Quick Tips to Start a Mediterranean Diet
Try these tips to jump-start your Mediterranean diet:
Swap out butter and margarine for healthier olive oil. Increase your vegetable intake by adding a couple more servings to your plate at each meal. Replace refined grains with whole, ancient, or alternative grains. Wheat is often genetically modified and contains gluten. There’s no need to consume animal protein. Choose plant-based sources of protein like seeds, nuts, and beans. If you must eat meat, do so occasionally and opt for lean, organic cuts that are humanely raised. For snacks, eat a handful of raw nuts such as almonds, cashews, walnuts, or pistachios. Satisfy your sweet tooth with a piece of fresh fruit. Have more sit-down meals with family and friends, following the Mediterranean way. Avoid eating while using your cell phone or in front of the computer or TV.
What Is the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean diet is based on the lifestyle of people from Southern Italy, Greece, and neighboring countries before globalization introduced processed and fast foods. To enhance its health benefits, combine this diet with regular exercise and social connections, like enjoying relaxed meals with family and friends.
The Mediterranean diet isn’t strictly plant-based, but it can be. It includes a variety of plant-based proteins as well as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, brown rice, and nuts. Use olive oil instead of fats like butter or margarine. If desired, include a moderate amount of red wine.
Following the Mediterranean diet closely can lead to weight loss. This may occur because you’ll consume high-fiber foods, avoid processed foods and refined sugars, and replace saturated fats with healthy fats, such as olive oil. Despite its clear guidelines, the Mediterranean diet is not as restrictive as many other diets.
What Can You Eat?
The Mediterranean diet offers a wide range of food choices. To get started, be sure to add these items to your grocery shopping list.
Vegetables & Fruits
Vegetables and fruits form the largest tier of the Mediterranean diet food pyramid, making them an essential part of all your meals. Increase your produce intake and aim for about nine servings a day of antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruits. Select a variety of colors for maximum impact: red, orange, and yellow veggies and fruits, green leafy vegetables, and dark-hued berries, eggplants, olives, etc. Fruit makes an excellent dessert.
Whole Grains
Include whole-grain versions of bread, pasta, rice, quinoa, and cereal grains in your diet. Avoid refined grains like white bread and pasta made with refined or bleached flour. These are high on the glycemic index and lower in fiber. Also, try to avoid GMOs, gluten, and wheat.
Fish & Seafood
While a plant-based diet is considered the healthiest, fish and seafood are integral to the Mediterranean diet due to its origins near the Mediterranean Sea. Aim for at least two servings a week of fish, scallops, oysters, or other seafood. Choose varieties high in omega-3 fatty acids and low in mercury and other contaminants. Good options include wild-caught salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, mussels, clams, and oysters. Refer to a sustainable seafood guide for options that are sustainably harvested and low in contaminants.
Poultry
Moderate consumption of poultry, such as chicken, turkey, or quail, is recommended—about two servings a week. These are alternatives to red meat, which you should consume infrequently. If you eat meat, choose organic, free-range, humanely-raised animals. However, your overall health may improve if you strive for a primarily plant-based diet.
Eggs & Dairy
The Mediterranean diet includes moderate amounts of eggs and dairy products. Fermented dairy products like Greek yogurt, and traditional or raw cheeses such as gorgonzola and feta, are common. Raw sheep or goat’s milk and goat cheese are also recommended.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A staple of Mediterranean cuisine, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is rich in antioxidants and monounsaturated fat, offering many health benefits including a lower rate of heart disease. If olive oil isn’t your preference, try avocado oil. Use oil on bread instead of butter and mix it with vinegar for a simple salad dressing.
Nuts & Seeds
Nuts and seeds are a healthy, protein-rich snack. Add Mediterranean nuts like almonds, pine nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, or pistachios to your salad. Opt for raw nuts, as roasting can alter their healthy fat content, and avoid heavily salted or candied nuts. Tahini, made from sesame seeds, is another excellent choice.
Beans & Legumes
Include beans and legumes such as lentils, garbanzos (chickpeas), and cannellini (white kidney) beans in your diet. These are great sources of protein and pair well with cereal grains like brown rice, quinoa, or whole-grain pasta for a healthy dish.
Herbs & Spices
Use herbs and spices liberally to add flavor to meals and reduce salt cravings. Common herbs include basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, and thyme. Popular spices are saffron, turmeric, paprika, coriander, and cardamom. You can also try spice blends like za’atar.
Wine
Enjoying wine in moderation is part of the Mediterranean lifestyle. Experts suggest no more than a three-ounce serving for women and a five-ounce serving for men. However, the healthiest option is no alcohol.
Other Beverages
Water is the main beverage in the Mediterranean diet. You can also enjoy coffee and tea. We recommend distilled water for its purity.
Foods to Avoid
Avoid the following unhealthy foods not part of a traditional Mediterranean diet.
Processed Foods
Steer clear of factory-made foods that often contain added sugar, artificial colors and flavors, unhealthy trans fats, high sodium, and chemical preservatives. Processed foods are strongly linked to weight gain.
Red Meat & Processed Meat
Avoid red meat (beef and pork) and heavily processed meat like sausage, hot dogs, bacon, and salami, which contain harmful chemicals like nitrates and nitrites.
Added Sugar
Limit packaged food, which usually has added refined sugar. Avoid soft drinks and limit sweets. Always read food labels and strive to make your own recipes for better ingredient control.
Refined Grains
Avoid refined grains like white rice and white flour, which lack the healthy fiber and nutrients found in whole grains. Replace them with whole-grain alternatives.
Trans Fats
Avoid trans fats, often listed as “partially hydrogenated” oils in ingredient lists, as they are linked to heart disease and other health issues.
Example Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan
Here’s an example meal plan to help you follow the Mediterranean diet:
Day One
Breakfast: Steel-cut oatmeal with apples or raisins. Lunch: Minestrone soup with whole-grain bread; side salad with sliced almonds and olives. Dinner: Cauliflower crust pizza with vegetables, green bean salad with balsamic dressing; fruit salad for dessert.
Day Two
Breakfast: Nut-milk Greek yogurt with peaches, granola, and a drizzle of honey. Lunch: Green lentil salad with spiced carrots. Dinner: Whole-grain pasta primavera; side salad; fruit for dessert.
Day Three
Breakfast: Authentic Greek peach barley. Lunch: Greek salad; whole-grain pita bread with hummus. Dinner: Grilled vegetables served over salad greens; baked potato with olive oil; steamed broccolini.
Can You Be Vegetarian on the Mediterranean Diet?
With its focus on plant-based whole foods, the Mediterranean diet is easy to follow as a vegetarian or vegan. Beans, nuts, seeds, seitan, and whole grains like quinoa are good vegan protein choices. Vegetarians have even more protein options with eggs and dairy.
Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet
Since the late 1950s, scientists have been intrigued by the Mediterranean diet. The 15-year Seven Countries Study and others have documented its health benefits. Besides aiding weight loss, this diet may prevent heart disease and promote long-term good health.
Promotes Heart Health
The Seven Countries Study found lower coronary artery disease and heart failure rates in Mediterranean countries compared to Northern Europe and the United States. Researchers linked the Mediterranean diet with lower cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and fewer cardiac events like heart attacks and strokes.
Aids Weight Loss
The Mediterranean diet appeals even to non-dieters as a way to lose weight and stay healthy. You can lose weight on this diet without restricting calories by using olive oil liberally. The diet also helps maintain weight loss, with people losing between 9 and 22 pounds and keeping it off after a year. Incorporate physical activity for better results.
Helps Prevent Cancer
Several studies link the Mediterranean diet with reduced breast cancer risk. It is also associated with a lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer and a lower incidence of colon and rectal cancer.
Protects Against Chronic Diseases
The Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and kidney disease.
Supports Brain Function
The diet’s emphasis on vegetables, fruits, and lean protein benefits brain health. Some studies link it with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. One study found that older adults adhering to a Mediterranean diet had brains about five years younger.
Improves Longevity
The Mediterranean diet supports overall health, often linked with a longer lifespan. One study suggests it may protect telomeres, which normally shorten with aging. Longer telomeres are a biomarker of longevity.
Ease of Following
The Mediterranean diet is easy to follow, adding to its popularity. You won’t need to count carbs or calories, and it allows a variety of foods to ensure you get the nutrients you need.
Are There Side Effects?
The Mediterranean diet evolved naturally over centuries and among real communities. Its side effects are minimal and usually arise from overindulgence in allowed foods like fat, wine, or high-fat dairy. Overindulging in wine can lead to health issues like liver disease. Fat consumption isn’t strictly limited, so be mindful of intake. Ensure you get enough calcium, especially if avoiding dairy. Plant-based sources like spinach, kale, and broccoli are good options.
Should You Try the Mediterranean Diet?
For most people, adopting the Mediterranean diet can be beneficial. It emphasizes whole foods and includes plenty of vegetables and fruits. While it can help prevent type 2 diabetes, those with diabetes should watch their carb intake.
Points to Remember
The Mediterranean diet is more than just a diet—it’s a lifestyle. It emphasizes fresh, whole foods, social dining, and moderate exercise. You don’t need to eat meat to follow this diet. Use extra virgin olive oil liberally and build your diet with nuts, seeds, olives, tomatoes, lemons, and herbs and spices like parsley, oregano, saffron, and turmeric. This diet is popular with both dieters and non-dieters for its delicious and joyful way of eating, offering numerous health benefits including heart health, mental wellness, and increased longevity.
