All about The Mediterranean Diet

Priya Chaudhari highlights the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and how best to adapt it to daily life.

- Ms Priya Chaudhari

Did you know that the Mediterranean diet is recognized by the World Health Organization as a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern?

Introduction

Mediterranean diet is a generic term based on the traditional healthy eating habits of people from around 16 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea including France, Greece, Italy and Spain. The eating habits vary by country based on their culture, religion, economy, ethnic background and agricultural production. So, the Mediterranean diet has a range of definitions with some common factors.

There is no single definition of the Mediterranean diet, but in general, it's built around plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, beans, nut and seeds, olive oil and seafood. Relatively moderate amounts of dairy, poultry and eggs are included. In contrast, red meat is eaten very occasionally.

Mediterranean style diet

The Mediterranean diet has been linked to good health and is considered to be one of the healthiest eating plans to prevent chronic disease. In the 1960s, researchers noted that in Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Italy, people were exceptionally healthy and had the lowest rates of chronic disease in the world. Their life expectancy was the highest and the number of deaths caused by coronary heart disease was fewer than the U.S. and northern Europe. Compared to Americans, people living in the Mediterranean region had a low risk of many lifestyle diseases. This focused interest on their lifestyle, especially their diet.

Plant-based, not meat-based

People are generally quite resistant to modifying their diet, especially if they are advised to avoid comfort food (which could be unhealthy, processed or junk food). The Mediterranean diet is a stop-gap way of eating healthy which is sustainable, inexpensive and appealing to the taste buds.