Mediterranean diet

What is the Mediterranean diet?

Let’s start by saying that the Mediterranean diet has nothing to do with weight loss – it’s more like a set of dietary guidelines that make us healthier and feel better. The Mediterranean diet has been defined by UNESCO as “The Mediterranean diet involves a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, and particularly the sharing and consumption of food.“.

The word “diet“, which today has become synonymous with “weight loss“, comes from the ancient Greek δίαιτα (diaita), meaning a way of life or proper nutrition.

To meet modern canons of beauty and in pursuit of health and beauty, mankind invents and practices a variety of diets. 

Most of them, to put it mildly, are dangerous to health or even harmful, but the Mediterranean diet is an exception. The Mediterranean diet is a balanced, healthy diet that will provide your body with everything it needs – it has no contraindications and certainly will not harm your health.

But.

Again, the Mediterranean Diet is not just another weight loss diet, it should be seen as a guide to healthy eating. If you follow it and eat more than you need, you will still gain weight, and vice versa – if you are in a calorie deficit, your weight will go down.

So, what is so special about the Mediterranean diet?

It has been noted that Mediterranean populations are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease and have different life expectancies – for example, Cretans had the highest life expectancy in the world in the 1950s, and 60s – an average of 80 years.

Diet and lifestyle were found to be the prerequisites for longevity.

The Mediterranean diet varies from country to country (Italy, Greece, Spain …), and from one region to another and therefore has different definitions.

But in general:

• Vegetables, legumes and fruit contribute about 60% of the total amount eaten (vitamins, trace elements, antioxidants, fibre). Produce is minimally processed, seasonal, fresh and locally grown.
• Cheese and yoghurt are eaten regularly, but in small or moderate quantities;
• No fat is used – only cold-pressed olive oil (Crete consumes around 80 litres of olive oil per capita per year).
• Salt is used little – it is replaced by various spices, for example – if pepper or hot red peppers (chilli, etc.) are added to food, they make the taste receptors more sensitive to salt, so less salt can be added.
• Cereals are soaked before cooking (the water removes some of the starch).
• Seafood is used as a meat substitute ( fish is eaten at least 2 times a week).
• For dessert, fresh fruit is used. Sweets with added sugar or honey are eaten only a few times a week.
• Meals are more frequent – 4-5 times a day.
• 5-2 litres of water per day – as a compulsory part of the diet.
• Wine in small quantities, with food.

In other words – plenty of vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, beans, cereals, grains, fish and seafood, unsaturated fats (olive oil), lean meat, wholemeal products, naturally low-fat dairy products, water and herbal teas.

How can I move my eating habits towards a Mediterranean diet?

Make changes gradually – if you change your eating habits immediately and drastically, the changes are unlikely to last.

Choose one thing each week and introduce it gradually. Start with the changes you think will be easiest to stick to in the long term (for the rest of your life).

Here are some small changes you can make:

1. Switch from whatever fats you are currently using to extra virgin olive oil. Start by using olive oil in your cooking. Then try olive oil in new salad dressings. Finally, use olive oil instead of butter on wholemeal bread (try it – it’s delicious😊).
2. Instead of factory snacks, eat fresh fruit or a small handful of nuts.
3. Choose wholemeal bread or other wholemeal products. Choose dense, chewy, “country” bread without added sugar or butter. Experiment with bulgur, barley, farro, couscous and wholemeal pasta.
4. Start or end each meal with a salad. Choose crisp, dark green seasonal greens and vegetables.
5. Add an extra portion of vegetables to both lunch and dinner, aiming for three to four portions of vegetables a day. Try a new vegetable each week.
6. Eat at least three portions of legumes a week (lentils, chickpeas, beans or peas).
7. Choose lean poultry meat – 3 to 4 small portions a week. Red meat is not forbidden, but is better in stews and soups.
8. Eat more fish – two to three portions a week. Salmon, trout, mackerel and sardines are best.
9. Replace beer and other alcoholic drinks with wine, but no more than two glasses a day for men and one glass a day for women.
10. Cut out sweetened drinks. Replace lemonades and juices with water or herbal tea.
11. Eat fewer desserts high in fat and sugar. It is best to eat fresh fruit as a dessert (up to about three fruits a day). Leave cakes and pastries for special occasions.
12. Try to eat locally grown, seasonal foods.
13. Use herbs and spices to add variety to your meals – they not only improve taste but also reduce the need for salt.
14. Try to cook for yourself as often as possible and at least have family dinners – family feeling and shared food experiences are an important part of the Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean diet is not just about the products, it is also about being physically active and sharing meals with loved ones – it is a family approach. Enjoy your meals!

Mediterranean diet meal plan for a week

Sample of a 7-day Mediterranean diet meal plan (portion sizes depend on your average daily energy/calorie expenditure).

Key takeaways

Nutrition is an interesting thing – most people don’t think much about what they put in their mouths because there is no immediate effect – health problems take years to appear. Most of the products on the menu today are industrially processed – they contain preservatives, emulsifiers, colourings … many of these additives are completely artificially synthesised, which our body does not recognise (or they form compounds in our body which our body does not recognise) – and if it does not recognise them, it cannot process them and eliminate the harmful ones. Years go by and we start visiting doctors, which in many cases would not be necessary if we had not polluted our bodies with all kinds of crap over the years.

75%-85% of chronic diseases are lifestyle-related (including eating habits) and cannot be explained by genetic predisposition alone.

The well-balanced Mediterranean diet, which uses almost exclusively fresh produce, is recommended above all to improve our health and well-being.

Eat a balanced diet, move and – be healthy!