The Mediterranean diet.

THE O.G. diet of good health and why it’s a good place to start when it comes to improving your diet.

The Mediterranean diet has long been studied for its benefits to health. Our fascination with the Mediterranean diet could be put down to the glowing skin, longevity, good mood and well-balanced lifestyles of our friends in the Mediterranean region.

The Mediterranean diet remains relevant while western society has been overtaken by highly processed, refined foods. Unfortunately, these foods that are so readily available to us are cheap, energy dense, nutritionally void, addictive and contribute to the development of metabolic diseases not to mention the effect that they have on our mental health, gut health, and immune system function.

The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet were first discovered in the 1950’s by American nutritionist Ancel Keys. He noticed during his early studies that the health of poor populations of people in Southern Italy were significantly better than that of wealthy citizens in New York. This led to further studies on diet and population group health in other countries. Through these studies it was shown that the Mediterranean diet was linked to higher nutrient intake and improved health outcomes.

Foods included in the Mediterranean diet:

Olive oil

Pasta

Bread

Vegetables

Wholegrains

Legumes

Nuts

Beans

Herbs

Oily fish

Fruit

Low to moderate meat intake

Low to moderate alcohol intake (consumed with food)

Broken down when following a Mediterranean style diet you can break it down into what you should be eating on a daily, weekly and less regular basis.

Daily intake should include:

vegetables, wholegrains, fruit, beans, nuts, legumes, olive oil, small amounts of dairy if tolerated, water

Weekly intake includes:

fish, poultry, eggs

Small amounts:

foods containing refined sugar, red meat, alcohol

Why I approve…

Essentially the Mediterranean diet represents a balanced diet meaning that it provides:

macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat, fibre)

micronutrients (zinc, iron, magnesium, calcium, b vitamins etc.)

antioxidants

phytonutrients

moderate intake alcohol, refined sugar, saturated fat.

What are the benefits?

reduced inflammation

reduced risk of CVD

weight loss and maintenance

mental health

healthy aging and longevity

improved mood

How to make the Mediterranean diet work for you.

Stock your pantry with staples such as good quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, dried herbs and spices, wholegrains, and legumes. Buy in bulk to make this easier for weekly meal planning/prepping.

Shop for seasonal produce at local farmers markets.

Fill half of your plate with colourful vegetables.

Include high quality protein and fats.

Make time to enjoy preparing and eating your food.

The Mediterranean diet provides diversity and avoids restriction, the focus is essentially on eating a balanced diet that provides nutrients supportive of overall good health whilst avoiding restrictive diet practices that we have come to associate with “being healthy” in western society.

E.A.N

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Reference list

Altomare, R., Cacciabaudo, F., Damiano, G., Palumbo, V. D., Gioviale, M. C., Bellavia, M., Tomasello, G., & Lo Monte, A. I. (2013). The mediterranean diet: a history of health. Iranian journal of public health, 42(5), 449–457.

The SMILEs Trial. https://foodandmoodcentre.com.au/smiles-trial/