Two new studies published in the August 12 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association which report that a Mediterranean-style diet can have a significant effect on cognitive decline and that the diet combined with exercise can lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, have people searching for more information.
If you’d like to start on a lifestyle that is full of vegetables, beans, fish and olive oil, is low on meat, poultry and dairy products, and includes a moderate amount of alcohol, we’ve got a list of ten books to help you out:
1. The Mediterranean Prescription: Meal Plans And Recipes to Help You Stay Slim And Healthy for the Rest of Your Life by Angelo Acquista
Renowned for its dazzling beauty and delectable cuisine, the Mediterranean island of Sicily has historically one of the healthiest diets in the world. Now all the succulent flavors and myriad benefits of Sicilian cooking are yours to savor in the very first weight-loss program that will not only help you effortlessly shed unwanted pounds but will become a prescription for a lifetime of nourishing, palate-pleasing fare.
Created by respected physician Dr. Angelo Acquista, who has successful counseled his patients on weight management for years, The Mediterranean Prescription starts with a two-week weight-loss stage that includes simple, delectable recipes to help you lose eight to ten pounds right away. Still convinced that all diets leave you feeling deprived? Imagine eating Baked Zucchini with Eggplant and Tomatoes, Sweet-and-Sour Red Snapper, Chicken Cacciatore, Pasta Fagioli, and Baked Onions. Dr. Acquista culled his Sicilian mother’s recipe box for the most mouthwatering recipes–plus he includes meals from famous chefs at top Italian restaurants, such as Cipriani and Serafina.
2. The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health by Nancy Harmon Jenkins
Rich in flavor and healthy nutrients but low in saturated fats and cholesterol, here are recipes that will delight your palate, nourish body and soul—and can be prepared with ease in your home kitchen.
Known for classic favorites like tabbouleh and ratatouille, flatbreads, pastas, zesty herbs, and flavorful oils pressed from succulent olives, the Mediterranean diet combines delicious taste with health-supportive ingredients as few other cuisines do. With an emphasis on fruits and vegetables, grains and legumes, fish, lean meats, and heavenly desserts, here are recipes for over 250 outstanding dishes created for today’s American kitchens. You’ll also find new cooking techniques and a simplified approach to cooking—because simplicity is what the Mediterranean way of eating is all about.
3. The Miami Mediterranean Diet: Lose Weight and Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease with 300 Delicious Recipes by Michael Ozner
Low-carb diets are potentially danggerous and there are no long-term studies proving their safety or efficacy. The Mediterranean diet has been around for thousands of years. It is safe and clinically proven to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Moreover, the Mediterranean cuisine is delicious and the ingredients needed to prepare the recipes can be found in any grocery store. Isn’t this the type of diet that you want for yourself and your family?
4. The Mediterranean Heart Diet: Why It Works, With Recipes to Get You Started by Helen V. Fisher, Cynthia Thomson, H. Fisher, Kaja Lewinn
All about the Mediterranean Diet, from guiding principles to specific recipes, for people who want to improve their health by improving their eating habits. Most people know that a Mediterranean-style diet is “good for them,” but many lack the information that determines the diet’s success. The Mediterranean Heart Diet does what most doctors who recommend the diet don’t: spells out which foods are “out” and which are “in,” and why.
The Mediterranean Heart Diet not only provides a full range of satisfying recipes but also covers the science behind the diet’s health benefits. Readers learn to create their own healthful eating plans and establish new habits. More than 140 delicious recipes are included, from satisfying Lentil and Broccoli Soup to tangy Halibut in Citrus Sauce. All recipes feature nutritional analysis by serving, including food exchanges.
5. My New Mediterranean Cookbook: Eat Better, Live Longer by Following the Mediterranean Diet by Jeannette Seaver
This sumptuous new cookbook of over 200 mouth-watering recipes focuses on nutritionally proven ingredients that are as tasty as they are healthy.
In this book, Jeannette Seaver, a gourmet chef and author of several cookbooks, offers a rich panoply of recipes using delicious traditional Mediterranean-diet ingredients: vegetables, legumes, fresh fruit, nuts, cereals, olive oil, and fish, with judicious amounts of red meat and poultry. Among her offerings are salmon on a bed of smoked eggplant caviar; gratin of cod and spinach; broiled marinated duck breast with grilled peaches; stuffed zucchini flowers with red pepper coulis; zucchini cakes, Greek style; Jeannette’s own bouillabaisse—and hundreds more!
6. The Mediterranean Diet by Marissa Cloutier, Eve Adamson
Scientists have discovered that traditional Mediterranean cuisine is one of the most healthful, nutritious diets in the world — one that can help everyone lose weight and enjoy lower rates of coronary heart disease and other chronic conditions, including diabetes and cancer. From tasty Moroccan vegetable stew to rosemary focaccia, from eggplant parmesan to lemon almond cake, The Mediterranean Diet offers a program that will make dieters everywhere — and food lovers in general — rejoice.
# Includes a 7-day eating plan chock full of savory meals
# Essential in-depth nutritional information about each food category
# A 3-day exercise plan
# Luscious soup-to-nuts recipes designed to satisfy your individual tastes
7. Mediterranean Harvest: Vegetarian Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine by Martha Rose Shulman
Intensely flavorful and inherently healthy, Mediterranean food is one of the world’s most appealing cuisines. Mediterranean cooks know how to make eating a pleasure. They do it simply—with olive oil and garlic; with herbs and spices; with tomatoes and eggplants, peppers and squash, figs and peaches, and other seasonal produce.
Whether you are a vegetarian or a dedicated meat eater, Shulman’s recipes are substantial enough to satisfy any appetite. Included are such tempting creations as Majorcan Bread and Vegetable Soup, Provençal Chick Pea Salad, Pasta with Ligurian Artichoke Sauce, Greek Cauliflower Gratin with Feta and Olives, Balkan-Style Moussaka, North African Carrot “Compote,” and Sweet Dessert Couscous with Citrus and Pomegranate. There is also an entire chapter devoted to the renowned “little foods” of the Mediterranean: tapas from Spain, antipasti and merende from Italy; meze from the eastern and southern Mediterranean, and more. In addition, the book features a glossary of useful cookware and indispensable pantry staples and the best online sources for hard-to-find ingredients.
8. The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein
After years of research, scientists declared that the Mediterranean diet was the best one for overall good health-and the exciting news was that it tasted great, too.
With recipes for everything from nutritious appetizers to dairy-free desserts, this unique Mediterranean vegan cookbook is ideal for vegetarians, those with a lactose intolerance, and anyone who wants to make gloriously delicious dishes without meat, eggs, or dairy. Dishes include:
# Sicilian Eggplant Relish
# Catalan Grilled Vegetables with Almond Sauce
# Classic Italian Minestrone
# Moroccan Fresh Tomato Salad
# Black Olive Bread
# Zucchini-Lemon Couscous
# Greek Currant Cake
# Braised Pears in Red Wine
# and more
9. Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too: Eating to Be Sexy, Fit, and Fabulous! by Melissa Kelly, Eve Adamson
Mediterranean women live lives free from empty calories, empty diet promises, impossible standards, and a “say no to food” mentality. Thanks to the influence of cooking lessons in her Italian grandmother’s kitchen, Melissa Kelly, co-owner and executive chef of Primo Restaurant, has learned how every woman can extract the essence of the Mediterranean spirit and make it uniquely her own.
She shares these lessons in Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too, along with more than one hundred diverse and mouth-watering recipes, as well as a detailed menu planner. While sampling everything from traditional Hummus to Prosciutto, Fennel, and Pear Salad with Persimmon Vinaigrette, you’ll join women in enjoying the timeless, artful Mediterranean way of eating well and living a long, sensuous, beautiful life.
10. Healthy Mediterranean Cooking by Rena Salaman
Eating the Mediterranean way is both an irresistible temptation and a healthy option with this collection of low cholesterol and high in fibre recipes. Dishes are quick and easy to prepare and feature cuisines of France, Italy, Spain, Greece, North Africa and the Middle East.
Sarah Palin is all the rage again with the publication of Going Rogue coming up soon. I won’t be reading this particular memoir but many people will - it is already a bestseller on Amazon.com on pre-orders alone. But did you know that Palin is already a published author…sort of?
UK celebrity chef 
Sheila Lukins, the author of 
It’s the ultimate coffee table book -