Citing the health benefits as well as the good taste, independent health experts frequently recommend the Mediterranean Diet. It is a diet that is easy to stick to; it's not one of deprivation.
There are over a dozen countries in the Mediterranean so the term “Mediterranean Diet” is not a precise one. The cuisine of Southern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa has been influenced by the trade that has existed since the beginning of history. The people of the region vary considerable in customs and language but there are some aspects of diet that these countries share.
- high consumption of colorful fruits, vegetables,
- bread and other cereals,
- potatoes, beans,
- nuts and seeds—sources of healthy oils.
- especially olive oil--an important mono-unsaturated fat source
In contrast to the Standard American Diet (SAD), the diet of the Mediterranean people includes primarily fresh, seasonal vegetables rather than canned or imported produce. The diet contains low to moderate amounts of:
- dairy products,
- fish and poultry
- very little red meat
- eggs
- wine and beer
The diet contains a fairly high amount of fat, yet the people have less heart disease because they eat healthy fats like olive oil. The fish tend to be oily fish like sardines that are high in Omego-3 oils. The diet eliminates fried foods that have been cooked in rancid vegetable oils or trans fats.
The American Heart Association is generally in favor of the Mediterranean Diet although they prefer a diet with less fat.
Dr. Andrew Weil, the famous health guru, is a proponent of the diet. He says that people who eat the diet have 33 percent less heart disease and 24 percent less cancer.
Besides getting the balance of the various healthy fats right, the diet has many benefits—mostly attributed to olive oil.
- a good mix of vitamins and minerals
- less arteriosclerosis and heart attacks
- less liver disease
- less gall bladder disease
- less constipation
A 31-year study that began in 1960 followed several thousand men in seven different countries. Among them were 700 men from Crete who ate a Mediterranean Diet. Each man was regularly examined for health changes. By 1991, 50 percent of the men from Crete were still alive and all the other men from the other six countries were dead. Other factors, such as genetics, may also have played a part in the difference in longevity.
Of course the lives of the people of the Mediterranean are getting busier and more stressful so many of them are not following their traditional diet. It would be a shame if we began to see their populations suffering from the same illness as the industrialized countries.
You’ll find cookbooks about the Mediterranean Diet in any bookstore or library.
