Mediterranean Diet: Why You Must Be Eating It

Mediterranean diet is the trending diet plan among health-conscious people. But why is it so? The answer lies in the Mediterranean diet benefits, which include some of the best, as it helps in fighting heart diseases, cancer, cognitive decline, diabetes, and more. The benefits of the Mediterranean diet are never-ending. What makes it even more enticing is the delicious Mediterranean diet recipes, which are finger-licking good. 

Now, you must be thinking, What is the Mediterranean diet? Well, it is not a single diet or food rather a pattern of eating which is inspired by the south European countries. In the Mediterranean diet, there is an emphasis on the inclusion of various foods like beans, poultry, olive oil, plant food, and grains. All these ingredients of the Mediterranean diet recipes make it one of the best diets you can have for health benefits. 

The Mediterranean diet benefits are so many that they will inspire you to include it in your diet plan ASAP once you know them. So, in this article, we have put together some of the best Mediterranean diet benefits along with other things like the DASH diet, Mediterranean food list, and more. 

Now, let’s begin our delicious drooling Mediterranean food journey:

What Is The Mediterranean Diet?

When you hear about Mediterranean food, what comes to your mind? Maybe pasta or pizza from Italy or some delicious lamb chops from Greece. Isn’t it? However, these are not counted in the healthy Mediterranean diet. We can have a true diet for some Mediterranean diet benefits based on traditional vegetables, beans, seafood, nuts, dairy, and olive oil. 

The Mediterranean diet food list is known as one of the healthiest, which was why the Greeks and Italians had low death rates during many chronic disease outbreaks. The life expectancy of the Mediterranean people was highest even when they had limited health services available at the time. 

In short, Mediterranean diet recipes are those which include regional and traditional foods. The Mediterranean diet list includes poultry, seafood, plant food, beans, grains, and other healthy ingredients. These are enjoyed with one or two red wine glasses, which is also known for its anti-cancer and heart healthy properties. 

Mediterranean Food To Eat

For the Mediterranean food recipes, there is not a specific set of food or diet plan. Although a group of scientist in 2015 using the following as their research basis:

• Vegetables: You must include at least three to nine servings of green vegetables per day.
• Fruits: Another important thing to include in your Mediterranean diet plan is at least two servings of the regional fruits per day.
• Cereals: Inclusion of the 1 to 13 whole grain servings per day into your diet plan will also be a great addition to your meal plan for some amazing Mediterranean diet benefits. 
• Oil: Using some of the naturally healthy fat-containing oils for the Mediterranean diet recipes. One of the best oils you can try is olive oil. Eight servings per day of olive oil are good for health.
• Fat: Mostly unsaturated fat is included in the Mediterranean diet and is known to be good for health. Made up of 37% of the calories in the total. The unsaturated fat in the Mediterranean diet comes from the plant sources like avocados and olives. The Mediterranean diet is also known to be rich in fiber, and the amount in the study provided 33 grams of fiber. 

The baseline diet that the scientist used in this study provides a total of 2,200 calories per day. These facts that came out in the study show that the Mediterranean diet benefits are never-ending and make it one of the eBay healthy diet plans.

Typical Ingredients In The Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Some of the common Mediterranean foods that you will find in a Mediterranean diet are:

• Vegetables: Onions, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumber, peppers, zucchini, leafy green vegetables, and more plant foods.
• Fruits: Apples, peaches, melon, apricot, oranges, lemons, and other regional fruits.
• Legumes: Chickpeas, lentils, and beans.
• Seeds And Nuts: Walnuts, cashews, almonds, and sunflower seeds.
• Dairy Products: Yogurt and cheese are the main ingredients of any Mediterranean diet.
• Unsaturated Fat: Sunflower oil, avocados, olive oil, and olives are the main ingredients that are used in the Mediterranean diet plan. 
• Cereals: The cereals in the Mediterranean diet food list are mostly those that are whole grain. Some of the common are rice and wheat. 
• Poultry: Turnkey and the chicken.
• Drinks: For added benefits of the diet, a person can have moderate levels of red wine. 
• Fish: Sardines and some other types of fish oil are common in the Mediterranean diet recipes. Oysters and other shellfish are some of the delicious additions to the Mediterranean diet. 

These ingredients of the Mediterranean diet recipes makes them one of the healthiest. Such things add to the Mediterranean diet benefits and make it one of the most favorite among health enthusiasts. 

Mediterranean Diet Benefits

The benefits of the Mediterranean diet are so many that they can’t be compiled together. However, some of the common and most amazing health benefits are;

Prevents Strokes And Heart Diseases

The intake of refined bread, red meat, and processed foods reduces when a person follows the Mediterranean diet plan. The Mediterranean diet also encourages the person to have red wine as an alternative to hard liquor. These things about this diet plan add to the Mediterranean diet benefits and make it a heart-healthy food plan.

Keeps You Agile

Mediterranean diet is known to reduce muscle weakness symptoms and other frailty signs up to 70%. This makes it one of the best diet plans for any old age person and thus recommended for them.

Reduces Alzheimer’s Risk

In some pieces of the research, Mediterranean diets have also been found to be effective in reducing blood sugar levels, the overall health of blood vessels, and cholesterol. These Mediterranean diet benefits are known to help in lowering the risk of Alzeheimer’sAlzeheimer’s. 

Reduces The Risk Of Parkinson Disease

The Mediterranean diet’s high antioxidant content adds to its benefits as it helps in fighting oxidative stress. The reduction of the oxidative stress from this diet helps in lowering the cell damage. Thus it helps in reducing the risk of Parkinson’s Disease up to 50%.

Increases Longevity

The Mediterranean diet benefits help in reducing the risk of heart diseases and cancer. Thus, it overall helps increase life expectancy and reduce death chances by up to 20%.

Protects Against Type 2 Diabetes

The rich fiber content of the Mediterranean diet helps in preventing instant blood sugar rise as it is slow to digest. The avoidance of the instant sugar level rise helps the diabetic person and helps maintain a healthy weight. 

These are some of the fascinating Mediterranean diet benefits. So, when are you going to try some deliciously healthy Mediterranean food recipes? 

DASH Diet

The Mediterranean diet plan is considered one of the best DASH diet plans. But, do you know what the DASH diet really means? The DASH diet basically emphasizes the correct size of the food portion with the inclusion of nutrients and healthy foods. 

DASH stands for the Dietary Approaches To Stop Hypertension. Thus it is basically a lifelong commitment to healthy eating, which is designed in a way to benefit heart health. The development of the DASH diet is in sponsorship from the National Institute of Health, specifically with an aim to benefit people suffering from hypertension. The foods in the DASH diet are known to naturally lower blood pressure. 

Bottom Line

There is no clear definition of the Mediterranean diet, which you can have for various Mediterranean diet benefits. Though it basically focuses on healthy eating, and generally plant foods. The diet focuses more on naturally available plant foods more instead of animal foods. However, seafood and fish are their part; the consumption of these should not exceed 2 servings per day. 

At the end of the day, Mediterranean diet benefits are numerous, and thus you can have this healthy diet for a satisfying meal plan. 

So, when are you going to begin your healthy meal regime? Have you ever tried it before? Please do let us know your thoughts in the comment box.