The Mediterranean Diet Demystified
One of the most common questions that I hear from my patients is, “What diet should I follow?” I get it. I have been trying out diets like I was trying on clothes ever since I was a teenager seeing the slim builds of the Charlie’s Angels I on my television screen for the first time in 1976.
I tried veganism, vegetarianism, Atkins, Keto, Weight Watchers, and even the Hershey’s Bar diet (yes, I ate only Hershey’s Bars for several days). I did lose weight on almost all of these diets. But I also almost always gained that weight back.
That’s because these diets, for most of us, aren’t sustainable in the long term. The more restrictive a diet is, the less likely you will be to follow it for very long. Worse, starting and stopping restrictive diets frequently can actually cause major problems with your metabolism, your health, and can make you bounce back, gaining even more weight than you initially lost.
This is why I spend so much time trying to show my patients that instead of finding a diet plan, they need to find a lifestyle that they can feel comfortable with for the rest of their lives. For some people, eating healthy is second nature, and they can cut out unhealthy foods easily.
Some of us have never eaten a balanced diet though, and might need a little extra help in the form of guidelines and norms to get them to a place where they are consistently making good decisions all on their own.
If this is true for you, the Mediterranean Diet can be a great starting point to help you learn what a balanced, healthy diet looks like. This diet is highly adaptable to most people’s lifestyle as well, and you can even follow it when eating at a restaurant.
What is the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean Diet was first formalized in the 1950’s when researcher Ancel Keys began a decades long study to find out how the cultures of seven different countries correlated with their cardiovascular health statistics. In other words, which cultures created the people with the healthiest hearts?
What Keys found was that the dietary standards in the Mediterranean region of Europe including Greece and Italy were linked with lower rates of cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease.
What is unique about the Mediterranean Diet is that it isn’t really a strict set of rules like the Atkins or Keto framework for example. Because it reflects the real-life patterns of an actual cultural group, it is better classified as a lifestyle framework, not telling you what to eat but rather how to eat. Since health is more than just your diet, it also outlines how to model your lifestyle after the heart-healthy Mediterranean culture.
Keep in mind that the Mediterranean Diet was studied and described in the mid-20th century, so many of the standards defined in the diet have likely changed in the last 70 years. In that time, highly processed convenience food items have become much more commonplace and the diets of the people in this region have probably changed to reflect that.
The ubiquitous presence of convenience foods can make it hard to follow a healthy diet, but following the guidelines of the Mediterranean Diet takes out all of the guesswork. All you really need is access to fresh seasonal produce, seafood, and poultry. In fact, other countries like Japan follow very similar diets, just adapted to the foods that are culturally or regionally specific there.
The point is, you don’t have to be perfect. If you hate tomatoes, don’t force yourself to eat them! The goal is just to strive for a healthier lifestyle than the one you are starting with. You can adapt these guidelines to fit your lifestyle, budget, and what is available where you live.
That’s part of the beauty of the Mediterranean Diet.
What are the benefits?
The Mediterranean Diet is popular not just for weight loss, but because of the benefits it has for your overall health. Here are the things you can look forward to if you follow this lifestyle:
Lower risk of cardiovascular disease
Healthy body weight
More stable blood sugar
Lower cholesterol and blood pressure
Better bowel movement regularity
Better brain function and cognition
Healthier joints
How does the Mediterranean Diet do all of that? Well, in addition to eating better, there are many other lifestyle recommendations that the diet prescribes such as enjoying meals away from screens with family or friends. This makes mealtime an event, where you are connecting with others and by default, slowing down and really enjoying your food and the process of dining.
You will also cook more at home, or make healthier choices when you eat out. These changes will help you reduce your intake of salt and saturated fats found in fried and processed food. You will have better awareness of what goes into each recipe and more control over what you are eating.
The Mediterranean Diet does allow for some moderate alcohol intake but discourages you from binge drinking or over-consuming. A glass of wine with dinner is standard, but if you don’t already drink, you don’t need to (and shouldn’t) start to follow this diet.
Finally, the Mediterranean Diet encourages regular exercise. People in this region of the world tend to walk more, owing to much more walkable cities, and generally lead more active lifestyles than we do in the United States. Try adding some gentle movement into your daily routine like a walk after dinner or some simple body weight exercises to build muscle.
So, what do you eat?
Okay, it’s finally time to get down to the nuts and bolts, what foods do you eat? Like I said, the specific foods you choose will probably differ depending on where you live and what’s available. However, the bulk of your diet should consist of the following food groups:
Vegetables
Fruits
Whole grains
Beans and legumes
Nuts and seeds
Olive oil
Seasoning with fresh herbs and spices
There are a few main principles that will help you to better understand the makeup of this diet.
The mediterranean Diet is Plant Based
In the U.S., we tend to build our meals around meat, especially red meat and pork. Many times these meat sources are also highly processed, fatty cuts. The Mediterranean Diet flips the script, with the majority of your calories coming from vegetables, while your protein comes from lots of beans and legumes and moderate servings of poultry, eggs, or fish.
In general you should aim to eat three servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. Examples of one serving could include one medium fruit such as an apple or pear, one cup of chopped fresh fruits or vegetables, two cups of leafy greens, or a half cup of cooked vegetables.
The mediterranean diet includes Healthy Fats
Unlike many other popular diets, this diet encourages a moderate amount of healthy fats. The types of fats that are considered healthy are unsaturated fats, coming from plant-based sources such as olive oil, nuts and seeds, or avocados, and fish. These unsaturated fats encourage a healthy heart, helping to raise your good cholesterol while lowering the bad cholesterol. You can enjoy animal based saturated fats such as butter, eggs, or cheese in moderation.
You should aim for three servings of healthy fats per day on this diet. This can look like one tablespoon of olive oil used in cooking or two tablespoons of nut butter spread on toast. Additionally, the Mediterranean Diet calls for three 3oz servings of fish per week.
the mediterranean diet Reduces Processed Meat and Refined Grains
The biggest change for many people when they begin the Mediterranean diet is the restriction of processed and refined foods.
Unlike traditional diets, the Mediterranean Diet actually encourages you to eat carbs, but it recommend that you focus on consuming whole grains rather than refined white flour. You can still enjoy a pastry as a treat rather than everyday.
Instead, try to eat 3-6 servings of whole grains everyday. A serving could be a half cup of cooked whole grains like rice or quinoa, one piece of whole grain toast or pita, or a cup of dry cereal like rolled oats.
Because your diet will suddenly be full of amazing fresh foods, you will naturally eat less processed foods high in fat or added sugar. Still, you should try to avoid highly processed meats like bacon, ground beef, or pork sausages in favor of poultry or fish. You should also try to eliminate sugary drinks from your diet and reach for water, coffee, or tea instead. Finally, reduce foods with added sugar.
The Bottom Line
Making a major change to your diet can be difficult, and I encourage you to begin by focusing on what you can add, taking slow steps to incorporate healthier options more frequently rather than trying to overhaul your whole lifestyle overnight. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, and it’s okay to make adjustments to better fit your lifestyle.
Finally, you should always consult your doctor before making any major changes to your lifestyle to ensure that the diet or exercise routine you are considering is the right fit for you.
Resources:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/16037-mediterranean-diet
