You must have heard about various diets including the keto diet, protein diet, detox diet, and whatnot. But you have been missing out on the father of them all. Every special diet offers a maximum of a handful of benefits with loads of restriction and side effects. Why not look into a diet that promises nothing but good health and allows you to have all food groups? The benefits of the Mediterranean diet outgrow the benefits of all other diets combined.
Read more about the other diets that you can go for.
The diet is based on the observation that people in Greece and Italy had a lower prevalence of deaths due to coronary heart disease than in the United States. Researches showed that the reason behind this was their Mediterranean eating pattern. The foundation of this diet is more and more whole grains, good fats, fresh fruits and vegetables, and low meat consumption.
Mediterranean diet is one of the few diets endorsed by Dietary Guidelines for Americans to promote health and prevent chronic disease. Even WHO recognizes it as a healthy eating pattern. This shows that the benefits of the Mediterranean diet are backed and endorsed by science and research.
How To Eat The Mediterranean Way?
Eating the Mediterranean way is probably the easiest and the most effective way to eat healthily. You don’t have to go to the grocery store to start this diet. Another benefit of the Mediterranean diet is that you will find everything required in your pantry. You just have to throw away the cans of coke and plastic-wrapped food.
Following are the rules to follow a Mediterranean diet
1. Pack On Whole Grains
Whole grains should be your choice of carbs. Just exchange your white bread with whole-grain bread and white rice with brown rice. You can play with less common whole grains like bulgur and faro. Digging up a little will show you a new realm of healthy recipes.
2. Use Healthy Fats
On one hand, we have diets like keto that promote excessive fat consumption and on the other hand, we have all other diets that prohibit fat consumption. The Mediterranean diet here takes the middle route. It promotes the consumption of healthy fats. Switching your butter with olive oil will help.
3. Munch On Fruits And Vegetables
You should aim for at least 7-10 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day. This is the foundation of the Mediterranean diet. Most of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet owe their existence to excessive fruit and vegetable consumption.
4. Focus On Sea Food
The Mediterranean diet encourages the consumption of lean meat like fish. Substituting other meats with fish can guarantee weight loss and a number of other health benefits. You should eat fish at least twice a week on the Mediterranean diet.
5. Avoid Red Meat
This eating pattern advises avoiding excessive consumption of red meat. You should restrict your meat consumption to lean meat only. Try to substitute red meat with fish, poultry, and beans.
6. Take Some Dairy
This diet allows you to have your favorite cheese and fruit yogurt in limited quantities.
A Mediterranean diet pyramid will help you understand better, the quantity and quality of food you should consume.
Benefits Of The Mediterranean Diet
We can not cover all the benefits of the Mediterranean diet in just one article, but here are a few of the most prominent health benefits of the Mediterranean diet
1. Protects the Heart
Innumerable scientific researches suggest that this style of eating can help to lower the risk of heart disease. A detailed study carried out in 2013 clearly shows that 7000 women in Spain with type 2 diabetes had a 30% lower risk of heart disease when on a Mediterranean diet. These results were noticed without any exercise. The same study was carried again in 2018 to remove any flaws or criticism that might have happened the first time. Surprisingly similar results were noticed the second time too.
Read more about foods to avoid for a healthy heart.
2. Helps In Weight Loss
If you look into your daily eating routine, you will find a number of calories dense packaged foods. Mediterranean diet, very smarty removes all such bad foods from your diet. Mediterranean diet enforces the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. This makes this diet a fiber-rich diet. Fiber promises a healthy gut and weight loss.
If you are looking to go for this diet with immediate weight loss, you shouldn’t. Because even if it promises weight loss it doesn’t promise fast weight loss. Still, a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet, coupled with effective exercise will help a bundle in weight loss. As mentioned, in its 2019 rankings, U.S. News & World Report rated the Mediterranean diet as No. 1 in its Best Diets Overall category, yet the diet tied with several other plans for the 17th position among the website’s Best Weight Loss Diets.
3. Manage Type 2 Diabetes
A detailed study carried over 4 years, studied two groups of people. One following a Mediterranean diet with olive oil and nuts supplementation and others following a normal diet. The results were collected after 4 years and people following the Mediterranean diet had a 52% lower risk of type 2 diabetes. These results were noticed without enforcing any exercise or weight loss.
Not only it lowers the risk of diabetes, but it can also help control your already present diabetes. A study carried out in 2013 suggests that the Mediterranean diet can help lower the blood glucose level more than other carbohydrate-restricted and protein-restricted diets.
4. Improve Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease. A diet low in processed foods and irritating food, like the Mediterranean diet, can help in the control of all inflammatory diseases. Moreover, the Mediterranean diet is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and these have very strong anti-inflammatory properties. This helps in relieving the arthritis symptoms.
The Next Step
No matter how much a diet is praised, your very first step should be to consult a nutritionist. A nutritionist can guide you all about the Mediterranean diet and all other diets that might be good for you.
Book an appointment now, to answer all your queries. You can book an appointment with top nutritionists in Pakistan through Marham by calling at Marham helpline: 0311-1222398 or by online appointment booking facility through the website or Marham mobile app.
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