The green Mediterranean diet reduces visceral fat twice as much as the traditional Mediterranean diet, according to a new study published in BMC Medicine.
Visceral fat is a type of fat within the abdominal cavity, which cannot be seen but increases health risks.
“Visceral fat accumulates over time between organs and produces hormones and poisons related to heart disease, diabetes, dementia and premature death”, points out the report shared by the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in Israel.
In the large-scale trial, the green Mediterranean diet was pitted against the Mediterranean diet and a healthy diet in a large-scale interventional clinical trial. The green Mediterranean diet was found to reduce visceral fat by 28%, the Med diet by 7%, and the healthy diet by 4.5%.
The study report indicates that the reduction of visceral fat is considered the true objective of weight loss, since it is a more important indicator than the weight of a person or the circumference of his waist.
The research was led by Professor Iris Shai from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Hila Zelicha and Italian colleagues, Germans and Americans.
What does the green Mediterranean diet consist of
According to the Harvard Nutrition Source, the Mediterranean diet is a primarily plant-based eating plan that includes daily intake of whole grains, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes, nuts, herbs and spices.
The green Mediterranean diet is more enriched with dietary polyphenols and has less red meat and processed meat than the traditional Mediterranean diet.
The modified Mediterranean diet applied by the researchers includes the intake of walnuts (28 grams), the consumption of 3-4 cups of green tea per day and 50 grams of green duckweed smoothie per day.
“Duckweed has a high content of bioavailable protein, iron, vitamin B28, vitamins, minerals and polyphenols”, the report states.
Researchers point out that the Mediterranean green diet has a variety of healthy effects ranging from the microbiome to age-related degenerative diseases.
“A 28% reduction in visceral fat is a spectacular achievement for making simple dietary and lifestyle changes. Weight loss is an important goal only if it is accompanied by impressive results in the reduction of adipose tissue”, says Dr. Hila Zelicha.
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