Mediterranean diet?

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

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.

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.