Hi everybody this is Monica Reinagel and you're listening to the nutrition

diva quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous if you're just

joining us we're in the middle of a month-long series looking at the pros and the cons of various diet philosophies, and by diet, I don't just mean weight loss programs.

The discussion also applies to diet in the more general sense of how your food choices support or

maybe undermine your health. Maintaining a healthy weight is an important part of

that of course, but it's not the only factor. My goal in this series isn't to

decide which diet philosophy is quote-unquote right,

but rather to help you figure out which approach is the best fit for your lifestyle, your preferences,

and your biochemistry, because I think that gives you a much better shot at long-term success.

Two weeks ago I talked about the rationale behind low-carb diets and I invited you to try out the

concept by eliminating refined carbohydrates from your diet for one week.

Last week I talked about some of the surprising reasons we eat a lot more than we mean to,

or we should.

Last week's experiment involved changing some of the external factors that lead to overeating.

And this week I want to change gears one more time.

We're going to leave the nutritional biochemistry and the behavioral psychology aside for the moment

and transport ourselves to the Azure waters and sunny shores of Greece.

Because there's another very popular diet theory that claims that you can be healthier simply

by adopting a Mediterranean-style diet and lifestyle.

Of course, there's really no such thing as a single Mediterranean diet.

There are over a dozen countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and a lot of different dietary patterns even within those countries.

What we now recognize as the Mediterranean diet pattern really reflects the traditional eating habits

...