Eat Right, Live Right Mediterranean Way

8/7/2019 Eat Right, Live Right Mediterranean Way

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By Richard A. Saitta, M.D.Medical Doctor and Author o Eating Your Way to Health...Mediterranean Style

Eat Right, Live Rightthe Mediterranean WayA Quick Guide to kick starting your metabolism,

controlling your weight and living a healthy ulflling lie

www.medimeals.com 1-877-MediMeals


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Chy:All carbs are not equal. Cakes,cookies, candies, ice cream, sotdrinks, and syrups are calledrened carbohydrates. As soonas you eat them, they quicklyraise your blood sugar. An abuseo these types o carbohydrateswill lead to diabetes and other

complications; not to mentionbecoming overweight.

Pasta, bread, rice, potatoes andgrains are a dierent type ocarbohydrate. They belong to thestarch category. These should beconsumed in moderation.

Green leay vegetables, ruitsand legumes are called complex

carbohydrates. They are goodsources o bers, vitamins,antioxidants and minerals. Thesecomplex carbohydrates shouldmake up about 40 percent o yourdaily caloric intake. That meanseat to your hearts content!

P:All proteins are also not equal.Animal proteins, red meats, poultryand fsh are valuable or nutritionbut should be eaten in moderation.Lean red meat is a good source oprotein and is quickly absorbed bythe body as a source o iron. Agood lean steak is acceptable oncea month. Poultry and fsh are leanerand can be eaten more requently.

Another excellent source o proteinthat has taken a back seat is thelittle, but powerul bean. Beans arealso ull o ber, a hal cup servingo cooked dry beans providesabout 25 percent to 30 percento the Daily Value o dietary ber!Fiber is what helps keep yousatised and regular.

F:Its a misconception that atis bad. All ats are not equaleither! Greasy, saturated andhydrogenated ats are not healthyat all and should be avoided.However, one o thehealthiest sources oat is: olive oil.

www.medimeals.com 1-877-MediMeal


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MetabolisM 101You can ask your doctor to test your thyroid unction,your blood sugar, cholesterol level as well as studyyour genetic risk. To me the simplest and mostbasic way to nd out i your metabolism is o is

to squeeze the at in ront o your abdomen. Thethicker the at layer, the slower your metabolism.

The abdomen is the warehouse or the bodys at.The abdominal at, once thought to be a dormantmass is now believed to be a very active tissue.Your bellys at is part o a complex system whichincludes your stomach, intestines and liver which areall connected with your brain. All o these dierentorgans communicate with each other by producingchemical messengers on demand. Pending on themessage sent to the brain, your metabolism is either

stimulated or slowed down.

Your metabolism is a collective process whichprovides the necessary energy or good bodyunction. An easier way to understand energy andmetabolism is to draw a round pie and slice the pieinto several slices. Each slice represents a dierentsource o energy.

Your R.E.E. (1) Resting Energy Expenditure)is the energy that your body burns in order tounction while at rest. For example, it is theenergy used by the body to breathe and toblink your eyes. The larger your lean bodymass or the larger your muscle mass is, themore eciently your body burns calories.

Your P.A.E.E (2) Physical Activity Energy

Expenditure) is the energy which can havethe greatest infuence. The greater yourphysical activity, the more you develop goodmuscle mass, the more you burn calories.

Your T.E.E:3) Thermic eect o ood canbe markedly improved according to the typeo ood you eat. The longer it takes or youto chew ood and the longer it takes or yourdigestive system to digest the ood, the morecalories you burn.

R.E.E.: Resting Energy ExpenditureP.A.E.E.: Physical Activity ExpenditureE.T.: Energy ThermogenesisN.E.A.T.: Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis

T.E.E.: Thermic Eect o Food

E.T.

R.E.E.

N.E.A.T.

T.E.E.



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As you can see, there are steps youcan take to consciously control yourmetabolism and weight. Most o thetime, you become your own enemy byollowing diets and liestyles which areshort term miracles but are long termdisasters or your weight and health.

When you starve yoursel inorder to lose weight you areinadvertently paralyzing yourmetabolism. Ater eating poorlyor a certain period o time, youreach a plateau and your weight doesnot decrease any longer. Both yourat tissue and your muscle mass inparticular shrink, but the actual at lossis minimal as the weight loss is mainlydue to the loss o water; not due to attissue loss.

During this period o weight loss,your muscles disintegrate andbecome atrophic, and you thereoreburn ewer calories. While at aplateau, realizing your minimalimprovement, you lose your motivationand energy. When your energy islow, you voluntarily decrease yourphysical activity, thereore your

total energy expenditure decreasesmarkedly shutting o your metabolismas a refex deensive measure.Unortunately you will go back to yourold eating habits, regain more weight;most o the time it is in the orm o atand your muscle mass remains small.

The bottom line is that the at tissuepiles up in your abdomen, when thereis no more room in your abdominalatty cells. Then the piled at tissue

inltrates your liver and your musclesand your metabolism becomes veryinecient. Your body loses its abilityto burn at as a source o energy.

At this time during your battle o thebulge, you eel deeated and in orderto try and lose the extra weight youveput on, you decide to eat less again,skip meals and starve yoursel. This

o course leads you to consume oodsthat are void o any nutritional value.Once again youre spinning on theperpetual revolving yo-yo string!

Without you being conscious o it,your starving stomach manuacturesand sends out messages to receptors

all over the body. These receptors arepart o this very sophisticated systemwhich centralizes all inormation abouyour bodys energy storage as wellas its nutrients and antioxidant levels.These messengers are massivelymanuactured on demand. Theystimulate multiple organ receptorsincluding your liver, your intestinesand ultimately your brain.

The overstimulation o certain brainzone messengers will induce aconstant craving o palatable oods,particularly sweets. Your body isgoing to crave sweets more and moreoten. Sweets become a habitorming, gratiying and rewardingcondition or your brain and yourbody as well. Your promising diet, aswell as all o your resolutions turns youinto an unsatised, malnourished, untperson. In a short period o time, you

become even more overweight.

The diet that we at MediterraneanMeals promote will teach you toeat the right ood and take the rightsupplement at the right time. Oureating strategy will boost yourmetabolism. The right uelingprovided by the supplements will turnyour metabolism into the most ecientsystem. Even your at cells whichusually betray you will send avorablemessages to your brain throughspecial pathways. These messageswill make you eel ull and thereorewill make you unconsciously decreaseood intake. Your health will improve,your bad genes will be suppressed,and your atigue will turn into energy.Your desire to exercise and maintainan optimal health will be at its best.

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Disease or conditions inheritance,which is what you call genetic,is not the principle predisposingactor or the development ochronic conditions such as weightgain, hypertension, diabetes, heartdisease and stroke.

Even i your genes predispose youtoward easy weight gain, liestyleand good nutrition can modiy anddecrease your chance o gettingat. As a matter o act the olderyou get, the less infuence your

genes will have on your goodhealth. Environmental actors aremore infuential to your weightgain and health. Even i you havea strong possibility to easily gainweight, you may not gain weight.Eating the right ood through theMediterranean Diet, may redirectyour genes.

Contrary to the common belie

that genes are the only predictorso your weight and other healthproblems, there is a lot you cando to prevent what we call, theluck o the draw. Your genotypemap or your genes map is a Xeroxcopy o the type o diseases orconditions your body could developunder unavorable conditions.Your nutrition, the ood you eatand your liestyle have a majorimpact over the way your genescan be oriented. In other words,your weight is in your hands. For

example, you are the only one whocan make the right ood choices,helping you to prevent becomingan overweight, diabetic or cardiacpatient.

Genes do not specically code ora condition, but they may infuenceyour health status by weakeningor strengthening your bodysimmune system. Macro and micro

nutrients and antioxidants whichare part o the ood you eat havea specic infuence on your geneexpression. These ood constituentsbreak down into chemicals whichhelp to detoxiy the body romsubstances susceptible to turn ondisease processes in your body. Inthe specic case o weight control,these substances coming rom oodcomponents have a stimulating orsuppressing eect on your appetite.

When there is an imbalance

between stimulating andsuppressing messengers,unavorable conditions happen.Good oods lower diseasesignals sent to your genes throughbioactive components. Food hasthe intelligence to orchestratechemical reactions in the naturalway with more specicity andprecision than any drug can do!

tHe genetiC FaCtor



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The type o ood, as well as whenyou take a supplement will makeyou burn more calories and reduceyour caloric intake by curbing yourappetite.

We need our elements to remain

healthy: 1) water, 2) sunlight,3) good ood and 4) oxygen.Unortunately, the overuse or misuseo either one o the our elementswill lead to disease ormation. Wecould not live without oxygen, butthis precious element could also bethe source o our destruction.

The theory o the ree radical oroxidation is the most accepted

theory in the scientic world. Thistheory insinuates that we getoxidized in a simple word, werust. For example, observe an ironrod little by little, with the action owater, wind and sun exposure, thisiron rod will rust. I you have everlooked at a concrete pile reinorcedwith iron rods, you might eventuallysee some rusty spots on theconcrete surace. The rods havebeen oxidized and have rusted.

You can paint and repaint the rustyspots, but in time the rusty spots willreappear.

This is what happens to us. Ourarteries get plugged, our braingets damaged, our bones become

brittle and our lungs get darker dueto cigarette smoking or pollution.Every part or organ in our bodyis submitted to the damage o reeradicals.

Studies have shown that poornutrition and malnourishmentare refected by a decrease inblood levels o micronutrients andtrace elements as well as many

vitamins. Fat accumulation is alsogenerated by malnutrition whichalso generates infammation inthe body. Infammation seems tobe at the base o many diseases.One o the consequences omalnutrition, infammation andobesity is a disease namedmetabolic syndrome. Metabolicsyndrome is the generic nameo chronic conditions such asobesity, hypertension, diabetes

mellitus and hyperlipidemia. Allo these conditions are the resulto inactivity and poor nutrition.The increasing weight gain isdue to at accumulation in yourabdomen which then moves intoyour muscles. This is the birth oan illness.

While eating high at, high protein,high rened carbohydrate diets,you deprive yoursel rom essentialand healthy nutrients. Pizza doughand hamburger buns are notmade with whole grain four, butrather with processed white four.White four is bleached, strippedo all nutritional elements and

bers. Meat balls on the pizza orthe meat rom the hamburgers isusually rich in bad at. The at isdoubled by mayo or extra cheeseand reinorced by processedtomato sauce and corn syrup.Now you have a high renedcarbohydrate, high at, high proteindiet. Oversized portions as wellas your inactivity will lead to beingoverweight, i not obese.

bodY basiCs



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Usually, this type o ood is eatenover a short period o time whichoverloads your body with sugar,at and protein at once. Theserepetitive, unhealthy ood assaultswill eventually have severe healthconsequences on your body leading

to many debilitating diseases. Highblood pressure is not well toleratedby your arteries. The inner liningo your arteries, the side o theartery always exposed to the bloodis subject to intrusive remodelingand damages. The damages arethe initial stage o plaque ormationwhich eventually will block theblood fow and trigger a heartattack or stroke.

Your pancreas, the organresponsible or the production oinsulin, the hormone that helpsto regulate blood sugar, will beoverworked. Eventually, yourpancreas wont be able to providebased on the overhauling demandand will collapse. Your blood sugarremains elevated and here is yourdiabetes that Aunt Julia gave you

through her genes.High at and high cholesterol levelswill oxidize your L.D.L. (low densitylipoproteins) what we call the badcholesterol. Your liver which isalso overworked wont be able toclear up the excess at. OxidizedL.D.L. will penetrate the walls o thearteries through the initial injurytriggered by the ree radicals.

Rigidity or a loss o elasticity o theartery will ollow and here is yourhypertension that your mom gaveyou ater nine months o sueringand tender love.

As the process o poor nutritioncontinues and as your activitydecreases, the arterial wallscontinue to be lled up and the

plaque is ormed. The plaque isthe beginning o the end. Thisplaque will avor the ormation othe clot that will trigger your heartattack or your stroke; Happy 50thor 60th birthday. You have beendiagnosed with hypertension,

diabetes, or heart disease. Therich oversized diet is the sourceo other conditions such as coloncancer. High protein diets meandiets low in bers. A low ber dietwill decrease your colon acidityand deprive your healthy bacterialintestinal fora rom the necessarynutrients.

Osteoporosis has a lot to do

with high animal protein diets aswell as your high consumption ophosphorus rich soda drinks. Highrened carbohydrates will increaseyour calcium loss through the urine.Lack o activity will speed it up.

Once again its simple; ood shouldbe consumed in its most naturalway. Processed oods end upto be poor nutritional sources ovitamins, minerals, antioxidants,phyto-chemicals and bers. Traceelements play a major role as aco-actor with antioxidants in themetabolism and integrity o organunctionality. Fibers bind toxins andnourish the growth o good bacteriain the intestines. Fortunately, ourbody has a very sophisticatedantioxidant system to ght the

negative eects o nature.

With the help o a healthylie-style as well as excellentand appropriate nutrition,our body can minimize theeects o oxidation. Its up to

you to eat the right way..theMediterranean way!

i poor nutrtonnd lck o ctvty

contnues, the rterlwlls contnue to beflled up nd plques ormed, ths s the

begnnng o the end.



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Exercise or physical activity ingeneral should not be a choicebecause it is a necessity oryour well being. You are usingyour muscles rom all o yourdaily activities such as; working,cleaning, shopping, climbing stairs

or recreational exercises. I youwant to unction well physically,you have to eed your muscleswith the right oods and nutrients.Good ood, adequate beveragesand supplements have a majorbenecial eect on your healthand tness.

You can have your blood sugar,cholesterol, homocystine, cortisole,bone density or your genetic treetested, but none o these tests willreplace the accuracy or reliabilityo your health status, than being ata perect tness level.

In order to get t, you need toget involved in good physicalactivities as well as good nutrition.Remember when you went toexercise with your riend and youwere ull o aches the ollowing

day? These aches and pains werethe result o the accumulated toxinsin the muscles due to the actthat you were not physically t.Your muscles were malnourished,thereore unable to eliminatetoxins. Your muscles did not have

the right nutrition to manuacturethe glycogen necessary or theirgood unctioning. Deciency ingood sources o energy avorseasy atigue and will discourageyou rom getting involved inhealthy physical activity necessaryto control your weight.

Exercise and good nutrition areboth very important to maintainmental and physical tness and ahealthy weight. Physical tnessis the most reliable health actoror long term health. There isnot an ideal weight, but there isideal muscle mass. The more leanmuscle mass you have, the morecalories you will burn.

The better you eed your bodyand your muscles, the betteryour metabolism. When you

are physically active andexercise regularly, your bodywill manuacture a strong antioxidant. This anti oxidant willprotect your arteries. The antioxidant can repair the initial injuryo the arterial wall, the injury that

eventually will lead to the plaqueormation and prevent a heartattack or a stroke. As previouslymentioned, arteriosclerosis, thedisease that obstructs the arteriesis a dynamic condition. It can goboth ways good or bad.

Depending on what you are doingmeaning exercising or not, eatingwell or not; arteriosclerosis canprogress or regress. Your arteriescan get clogged or can reopen.Ater a week o controlled regularphysical activity the coronaryartery, the artery that carries theblood to the heart can recovera good blood fow. I you havegood blood fow in your arteriesand good muscle mass you haveless o a chance to atigue easily.

When your body has more energy

live to exerCise, exerCise to live



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available, it means better tolerabilityo pain or headaches, arthritis andor stress. You can perorm betterwhen you have energy; even yourimmune system protects you betterrom diseases.

Ater exercising, your blood sugar

becomes ideal which makes iteasier or your muscles to absorbdietary proteins. All o the organsin your body send messages to eachother establishing a conversation.These organs also send signalsto your genes. Pending on thetypes o signals or messages sent,your genes take on a dierentorientation.

When the message is avorable,

your genes will be suppressing theoutbreak o a disease or condition.Good nutrition, regular physicalactivity and good tness as well asavorable environmental conditionsare all actors that can positivelyinfuence your genes. A goodmessenger example is insulin.Insulin is a hormone or messengerproduced by your pancreas, anorgan part o your digestive system.

Insulin has an important role inthe control o your blood sugar.When there is not enough insulinor or metabolic reasons, yourinsulin does not work well, you willdevelop uncontrolled blood sugar ordiabetes.

The initial stage o diabetes isweight gain due to increasedabdominal at as well as atinltration in your muscles. Fatinltration is a major reason oryour insulin to be inecient or notworking. The blood sugar is notused by the at that is inltrated inyour muscles; thereore it stays inthe blood and damages the eyes,the brain, the kidneys as well asthe arteries. Exercise can avor thesugar to be burned by the muscleseven when insulin is absent.

Exercise and physical activity haveto be taken as serious as a medicalprescription. You have to commityoursel and dedicate your time toit. Brushing your teeth and takinga shower are normal current dailyactivities and so should exercising.Beore starting your exercise

program, always consult yourphysician.

For psychological reasons, it isbetter to exercise in the morningbeore breakast, but exercising is aplus or your wellbeing any time youdedicate your time to it. Always geproessional advice or appropriate,sae and comortable exercise andequipment.

The exercise has to start witha warm up period as well asstretching. A minimum o 30minutes a day is necessary to getvaluable benets. Increase youractivity little by little. Even a smallincrease in exercise or physicalactivity is associated with physicaland muscle tness and healthimprovements.

You should have 1/3 o yourexercise program dedicated toweight training. It is easier andaster to build up muscle than tobuild up tness regardless o age.Learn how to breathe properly inharmony with physical activity.Yoga classes will teach you how tobreathe properly.

Be sure to hydrate yourselby drinking water beore,during and ater exercising.It is the best source ohydration!

Learn how to take your pulse. Asyour tness improves, your heartrate should decrease.

Keep it up andkeep moving!

ater exercsng, yourblood sugr becomesdel whch mkes t

eser or your musclesto bsorb detry

protens. all o theorgns n your body

send messges to echother estblshng

converston.



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You Have To Want To EatHealthy!

Beore you go orward,you have to want to be healthy.

Thats the rst step you must takeon a journey that will ulll yourom within and ultimately reshapeyou on the outside. You need tomake a conscious decision thatyoure going to put the right oodsin your body, no matter what

cravings come along to undermineall o the hard work youve putinto transorming your new way oliving and eating. When your bodyis ueled with the right oods youeel good. A well balanced mealcontaining the right amount andtypes o protein, carbohydrates andats is essential to the unctionalityo every organ in your body. Agreat motivational tool to keep thosegood oods coming into your systemis rememberinghow good it eltwhen your body was nourished

Get Motivated

Surround yoursel with healthyimages. Get your householdinvolved! Get their support andtake the time to cook healthy mealstogether and sit down to enjoythem. Cooking a meal together isactually saving you money that youwould be spending on take-out,and its having you spend qualitytime with a loved one. That shouldbe motivational enough. And

cooking is not only easy to do, butits rewarding when you see thedierence in the way you will lookand eel. Youre controlling whatgoes into your body. Buy onlyruits, low at yogurts, vegetables,sh, nuts, legumes, etcYouwill see how ull you eel as wellas the diversity and bounty thatexists in the produce section o yoursupermarket.

staY Motivated!Do not all into any temptations.Get rid o everything you are notsupposed to eat rom inside yourhome. Remember Variety, Balanceand Moderation! Do not depriveyour body o anything. I youcrave sweets, have a piece o ruitor make yoursel a ruit smoothie.The combination o the ruit andprotein will satisy your cravingand make you eel ull and satised

longer. You are more likely to staymotivated i you eel good andsatised. Keep a variety o ruitsand vegetables in the house. I itssomething crunchy you crave, thenmunch on some almonds or walnutKeep your taste buds rereshed byintroducing a new and dierentruit, vegetable, sh and lean meatrecipe to your collection.

get MotivatedSurround yoursel with healthyimages. Get your householdinvolved! Get their support andtake the time to cook healthy mealstogether and sit down to enjoythem. Cooking a meal together isactually saving you money that youwould be spending on take-out,and its having you spend qualitytime with a loved one. That shouldbe motivational enough. Andcooking is not only easy to do, butits rewarding when you see the

dierence in the way you will lookand eel. Youre controlling whatgoes into your body. Buy onlyruits, low at yogurts, vegetables,sh, nuts, legumes, etcYouwill see how ull you eel as wellas the diversity and bounty thatexists in the produce section o yoursupermarket.

You Have toWant to eatHealtHY!Beore you go orward,you have to want to be healthy.

Thats the rst step you must takeon a journey that will ulll yourom within and ultimately reshapeyou on the outside. You need tomake a conscious decision thatyoure going to put the right oodsin your body, no matter whatcravings come along to undermineall o the hard work youve putinto transorming your new way

o living and eating. When yourbody is ueled with the right oodsyou eel good. A well balancedmeal containing the right amountand types o protein, carbohydratesand ats is essential to theunctionality o every organ in yourbody. A great motivational tool tokeep those good oods coming intoyour system is rememberinghowgood it elt when your body wasnourished correctly!



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eat breakFast!Eat your breakast!!! This IS themost important meal o the day.This is your essential FUEL YOURKICK START TO YOUR DAY! Youneed to set a healthy pace or therest o the day. The distribution oour ood intake is just as importantas the total amount o caloricintake. Our eating habits have

an infuence on our snacking,which usually involves oods highin calories and low in nutritionalvalue. There is a close relationshipbetween weight problems and theamount o time spent or breakast.

People believe that by skippingbreakast they will decrease theircaloric intake or the day. Thevariety o ood available or a astand small breakast is narrowed

down to Danishes, doughnuts,and cookies which are all lesshealthy and high in caloriccontent. Breakast should provide30 percent o your total dailycaloric intake. We should makeour breakast ood adequate anddiversied by including qualityproteins, carbohydrates and ats.Failing to do so will tempt you toincrease the requency o snacking

on unhealthy oods during the resto the day. A high ber cerealand ruit can increase your mentalalertness. By eating a healthy andwell balanced breakast you willuel your body with energy andhelp motivate you to work well,think clearly and eel good!

staY aCtive!It is important that you stayphysically active. Physical activityprovides or a great quick pick meup and a eel good motivator. Takethe stairs whenever possible; park

your car at the end o the parkinglot row. It is known that whenstaying active, it is less likely to getcolds and respiratory inections.Also, by staying active yourendorphins are elevated, makingyou eel better and when you eelbetter you are more inclined to eatbetter!

eat PlentY oFFruits and

vegetablesA good rule o thumb is to eat ruitsand vegetables o many dierentcolors. The darker and richerthe color, the more nutrient richthe ruit and/ or vegetable. Theyare packed with vitamins andantioxidants. Fruits and vegetablesare also packed with ber and itsthat ber that will help you stay

ull and more satised, thereorekeeping you away rom overeatingoods ull o empty calories. TheMediterranean Diet is made upo unctional oods. These typeso oods contain specic healthor medical benets, includingthe prevention and treatment odiseases beyond basic nutritionalunctions.

eat oF tHeland and seaThe Mediterranean Diet is not oneo those diets that constrains

you into eating only certain oodswhile totally avoiding others. Thediet or rather liestyle is verydiverse and allows you to reap thebenefts o this great earth we liveon. Processed oods and oodscontaining preservatives etc. are notnatural. Why would anyone wantto put something that is unnaturalinside their body? It is importantto eat what Mother Nature hasprovided or us. The ruits,vegetables, nuts, legumes, etc, thatgrow naturally in the ground is whatthe Mediterranean Diet adheres to;the bounty o the earth.

Fish and other animals are

also eaten, but red meat insmall quantities. Because mosto the countries that make upthe Mediterranean region aresurrounded by water, sh is oneo the mostly consumed orms oprotein. Dont let the scare omercury deter you. I you eatgarlic, which is another staple othe Mediterranean kitchen, you willbe able to chelate (remove certainheavy metals rom the bloodstream)

the mercury. But the benetso eating sh which are high inOmega 3 atty acids, outweighsany o the negative eects. Theland and the sea are there tobe enjoyed and thats what

we will provide or you atMediterranean Meals!DONT FORGET TO DRINKPLENTY OF WATER!

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Eat Right, Live Right Mediterranean Way