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The Mediterranean diet first became popular as a heart health diet, but its role may be changing. In the 1960's it was discovered that some people in the Mediterranean, particularly those from Crete, had a significantly longer life expectancy than people elsewhere in the world. Their diet, which is high in vegetables, meat, pasta, beans, cereals, olive oil and wine, seemed to have the ability to protect them from heart disease and stroke.

Today, though, it may become known as a weight loss diet. Spanish Researchers studying the eating habits of 1,547 men and 1615 women aged 25-74, recently found that the more closely subjects followed the diet, the lower their body fat levels became. This was surprising, because, in other studies it had been seen that Mediterraneans were not exactly slim and that contrasted sharply to the usual expectation that if you're fat, you're more likely to die of a stroke or heart attack.

The Mediterranean diet, is lower in foods like pastas, cheese, red meats, milk and lard than a common European diet, which some believe account for the differences in longevity. But sticking to lower glycemic carbs like the beans and cereals also causes a lower insulin response which is linked to the storage of fat in our bodies. Low carb advocates say that the Mediterranean diet works even better when it's modified to lower the carbs, believing it will speed up the fat loss while continuing to provide the positive heart benefits.

So get the best of both worlds. Eat like Crete, with a low carb twist. And speed your way to quick weight loss and a long healthy life.

About the Author

Karen Wild is an author and contributing writer for the popular www.healthy-low-carb.com an online information source for low carb diets, free low carb recipes, diet basics, books, product reviews and informative up to date dieting research.