Following the Mediterranean diet could slow aging process

The Mediterranean diet - involving a high intake of fruits, vegetables and fish - is associated with several health benefits.

Vegetables, fruits, nuts, copious amounts of olive oil and a glass of wine with a meal; while the Mediterranean diet sounds like a the makings of a delicious lifestyle, it has also long been regarded as one of the healthiest ways to eat. Now, researchers have suggested that the diet could also help slow the aging process.

Mediterranean Diet Plan: The World's Healthiest Diet

The more doctors test it, the more they find that eating Mediterranean is the absolute best way to lose weight. Based on the cooking and eating styles of Italy, France, Greece, Spain, and other Mediterranean countries, the plan features olive oil, fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish and poultry, whole grains and, yes, wine! It's high in heart-healthy fats and, unlike other diets, doesn't forbid any food group. "It's hard to stay on extreme diets," says Harvard nutrition expert Walter Willett, MD, PhD, whose book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy popularized the approach in the United States. "This diet has lots of variety and wonderful flavors so people stick with it."