What the "Mediterranean Diet" Actually Is and How to Adopt It
Here's how to abide by the instructions, which include eating lots of fish, vegetables, and olive oil.
The Mediterranean diet has once again been included on the ridiculous list of "best diets," which makes me wonder: has anyone ever tried the Mediterranean diet? like consciously? There isn't a simple tool to keep track of it, and there isn't a book that is simple to read and provides guidelines for accepting or rejecting a certain meal.
Do any of us, for that matter, fully understand what the Mediterranean diet entails? Fish and olive oil are both present, for sure. But what follows?
So let's get started. What is truly necessary to understand in order to follow the Mediterranean diet?
Most research is observational.
First, some information on where the term "Mediterranean diet" originated. The phrase was first used by scientists to characterize the usual diets of residents of some Mediterranean towns. Later, the concept was expanded to encompass diets that are somewhat comparable in other regions. The majority of research on the Mediterranean diet's impact on diabetes, cancer, heart disease, dementia, and other health disorders, however, has been observational in nature, which is why it's crucial to understand this.
In other words, a headline about the Mediterranean diet may not necessarily come from research in which some participants were assigned to the diet and some to a different one (although those studies do exist). More frequently, studies ask participants about their regular diets, sometimes in the Mediterranean region and other times not. Their responses are used to calculate a score (2 points, for instance, if you consume more than 250 grams of vegetables on a typical day), and the individuals with the greatest scores are put up against those with the lowest scores.
From where do these scores originate? Here is a study that details one of the prevalent systems. The figures were derived from an examination of a large number of studies, each using a different definition of diet and looking at subjects from a range of geographic locations, including the Mediterranean, other parts of Europe, and occasionally other continents.
The evaluation criteria are listed here. You receive two points for each of the following, in brief:
250 grams or more of vegetables daily (1 point for 100-250)
300 grams or more of fruits and nuts each day (1 point for 150-300)
weekly minimum of 140 grams of legumes (beans and lentils) (1 point for 70-140)
195 grams or more of cereals, or grains, each day (1 point for 130-195)
weekly minimum of 250 grams of fish (1 point for 100-250)
80 grams or less of meat each day (1 point if you weigh less than 120)
180 grams or less of dairy (1 point if under 270 grams)
12 to 24 grams of alcohol per day (1 point for under 12 grams, no points for beyond 24 grams)
If you use olive oil when cooking, you also receive one extra point.
You can see that using this approach to gauge your diet is not quite simple. Although both cheese and skim milk are dairy products, their weights vary. The same is true for fruit and nuts: are we referring to a bag of pistachios or a fresh apple? If you're not used to using grams, you'd also need to convert your units because, while 250 grams of fish is equivalent to around half a pound, 250 grams of veggies may appear very different depending on the type of vegetable. That might be two and a half cups of broccoli or a single large onion, for instance.
All this counting, in my opinion, is a hilarious refutation of U.S. News' assertion that the Mediterranean diet is advantageous because it "no counting carbs, points, or calories." To determine whether you are even following the Mediterranean diet, you have to count a ton of different things.
Several additional warnings
Before you drench your first fish fillet in olive oil, you should be aware that while observational studies appear to support the Mediterranean diet, trial evidence—studies of people who started the diet after never having done so—is only "promising (though not conclusive)" in terms of lowering the risk of heart disease.
It's also crucial to keep in mind that foods deemed traditional in Greece, Italy, and the surrounding regions have been pieced together to form the scientific understanding of the Mediterranean diet. Depending on how typical they are thought to be of that traditional eating pattern, foods are either included or excluded.
Thus, when individuals claim that the Mediterranean diet has a solid scientific foundation, they are referring to research that has been done on people who sort of, sort of adhere to its principles. It doesn't mean that researchers created it from scratch, chose olive oil because they thought it was better than other oils, or decided that 250+ grams of vegetables was the ideal amount for any reason.
Okay, so how exactly do you adhere to this diet?
Despite all of this, the Mediterranean diet appears to be a healthy eating strategy. Go ahead and give it a try if you want to. The diet's description's ambiguity has both benefits and drawbacks. The good news is that nothing is forbidden and no food groups are eliminated. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to know exactly what to eat at your next meal if you wish to stick to the diet without clear guidelines or criteria.
Although there are more criteria to determine whether a diet is considered Mediterranean, the scorecard presented above is an excellent place to start. This is roughly how it would appear as a day's worth of food:
Vegetables: Although it's still challenging to weigh out 250 grams of various sizes and shapes of vegetables, the more widely accepted advice of 3 cups of vegetables should put you roughly in the proper ballpark.
Fruits and nuts: An apple and an orange are two pieces of fresh fruit that will easily reach the 300-gram goal. Change out different fruits as you like, and make an effort to include a handful of nuts in your day somewhere—maybe as a salad or other dish's topping, or perhaps just a few on their own.
Legumes: When you average out 140 grams every week, you only get 20 grams per day. This requirement for the week can be fulfilled by consuming one can of black beans or chickpeas.
Cereals (grains): A cup of cooked brown rice satisfies the 195-gram requirement. You could have one dinner with a 2-ounce side of pasta and one meal with a half-cup of rice or farro if you conceive of it as two 100-gram meals. The scoreboard says more is okay, but you'll need to make sure there's room for everything else.
Fish: 250 grams per week translates to two servings of 1/4 pound, however that is the minimum. More is available.
Meat: The famous "palm-sized" or "deck of cards" serving is 80 grams, or just under three ounces, each day. This resembles a quarter-pounder patty or the lower half of a chicken breast in size. This is not intended to be a maximum like fish, so you might want to do a meatless day once a week to lower the daily average.
dairy: 180 grams, or six ounces, is dairy. Therefore, a container of yogurt weighing between five and six ounces would be sufficient for the day. Or choose feta or mozzarella when eating.
When cooking, olive oil can be used as needed.
When you combine all of these meals, a typical day's meals can consist of a breakfast of yogurt and fruit, a lunch salad with fish and vegetables, a dinner of meat, rice, and further vegetables, as well as a snack of hummus and whole-grain bread.
Oldways, an organization that supports ancient eating habits, including but not limited to the Mediterranean diet, provides a library of recipes here that you can sort by diet if you're looking for food ideas.
OliveTomato offers a sample 5-day meal plan and a downloadable shopping list that highlights common "Mediterranean" foods you might wish to stock up on.
Additionally, there is a Mediterranean diet subreddit where people share recipes and ideas for meals.
