive oil and fish oils. If you use high oleic oils, such as canola or high-oleic sunflower oil, you’ll do better.
One of the more important parts of the Burleigh Diet Daily Plate is the cut and amount of meat – 3 oz of meat per meal is not very much when a “standard” hamburger starts at 4 oz. And the leaner the meat, the healthier the diet. You’d be better off with bison, deer or elk than beef.