A Mediterranean diet can eliminate age-related belly fat, new research suggests

 A Mediterranean diet may be your key to eliminating the unwanted folds of belly fat caused by aging.

Sometimes a healthy lifestyle and sports do not help in the face of such an inexorable factor of changes in our body as time and old age. But even they are not a verdict in the matter of beauty. A study from Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea-Plus (PREDIMED-Plus) showed that these changes can be corrected by following a Mediterranean diet. Its results were published by JAMA Network Open on October 18, informs UAINFO.org with reference to UNIAN.

In addition to its ability to positively affect the body and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, following this diet has shown an amazing effect on the body constitution of the elderly. The scientists showed the corresponding results after a three-year study with a group of subjects.

Among the advantages, they say that the diet of this diet allows you to combine two factors: despite the low calorie content of the products, their composition and protein saturation allows you not to lose the muscles that our body so loves to destroy on extreme diets instead of fatty tissue.

1,521 middle-aged and older people who were overweight, already obese, or had metabolic problems took part in the experiment. They were divided into two groups: one followed the Mediterranean diet, reducing caloric intake by 30% and increasing physical activity, and the other followed the Mediterranean diet without restriction in calories and changes in activity.

Scientists said that the first group of subjects achieved a significant result - in a year they managed to destroy approximately 5% of the total fat mass of their body. It was about visceral fat, which accumulates in the human body in the abdominal area, surrounding vital organs.

According to nutritionist Ilan Muhlstein, who did not participate in the experiment, but agreed to comment on the success of his colleagues at Fox News Digital, often people are quite arbitrarily accepting the advice to follow this or that diet recommended by experts. Then comes the disappointment that it does not work and is not effective.

For example, the Mediterranean diet involves, in addition to fish, eating a lot of greens and avoiding most foods with sugar. But most Americans forget about these points, and begin to arbitrarily choose what they like, the nutritionist said.

"The healthiest part of the Mediterranean diet that so many Americans overlook is the absolute obsession with vegetables and fresh greens. These nutrient-dense, low-calorie ingredients are the heart and soul of the true Mediterranean diet, which is sadly being neglected," he said.

The nutritionist reminded that the "excellent menu" of the diet allows a person to make up his diet from: beans, other legumes, whole grain cereals, healthy fats, seeds, nuts, various types of fish, etc.

Mühlstein also recommended exercising for at least 45 minutes six days a week to match the "naturally active lifestyle" of people living in the Mediterranean.