Are you following a Mediterranean diet?
I have been reading about the Mediterranean diet. A lot of the health benefits appear to be common sense. It makes perfect sense that a good diet would be good for your heart, cholesterol, brain, blood sugar, skin and weight.
I eat fish and use olive oil, so loosely follow parts of it. Even enjoy red wine! I would consider myself a quite healthy person in their forties in the western world.
Considering adopting the diet more stringently, and would be interested to hear other people's experiences and opinion if they have adopted the Mediterranean diet, and whether they feel better for it.
by BackgroundStable6953
5 Comments
I eat this way 90% of the time, and the more I adhere to the guidelines, the better I feel.
I do feel better for it. I’ve been on it since 2020 when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. With food and medicine I have been in remission for years now, my cholesterol is down, I sleep better, I don’t have cravings anymore (recovered binge eater) and my mood is also better. I am also really proud of myself for making these choices. My husband eats better but still is not on board, but even so, I have made a real life change for myself, and I think it was the first “selfish thing” I’ve ever done in my adult life, and I am almost 64. Also, though I eat a lot every day, I have been very easily able to maintain my original Weight Watchers loss from six years ago and am actually more than a handful of pounds lower than my goal weight from that time. To actually eat because I love myself rather than eating because I hated myself…. it’s a wonderful life change. It has changed me mind, body and soul.
I’ll tell you the actual drawbacks I’ve personally encountered. This diet has been a) expensive (salmon, tuna steaks, elite olive oil, many imported ingredients from Europe, etc.) and b) not super easy to cook (a base understanding of cooking and some skill is needed) This means that if you are broke 21 year old male student without a proper Kitchen this might not be diet for you. The closer you are to a “Nonna”the better it will be.
The best thing about this diet is that it has some of the most insane flavourful and delicious meals by itself, and has tons of variety because between Spain, Southern France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Portugal Israel, Morocco, and the rest of the countries you can find delicious, varied food consistently.
I love this way of eating. I’m a vegetarian so naturally my plate is mostly vegetables however I became vegetarian and then started this like 2 months later so they go hand in hand for me.
First off, I cheat on bread on occasion and get sourdough from a local bakery. Sometimes it’s whole grain sometimes it isn’t and I buy it all the same lol however I eat bread a max of once a week. I also drink diet pop (I know I know… Not exactly in the spirit of the diet but I like a gin and 7 and hate wine what can I say). I also don’t eat a protein dominant meal everyday, but I eat more than enough protein for my nutritional needs.
The diet mostly helps me focus on a broad set of ideas and rules and focus on those. I don’t completely deprive myself of anything but I’m very conscious of proportions of my plate and the guidance on fats. And I love to cook so it’s shaping that as well. I increase my dairy intake slightly to make up for missing the poultry and seafood layers of the pyramid (so much Greek yogurt).
That being said if you are eating a healthy diet, not consuming a lot of red meat, sugar or simple carbs you’re probably doing well. Make sure you’re getting omega 3s if you don’t like fish (I get a DHA veggie supplement) and B12 if you don’t eat much/any meat.
If you can portion your plate correctly and undo the “diet culture” feels about it it’s really not a huge transition
I loosely follow it although lean more toward a Green Mediterranean Diet, which is basically the same but fewer grains and more well green plants. 🙂 I have no problem eating lots of vegetables, organic, high quality olive oil, some berries, fruits that are in season, some whole grains, some red wine, oily wild-caught fish, meat on occasion.
It’s a great way of eating and I’d add to gain the full benefits you might want to consider a bit more the Mediterranean living style, in general, which involves more sociality at the dinner table, taking longer to eat, taking breaks, being more mindful of flavors/textures/sensations, privileging quality over quantity, taking walks, getting a lot of sun, etc.