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By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

Arizona is a pretty cool state for lots of reasons. Our state has lots of national and state parks, historic landmarks, and some really amazing destinations such as the Grand Canyon, which is one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  But my personal favorite thing about Arizona is that we produce a wide variety of agriculture thanks to our unique growing climate.

On the topic of the vast variety of food products that we produce, did you know that Arizona agriculture actually produces all of the foods to support the Mediterranean diet? This diet has been deemed the healthiest diet plan to follow, as it focuses on eating lots of whole foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean meats, which provide all of the nutrients necessary for a healthy lifestyle.

In fact, a recent study found that adherence to the Med diet significantly reduces the risk of hypertension. Using a scale that measured how closely participants adhered to the Med diet, researchers found that for each point on the adherence scale, the risk of developing hypertension decreased by 7%. This is pretty impressive, considering that hypertension is the precursor to more serious health issues such as heart disease and strokes.

This is just one of the many health benefits of following the Med diet. There are so many others that we’ve written about on the Fill Your Plate blog, The blog is also full of Med diet snack and meal ideas and has lots of resources on finding fresh, local, Arizona-produced foods to fuel your Med diet journey!