Guest Author: Valery Fortie is the national awareness coordinator for the preservation of the Italian healthy eating traditions board.
People from all around the world are developing more and more health issues, due to being overweight. There is a knowncorrelation between heart problems and obesity, but people do not heed the warnings. These illnesses being left untreated or unmanaged, is a leading cause of premature death all around the world.
Being overweight leads to a variety of diseases and illnesses that attribute to poor health. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, clogged arteries and diabetes are just some of the health issues an overweight person may face. These health problems can also lead to a stroke. Strokes can be deadly or lead to severe debilitation.
It is a known fact that lycopene, a compound found in tomatoes, can help lower cholesterol. Dr. Andrew Carson, a senior lecturer at Birmingham University, has asked for further research to investigate the compound.
People who have been following the Mediterranean diet are much healthier than the average person. The Mediterranean diet includes a lot of tomatoes. The hope is to use lycopene as a way to lower a person’s cholesterol. The current medications used to manage a person’s cholesterol are very expensive, and not always effective. Lycopene would be much
cheaper, and save millions of dollars in medical costs.
The Mediterranean diet can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. The diet is simple and easy to follow. It involves using herbs and spices to flavor food, instead of salt. A high salt diet can lead to high blood pressure. Using healthy fats like olive oil and canola oil to cook food. The Mediterranean diet calls for a very small amount of red meat.
Meats like fish and shellfish are used in place of red meats.
Raw fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice and nuts are a big part of the Mediterranean diet plan. These foods can help lower the bad cholesterol levels and reduce high blood pressure. A woman can cut her chances of having a stroke by as much as 40%, just by following the Mediterranean diet. The diet itself is full of tasty food, and does not restrict any particular foods. It is simply using healthier food to cook or flavor the food you would normally eat. The diet also allows for an occasional glass
of red wine with your meals.
About the Author
Valery Fortie is the National Awareness Coordinator of Mediterranean book.com. She is also the blogger behind its directory of news focused on healthy eating ways to prevent high blood pressure pain to live longer and better.
Mediterraneanbook.com is a non profit blog founded in 2004 to preserve the Italian Healthy Eating Traditions and inform consumers on duty in all healthy eating fields.
Regional cuisine is a great way to get a feel for the culture of the location to which you are traveling. And what’s the best part of the meal? Dessert. Check out this list of foreign desserts you shouldn’t skip while traveling:
Baklava (Turkey and nearby) – Made from phyllo dough that has been brushed with butter, this flaky dessert is also soaked with honey.
Alfajores (Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, other Latin American countries, via Spain) – Cookies reminiscent of shortbread or cake sandwiched with dulce de leche (milk caramel). Sometimes coated with meringue, white or dark chocolate, or covered with shredded coconut.
Semla (Sweden and similar in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Estonia) – A seasonal dessert available between Christmas and Easter, these bun-like pastries have their insides hollowed and filled with milk and almond paste and topped with whipped cream.
Sfogliatelle/Cannoli (Italy) – Sfogliatelle is a pastry shaped like a clam, stuffed with cream or ricotta filling that can be infused with orange or lemon flavor.
Taiyaki (Japan) – Kind of like a fish-shaped waffle, and filled with a sweet red bean paste.
Churros (Latin America, Spain) – Loops with a crunchy texture, topped with confectioners’ sugar and served with thick hot chocolate, in which you are to dunk the churros.
Sopaipillas/Picarones (Chile, Peru) – Fried dough that you dip in a solid brown sugar derived from sugar cane.
Galub Jamun (South East Asia) – Little balls of dough made of a flour and condensed milk mixture, that has been fried and dipped in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom, rosewater or saffron.
Koeksisters (South Africa via Cape Malay) – Fried and dunked in a cold simple syrup to avoid them getting mushy.
Tres Leches Cake (Mexico, other countries in Central and South America) – Condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream are the “tres leches” in this cake.
Suspiro Limeño (Peru) - Evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks and sugar make a pudding, which is then topped with meringue.
Sernik (Poland) – The Polish version of a cheesecake.
Tangyuan/ Yuanxiao (China, Taiwan) – Balls of dough made from rice flour and hot water, and filled with sesame paste, adzuki bean paste or other sweet fillings.
Brigadeiro (Brazil) – Balls of fudgey caramel, rolled in chocolate sprinkles.
Khao Niaw Ma Muang [mango and sticky rice] (Thailand) – Rice is cooked in coconut milk and served with fresh mango.
While it originated in Italy (probably), pizza has permeated diets across the globe – most notably the American diet. Americans have wholeheartedly accepted and appropriated the pizza. And while a traditional pizza still consists of a crust topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and oven-baked, there are so many variations on the theme it’s tough to keep track. New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Hawaii and California are just a few locations with regional-specific pizza styles. If you ever have trouble choosing which to try, it’s fortunate that GQ food writer Alan Richman outlined the top 25 pizzas across the States. Here’s the list:
- Great Lake (Chicago)
- Lucali (Brooklyn, NYC)
- Pizzeria Delfina (San Francisco)
- Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix)
- Bob & Timmy’s (Providence, R.I.)
- Sally’s Apizza (New Haven, Conn.)
- Tomato Pie (Los Angeles)
- Co. Company (Manhattan, NYC)
- Tacconelli’s (Philadelphia)
- Totonno’s (Brooklyn, NYC)
- Tarry Lodge (Port Chester, N.Y.)
- Frank Pepe (New Haven, Conn.)
- Luigi’s “the Original” (Harrison Township, Mich.)
- Gialina (San Francisco)
- Buddy’s (Detroit)
- Antica Pizzeria (Marina Del Ray, Calif.)
- A16 (San Francisco)
- Al Forno (Providence, R.I.)
- Galleria Umberto (Boston)
- Famous Joe’s (Manhattan, NYC)
- Tomatoes Apizza (Farmington Hills, Mich.)
- Osteria (Philadelphia)
- Santarpio’s (Boston)
- Niki’s (Detroit)
- Una Pizza Napoletana (Manhattan, NYC)
In an effort to ensure Italians eat Italian food, the town of Lucca has banned “foreign” food from being sold within its historic city walls. “Foreign” food refers to such dishes as kebabs, sushi or Chinese food. French food is allowed, and therefore it is unclear what is meant by ethnic food. Read more…
Italy is currently the world’s biggest consumer of wine… But not for long. By 2012, the United States will overtake Italy. And China and Russia will soon overtake Spain, which is a country whose history is associated with this alcohol. Read more…
Now here is information I have always wanted. Here is a list of the best locations in the world for chocolate and the names of their finest chocolate makers:
Zürich, Switzerland - Why? Sprüngli, Lindt and Teuscher
Hershey, Penn. - Why? Hershey’s
London, England - Why? Cadbury’s and Green & Black’s Organic Chocolate
Pacific Northwest - Why? Theo Chocolate, Daniel Le Chocolat Belge and Chocolate Arts
San Francisco Bay Area - Why? Scharffen Berger and Ghirardelli
Arno River Valley, Italy - Why? Amedei, Mannori, Catinari and Vestri
Belgium - Why? Pierre Marcolini
Burlington, Vt. - Why? Lake Champlain Chocolates
Valrhona, France - Why? Valrhona’s Ecole du Grand Chocolat
Villajoyosa and Alicante, Spain - Why? Chocolates Valor
PLAY
