Dietitians Give 5 Top Tips to Enjoy the Mediterranean on Your Doorstep

Mediterranean resorts remain the first choice of summer destination for many British holiday makers.

As the holiday season hits us once again it can evoke memories of balmy days abroad, feasting on colourful vegetables and fruits, wholegrain cereals along with fish and small amounts of lean meat and low fat dairy foods all washed down with a glass or two of red wine - the typical Mediterranean diet. However not only is this diet delicious - it's really healthy. Dietitians at the BDA have provided tips so we can experience that Mediterranean feeling at home without increasing our carbon footprint getting there.

Sue Baic, Registered Dietitian and Spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association (BDA), says: "Studies looking at the diets of thousands of people around Europe have confirmed the health advantages of the Mediterranean style diet.

The good news is this research shows you don't actually need to live near the Mediterranean to get the benefit. No matter where you come from, the closer your diet matches the typical Mediterranean style diet, the lower your likelihood of developing problems such as heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.

For people wishing to follow a Mediterranean style diet without even leaving their front door, the BDA recommends the following five top tips:

1. Fill up on fruit and veg. Aim to eat a minimum of five portions of a variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables each day. They contain a wide range of protective plant nutrients or phytochemicals. Fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruits and vegetables all count in the diet. Beans and pulses and 100% juice or smoothies count too but only as one portion a day, no matter how much you have.
2. Feast on fish. Go for fish dishes more often including at least one portion of oil rich fish a week. Choose from salmon, trout, mackerel, herrings, sardines or pilchards. Fresh, smoked, frozen and canned
   varieties all count.
3. Choose your fats wisely. Use vegetable oils, such as rapeseed or olive oil, in moderation for cooking and to dress salad and soft spreads made from these oils on bread. When using animal fats, such as
   butter or cream, do so very sparingly. Cut down on fatty cuts of red meat and meat products such as sausages, pies and streaky bacon. Trim the fat from cuts of red meat and the skin from chicken and
   limit your intake of fried fast food.
4. Make it wholegrain. When choosing foods from the starchy food group, replace refined cereal foods with wholegrain varieties. Wheat, oats, barley, rye and rice can all be eaten in the wholegrain form. Aim
   to get at least half your starchy carbohydrates as wholegrains - at least two to three servings a day.
5. Go easy on alcohol. Moderate drinking has been shown to have protective health effects in men and post-menopausal women. In particular, red wine contains beneficial substances that may protect artery
   walls. Experts recommend only moderate consumption of alcohol one to two units per day. Over this amount, the detrimental effects, for example liver cirrhosis, are greater than any positive effects.

The British Dietetic Association has a website dedicated to promoting scientifically sound nutrition advice that everyone can trust, and provides a dedicated hot line just for journalists to speak to qualified dietitians and get to the real facts, avoiding misleading and potentially dangerous advice being given to the public.

For the clear experts in nutrition call the hotline on 0870 850 2517 or go to www.bda.uk.com and visit the press centre for the latest food fact sheets on a variety of topics.

Food fact sheets on fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, fats, oily fish, alcohol are available at http://www.bda.uk.com/latest-food-facts.php.

Remember, you can trust a dietitian to know about nutrition.