What is the 'Mediterranean Diet'?

You may have heard something about the Mediterranean diet recently. It's been featured in the media, and a number of people are trying it as part of an attempt to live a healthier lifestyle. But just what is the Mediterranean diet?

At its most basic, the Mediterranean diet is a nutritional model that's based on traditional eating practices in a number of countries around the Mediterranean. There's no one specific diet since each of these countries has its own food traditions, and even regions within a country can have very different menus. However, there are some consistencies between countries in this area. Most people in Mediterranean countries traditionally eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole cereal grains, beans and legumes, seeds and nuts. They tend to use olive oil as their most important fat, and focus on unsaturated fats in general. They eat only moderate amounts of poultry, fish, and dairy foods, and little red meat. Eggs are eaten only infrequently, and wine is consumed, but only moderately.

Studies have found that people who eat this kind of diet also have something else in common. They enjoy unusually good health, if their healthy eating is also accompanied by regular exercise and other healthy practices. Despite the fact that Mediterranean peoples eat a moderate to high amount of fat, they suffer from less heart disease, have lower incidences of diabetes, and have lower blood pressure than the average American. Since we associate high fat diets with being unhealthy, this has confused a lot of people. Shouldn't people in the Mediterranean have a higher incidence of heart disease? Reliance on monounsaturated fats, particularly olive oil, is generally cited as the reason for this excellent health. This oil has also been indicated in the prevention of ulcers, and it can be used to treat them. Red wine, another major part of the Mediterranean diet, is known to contain powerful antioxidants, which could be a factor in reducing cell damage.

What's surprising is that this knowledge has been around since the mid-1940s. Information on the Mediterranean diet was first published in 1945 by Ancel Keys, while he was stationed in Italy. Despite this, this healthy eating plan didn't get much attention until the 1990s. Now, people are beginning to realize that adjusting their diets to more closely match that of traditional Mediterranean countries could be a big boost to their overall health.

Some people have criticized this eating plan, stating that it's not just diet that keeps people in countries around the Mediterranean Sea healthy. That's certainly true. Without a good exercise plan and a healthy outlook on life, the way you eat can't repair your body by itself. However, this diet is definitely a factor. In a study of 22,000 people living in Greece, those who ate most traditionally had better health. They were less likely to die of cancer or heart disease than people who didn't stick to traditional foods. They were also twenty-five percent less likely to die over the course of the study than others. This suggests a longer lifespan for people who choose this particular way of eating. That means that it's not just genetics that leads people living in this area to live longer than other people in Europe. The way they eat plays a big part in their health and life expectancy.

One notable conclusion from the above study is that individually, components of the Mediterranean diet weren't as effective as all of them in concert. Olive oil by itself, or consumption of fish by itself didn't provide the kind of heart and cancer protection that a traditional diet can offer. It's the interaction of all the ingredients in the Mediterranean diet that makes it so effective. A varied diet, using a moderate amount of "good" fats, and low reliance on animal products helps give people living in the Mediterranean area their excellent health, and it could help you, too.

You can start out adjusting your diet by choosing a greater variety of vegetables, choosing whole grains, and making olive oil your major source of fat. Drink wine and eat cheese, but only in moderation. Red meat should be treated in much the same way. Look for lean cuts of red meat and poultry, and try eating a larger proportion of fish. Substitute olive oil for butter when cooking, and try foods like avocado to provide interest where you would use mayonnaise or cream. You can change your diet to a healthier one without sacrificing taste, as long as you stay creative.

The Mediterranean diet has been benefiting people who eat it traditionally for hundreds of years. There's no reason that we can't change the way we eat to reflect this healthier way of living, and enjoy the great traditional foods of Mediterranean countries. This style of diet not only helps us resist heart disease and other ailments, but tastes great too. If you're thinking about a healthier way of eating, try a Mediterranean style diet today.

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