The way to eat if you want to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. The Mediterranean diet is a way of life - one where you eats lots of fresh food and slow down. More technically, the Mediterranean diet is a modern set of guidelines inspired by traditional diet patters of southern Italy, the Greek island of Crete, and other parts of Greece. For decades, doctors and nutritional experts have observed and confirmed that Mediterranean countries have much lower occurrences of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes in their citizens than northern European countries and the United States.  Mediterranean Diet In a Day For Dummies quickly gets you started on this healthy, delicious eating plan. With focused content and expert advice, you'll get a quick introduction to Mediterranean lifestyle principles and how they can help with disease prevention, weight management, and overall wellness. You'll discover how to tie all the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle concepts together and see what a Mediterranean Food Guide Pyramid looks like. With a focus on eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and seafood; eating less meat; and choosing healthy fats such as olive oil. The lifestyle also includes a focus the importance of fun activities, time shared with family and friends and an overall passion for life! With helpful charts and tables, you'll get listings of antioxidant-rich foods, health benefits by the color of your food, and cooking charts. You'll get detailed steps for building your meals with the Mediterranean mindset and easy-to-follow plans that list the foods, oils, herbs and spices, and cooking times that make it easy to get started. You'll even get a peek at a sample meal makeover - taking a traditional meal and making it a Mediterranean meal.     Related Title: When you are ready for recipes, make your next book purchase, Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies. With over 150 recipes it is a terrific follow up to this get started guide.