Everything you thought you knew about counting calories is wrong, the Mediterranean diet proves to be most effective

Your obsession with counting calories may be doing you more harm than good. According to the BMJ’s Open Heart publication, the habit of counting calories may actually be fueling the obesity epidemic in the UK. In their piece, researchers say, “It is time to stop counting calories, and time to instead promote good nutrition and dietary changes that can rapidly and substantially reduce cardiovascular mortality.” The good nutrition they are referring to includes healthy fats, plenty of vegetables and a good portion of fish and nuts. These foods are all part of the Mediterranean diet, which also includes legumes, whole grains, fruits and healthy oils like olive oil. Another key to this diet is using spices like turmeric, cumin, paprika, coriander and freshly ground black pepper for flavoring instead of salt.⁽¹⁾

The group of researchers believe that focusing on the quality of food rather than quantity not only is more likely to help people stay healthy in the long-term but will provide people with a whole host of other nutritional benefits. They wrote, “Shifting the focus away from calories and emphasising a dietary pattern that focuses on food quality rather than quantity will help to rapidly reduce obesity, related diseases, and cardiovascular risk. The evidence indeed supports the mantra that ‘food can be the most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.'”⁽¹⁾

In many ways, this should make life a little easier for people trying to lose weight. There are plenty of recipes that can be found online, in cookbooks and in food blogs to help someone start eating a diet that more closely resembles the Mediterranean diet. Or, one could simply start incorporating more fish, nuts and vegetables into their daily meals. Be sure to eat fish that is wild-caught and not farmed, as farmed fish tends to be less healthy and also is often an unethical way of raising fish.

In addition to these new guidelines offered by diet experts, there is also a new study that shows simply drinking a couple of glasses of water before your main meals can aid in helping people lose weight.⁽²⁾

Sources:

(1) DailyMail.co.uk

(2) Slender.news