Mediterranean diet?

tekwriter

Has anyone tried the Mediterranean diet? My gastro Dr. recommended that type of diet. I have started reading about it and wondered if anyone had tried it and what they thought?

Cherimoose

I don't strictly follow it, but i've seen a bunch of discussions on it here. If you use the search option, you'll find some of them.

SuzanneC1l9zz

I loosely follow the MIND diet, which is a hybrid of the Mediterranian and DASH diets (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension - designed by cardiologists). I was doing it for years before finding out it was an actual thing with a name. It's an easy one for me - foods I love - and it makes sense health-wise. The MFP blog did an article on it a while back if you want more info. Should be able to find it with the search function.

snowflake954

I live in Italy and we eat the Med diet everyday. Here everyone does.

dragon_girl26

snowflake954 wrote: »

I live in Italy and we eat the Med diet everyday. Here everyone does.

I get the overall concept of the Mediterranean diet, although it still confuses me a bit by how generic it seems, considering each part of the Mediterranean is different. I'm assuming in Italy, for instance, you probably eat a decent amount of pasta, seafood, vegetables ,etc..
My boyfriend is from a different part of the Mediterranean region (Tunisia), and he seems to thrive off of olives, tuna, harissa, spicy foods, and also things that are clearly have Middle Eastern influences, and halal on top of that.

Anyway, I don't personally eat exactly to the letter of this diet, but I try to get as close as possible.

janejellyroll

dragon_girl26 wrote: »

snowflake954 wrote: »

I live in Italy and we eat the Med diet everyday. Here everyone does.

I get the overall concept of the Mediterranean diet, although it still confuses me a bit by how generic it seems, considering each part of the Mediterranean is different. I'm assuming in Italy, for instance, you probably eat a decent amount of pasta, seafood, vegetables ,etc..
My boyfriend is from a different part of the Mediterranean region (Tunisia), and he seems to thrive off of olives, tuna, harissa, spicy foods, and also things that are clearly have Middle Eastern influences, and halal on top of that.

Anyway, I don't personally eat exactly to the letter of this diet, but I try to get as close as possible.

I think this is because when health professionals talk about the "Mediterranean diet," they're not saying just "eat like someone in the Mediterranean," they're referring to a specific diet pattern that was recorded in the 1960s as part of a dietary study.

It looks something like this:

" . . . it is typically high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nut and seeds, and olive oil.

The main components of Mediterranean diet include:

Daily consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy fats
Weekly intake of fish, poultry, beans and eggs
Moderate portions of dairy products
Limited intake of red meat
Other important elements of the Mediterranean diet are sharing meals with family and friends, enjoying a glass of red wine and being physically active."

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801

Someone could have a very Mediterranean diet, in that it is culturally based on genuine patterns in their region, and not really fit this style. And one could have a very "Mediterranean diet" that meets the above qualifications, but wouldn't really be recognized as such by people from the region.

snowflake954

dragon_girl26 wrote: »

snowflake954 wrote: »

I live in Italy and we eat the Med diet everyday. Here everyone does.

I get the overall concept of the Mediterranean diet, although it still confuses me a bit by how generic it seems, considering each part of the Mediterranean is different. I'm assuming in Italy, for instance, you probably eat a decent amount of pasta, seafood, vegetables ,etc..
My boyfriend is from a different part of the Mediterranean region (Tunisia), and he seems to thrive off of olives, tuna, harissa, spicy foods, and also things that are clearly have Middle Eastern influences, and halal on top of that.

Anyway, I don't personally eat exactly to the letter of this diet, but I try to get as close as possible.

This is true. The Mediterranean is vast, with many different countries and eating habits. Several basics are the same. These can be found researching the Med diet UNESCO.
This means it can be complicated for some because the choices are so many, but that also means that there is something for everyone.

Italy alone has different eating habits from North to South, and East to West. It's a treasure trove of delicious food. Sicily has a lot of influence from Tunisia, for instance, and they use couscous.

I've been here 36 years, and find that it's just what we used to call a balanced meal. There is a little of everything and quality ingredients are the norm.

riffraff2112

My anecdotal observations with having spent several years in Greece and Italy. I have relatives in both countries and they inhabit quite a few regions, including islands, small mountain villages and large cities. They definitely tend to have some shared beliefs and in general have seen their older generation live long, healthy lives. The 'diet' is a lifestyle, weight loss is a byproduct but overall health and wellness is the goal. Some of Earth's 'Blue Zones' - places where lifespan is the highest, are from this region.

1- A lot of whole foods, direct to plate. Red meat is limited to once a week.
2- High quality dairy and grains, great pride goes into producing this and generations have perfected their recipes.
3- Walking is their main source of travel. Amazing to see even octogenarians climbing up steep walkways to get groceries. The car is for road trips.
4- Fast food is pretty hard to find except in the big cities. Junk food was not really stocked in peoples homes. They generally have a few things (biscuits, cookies, dessert) on hand if company shows up, but loading up on pop, potato chips just to munch on at night was not a common thing.
5- olive oil and wine are necessities.


Some of their habits seem to defy what we have been told about what is healthy. For example it is true that they tend to favor sugary breakfasts, bread stuffed with nutella for example is pretty common, and they do eat a lot of bread.

lemurcat2

I think the doctor is likely talking about what's often called a healthy eating pattern, and it's a great way of eating, although I think associating it with the foods of the Mediterranean regions can be needlessly confusing (and they are diverse).

Using the healthy eating pattern approach with some Med elements thrown in, it typically means:

For added fat use olive oil vs butter/lard/animal fat, for the most part

Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruit (in season is great, but depending on where you live that may not be very Med like)

Eat fatty fish and other seafood and limit other meat. Remember beans/lentils are also a great source of fiber and protein and are good to include in your diet

Eat whole grains vs refined

Don't eat lots of high cal/low nutrient foods with lots of added sugar and/or fat

Generally eat whole foods cooked from scratch

Beyond this, enjoy food and use a variety of herbs and spices for flavoring, drink wine in moderation if that appeals for you and works for you, try to get in regular daily movement and have ways to reduce stress in your life.

Thoin

SuzanneC1l9zz wrote: »

I loosely follow the MIND diet, which is a hybrid of the Mediterranian and DASH diets (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension - designed by cardiologists). I was doing it for years before finding out it was an actual thing with a name. It's an easy one for me - foods I love - and it makes sense health-wise. The MFP blog did an article on it a while back if you want more info. Should be able to find it with the search function.

Thank you, I had no idea there was a name for this!

Thoin

tekwriter wrote: »

Has anyone tried the Mediterranean diet? My gastro Dr. recommended that type of diet. I have started reading about it and wondered if anyone had tried it and what they thought?

Yes, it is excellent and full of nutrition and fiber. Not to mention that there are tons of books out there to help with it. Most you can get free from your library. I found that my calories needed for the day actually matched the serving size recommendations for my body type. Another diet that is very similar is the DASH diet which is basically the same thing but focuses on sodium intake.

I just discovered the MIND diet which is very exciting for me because I don't eat much fish and I don't like to restrict my sauces (which usually puts me over the sodium limit) for vegetables.

tekwriter

Thanks to all of you!

candylilacs

I use to think that Mediterranean diet was unlimited pasta! Well, I was wrong. Just like meat and vegetables.

I'm on keto, and the diet was simply meat and vegetables.

suzij27

This is a fairly common question on MFP because there seem to be a lot of doctors recommending it.

I think the confusion comes from the use of the word “diet”. I believe the recommendation is for a way of eating, like what @lemurcat2 described above versus a specific food plan (eat 2 of these, 1 of this, etc).