Myths About the Middle Eastern Diet

One of the most popular diets recommended for those trying to lose weight is the Mediterranean diet.

There's no denying that in general, Europeans are healthier than Americans--but that's probably not saying much, considering all the processed food and sedentary lifestyles that plague American culture.

But there are several misconceptions about the Mediterranean Diet.

Medical professionals and mainstream dietitians and the media continue to claim among other things that a Mediterranean diet consists of:

• Minimal consumption of red meat; no more than 2 times per month
• Avoidance of saturated fat
• Low salt
• Mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes

As Stanley A. Fishman, author of Tender Grassfed Meat says, Mediterranean cultures did in fact eat lots of saturated animal fats. Almost every peasant kept a small herd of goats, or sheep. These animals were raised mostly for their milk, which was drunk raw, made into curds, made into a huge variety of full-fat cheeses, and widely used in cooking. The milk was unpasteurized and always full-fat. These dairy products were a huge part of their diet. The meat prized by the Mediterranean people was not lean, but fatty, consisting mostly of pork, lamb, and goat. Lambs and goats would be barbecued whole for special occasions and holidays. The meat eaten on these occasions was not served in tiny portions, but feasted on. Butter and lard were widely used in cooking, along with olive oil. It's interesting to note that Canola Oil was never used; it wasn't invented until the late 20th century!

As for the fallacy that the Mediterranean diet is low salt, salting food was the main way of preserving food, given the warm climate, and the Mediterranean peoples were masters of salting fish, cheeses, and meat. 

Instead of most calories coming from whole grains and vegetables, the Mediterranean diet's main caloric source came from dairy products, the full-fat cheeses and milk produced by the herds.

As long as low-fat, low-protein and high-carb diets are recommended, like the mythological "Mediterranean Diet", there will be a preponderance of Americans with chronic illness.

Eating Fat: Will it make you fat?

For thousands of generations, humans subsisted on a high fat diet. From our paleolithic ancestors feasting on a fresh saber-tooth tiger kill to or our grandparents drinking real milk, almost straight from the teat, most of human history has consumed large amounts of fat.

So, if there is a preponderance of non-fat and low-fat options in our supermarkets, and our media continues to instill in the public a fear of a high-fat diet, why are two-thirds of U.S. adults not merely overweight, but obese?

Does consuming fat make us fat?

A corollary question to ask is if generations ago didn't have, on average, as high a life span as this current generation has, does that mean that their high fat diets caused them to die earlier?

Well, let's answer the first question: Does FAT = FAT bellies?

It depends on the type of fat you eat. The reason there is an obesity epidemic is because of hydrogenated fat.
Adding hydrogen to a foodstuff extends the shelf life of a certain food. (On a certain level, the Twinkie is a marvel of human engineering. It's amazing that something can last that long on a shelf without spoiling; all hail food science....NOT!)

If you're eating all natural foods and at most, minimally processed foods, you shouldn't even need to read food labels, but if you are someone (or know someone) struggling with weight and caving in to cookies, crackers, cakes, etc..., start getting used to reading food labels and avoid hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated foods. Opt instead for these products that are gluten free and don't contain hydrogenized ingredients.

Since it's only been within the last 100 years that food science has invaded stores where we buy food, our physiology has not yet adapted to hydrogenated stuff. Our livers don't quite know what to do with these altered fats and thus process them as toxins. Our bodies are unable to process these types of fats, so yes, eating some fat can make you fat.

It's interesting to note that World War II served as a catalyst for the preponderance of unhealthy altered foods in our market. Butter didn't last long when shipped overseas to our brave soldiers, but altered fats like margarine did. No wonder the incidence of heart disease, for lack of a better pun, has exploded in the last couple of generations. Altered fats like margarine and vegetable oils (which alter when exposed to high heat) are a major contributor to heart disease.

The best fats to eat, that won't make you fat are those that especially contain high amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids, which we can only get from certain foods like wild salmon, raw walnuts (not roasted; roasting kills the beneficial nutrients), sardines (they don't quite smell like roses but they are supposedly one of the healthiest foods to consume), flax seeds, organic eggs, leafy green vegetables (eat a ton of these!), and grass-fed beef.

Grass contains Omega 3 fatty acids, and when we eat beef, we're eating what the cows ate. If you consume lots of grain-fed beef, you are consuming more Omega 6 fatty acids, which, if eaten too much, can lead to joint inflammation.

If you already know this info, please pass this along to anyone you know who struggles with their weight and is prone to eating junk food. Tell them that short of giving up junk food (all cakes, crackers, pretzels, popcorn are junk foods, even those that claim to be healthier for you), they can at least cheat a little bit but only by avoiding hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated oils.

Misconceptions about HDLs and LDLs

I'm a certified Metabolic Typing Advisor. Metabolic Typing is an online test anybody can take to get a good starting point of what types of foods they should be eating, and thus get your body in a healthier state of balance. 


There is an online forum for Metabolic Typing Advisors. I recently came across a post, written by another Metabolic Typing Advisor that elaborates on my Fit Friday column on cholesterol from just a few weeks ago, entitled: Why You Shouldn't Worry About Cholesterol.


I think this post is important to share with friends, family and people that you know who are needlessly on cholesterol medication.


The advisor wrote that when he was just 18 years old, his total cholesterol reading of both HDL and LDL was 320 (it is important to note that he was playing football and living a active lifestyle).  


It seems he inherited genetics that required his body to make more choleterol than the typical person. At that time, the doctors scared, as he puts it, "the crap out of me" and put him on statin drugs. 


The advisor, after decades of questioning and researching has come to some conclusions. There are even some enlightened medical doctors who take a more holistic approach to wellness who now realize the following, which the overwhelming majority of people don't yet realize, but I venture to guess that in a short amount of time, maybe within five years, there will be a realization that:

LDL (low density lipoproteins; generally thought of as 'bad cholesterol') and HDL (high density lipoproteins; popularly known as 'good cholesterol') are NOT even cholesterol at all. They are actually protein carriers that bring cholesterol to places in your body where it is needed. 

You can think of them as ambulance drivers - since cholesterol doesn't mix well in blood, the body uses LDL to pick up cholesterol and bring it to areas where new cell membranes are needed (For example, if you burned your hand and needed cholesterol to get to that area to help make new cell membranes to replace the damaged ones).  Then the excess cholesterol is taken back to the liver for use in the future.  

Cholesterol is just cholesterol and it is neither good or bad unless it becomes oxidized.  This is the type of cholesterol that's a killer. 

What are the causes of cholesterol become oxidized? One major source is cooking with vegetable oils that become rancid when exposed to high heat. Processed foods like margarin tend to also get oxidized. 


So, if LDLs and HDLs aren't cholesterol, then what is the problem?  

The problem manifests in the particle size of the LDL. It turns out that a healthy LDL particle is big and fluffy.  As a result, it naturally flows through the system and is non-problematic.  However, when the particle size is small and dense it doesn't flow so smoothly and has a tendency to get stuck in the small gaps in the arteries where nutrition flows in.  When this happens, like all things that are stagnant, it creates inflammation and the beginnings of atherosclerosis.

Your doctor may be able to do a detest to determine the particle size of your LDLs. 


To conclude, LDLs aren't necessarily the "bad cholesterol", in fact, they aren't even cholesterol. It's the size of the LDL molecules that are important.

It's also vital to note that the particle size of LDL can only be positively affected by diet and exercise.  


If you know someone who takes Statin drugs, tell them those drugs have no effect on modulating the particle size.

Currently, the Metabolic Typing Advisor's cholesterol is close to 300, which it has been all his life. He concludes his post by saying,  "I have no fear (of my cholesterol level) what-so-ever because I lead a healthy lifestyle."