The Mediterranean diet is widely known for its fresh ingredients, fish and vegetables. And for being great at preventing diabetes and heart disease.

Although the ingredients are found in the Mediterranean Sea area, they are all available and easily accessible, which is why many find it easy to follow.

It incorporates the traditional healthy living habits of people from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, says the NHS, and is largely based on vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, olive oil and fish.

"Lots of fresh veg, healthy fats (extra virgin olive oil, oily fish, nuts, etc) and not a pop tart/cereal bar/packaged good insight," says Francesca Fox, health and nutrition expert. "If I was to bracket my lifestyle to a "diet" as such, this would be it."

"The Mediterranean diet has some strong evidence behind it showing benefits on health reducing the risks of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes," Dietitian Priya Tew says. "It is a well balanced and sensible approach to eating that is easy to follow. I would suggest this is less of a diet and more or a lifestyle.

"Rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish and olive oil, I believe everyone can benefit from adopting this general style of eating. If weight loss is an aim however, people still need to be cautious of the high calorie contribution of the healthy fats in this diet."

"The Mediterranean diet is the one that currently has the most scientific evidence behind it," says Fitness author Sam Feltham, "however, my problem is that yet again it still has the overriding way of thought to be that it is healthy because of the limitation of calories and not because of the biochemical reactions from the food you eat on it. Overall, I quite like the Mediterranean diet because it encourages real food and getting back in touch with cooking but I would ask people to hold the grains and keep the fat on the steak."

Enjoy!

MG

New research points to a surprising cause of headaches in teens: bubble gum. Researchers from Tel Aviv University found that chewing gum could be responsible for up to 87% of chronic headaches and migraines in teenagers.

In the study, 63% of teens with headache had a complete resolution of symptoms after kicking the gum habit. The findings, published in the journal Pediatric Neurology, could help millions of patients with persistent headache find relief without the use of medication or expensive testing.

It’s estimated that 7.7% of children suffer from chronic migraine headache. Common headache triggers in teenagers include stress, menstruation, heat, noise, smoking, skipping meals, poor sleep habits, tiredness, and video games.

Dr. Watemberg of the Meir Medical Center’s Child Neurology Unit noticed that many of his patients who complained of headaches also chewed gum on a daily basis. Female adolescents were particularly hooked on bubble gum.

In his study, Dr. Watemberg and colleagues asked 30 patients aged 6-19 years old to quit chewing gum for one month. Most were accustomed to gum chewing for anywhere between 1-6 hours per day. By the end of the month, 19 out of 30 patients reported their headaches had been completely resolved. Seven kids said they noticed a decrease in headache frequency and intensity.

To further test the relationship between gum and headaches, 26 of those kids then agreed to resume gum chewing again for two weeks. Within a few days, every one of them experienced a return in headache symptoms.

Excessive gum chewing is believed to place stress on the temporomandibular joint or TMJ, which connects the jaw bone to the skull. TMJ disorders frequently cause headache.

It is fair to assume that if kids are affected by chewing gum, adults will be too. So, if you or someone you know has headaches and chews a lot of gum, STOP!

If the pain still doesn't resolve, chiropractic care has proven to be beneficial for both TMJ disorders and headache. 

MG