What is The Mediterranean Diet?

So you want to start this healthy lifestyle but your first question might be what is the Mediterranean diet? We are breaking down the history behind this healthy way of life and why it’s been named one of the healthiest way to life year after year.

The Mediterranean Diet Defined

We believe the best place to start when beginning something new is to learn as much as we can about it first. The Mediterranean diet is no exception.

The simplest definition – a healthy lifestyle that models the dietary and lifestyle factors of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.

What Countries Surround the Mediterranean Sea?

There are 21 countries that border the Mediterranean Sea, including Albania, Algeria, Bosnia, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey.

It’s such a diverse area and the traditional dishes and dietary eating patterns for each country are a bit different. Historically, each region had their own traditional foods and styles of cooking that were based on their geographical area. However, as travel, communication and things like trade and relocation happened the “traditional” ingredients and dishes that belonged to specific areas moved with the people.

That’s why there isn’t a set of guidelines or specific foods you should/shouldn’t eat under this way of life. It’s vast and variety is the spice of life!

So What is The Mediterranean Diet ?

You are probably thinking at this point, that’s all well and great but if it there isn’t a set of foods to eat than how can we follow it?

Part of the beauty of the Mediterranean diet is that it’s flexible and made to fit into your life. Rather than a laundry list of things to do / don’t eat there are a set of guidelines. These guidelines consist of food groups that are recommended to include at different frequencies into your meals.

Mediterranean Diet Guidelines

The Mediterranean Diet Food Pyramid was developed in 1993 and serves as the base of this lifestyle. The pyramid image is from Oldways.

As you can see, instead of breaking it down into daily serving sizes, it’s a general recommendation on how often to include foods from different groups into your meals.

“Daily” Recommendations

Fruits, Vegetables, Whole Grains, Nuts, Beans, Seeds, Legumes, and Olive Oil

These are the heart of the Mediterranean diet and you can see why it’s considered a plant based way of eating. Building our meals with these types of foods are the reason why the Mediterranean diet has so many health benefits like a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain cancers.

“Often” Recommendations

Fish and Seafood

Incorporating seafood about two times a week to your meals will help you reap the Health Benefits of Seafood. High in Omega 3 fatty acids, fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring and sardines make great additions to meals.

Check out this collection of 55 Delicious Fish recipes for new ideas.

“Moderate” Recommendations

Poultry, Eggs, Cheese and Yogurt

This is the food group we call Chicken and Dairy. And probably the one I get asked the most about. The foods in this group are still very much a part of the Mediterranean diet. However, they are often eaten in smaller portions, moderately throughout the week. So they aren’t the star of the meal most times, but often used to finish a dish (i.e. a sprinkling of feta) or served as a side (grilled chicken on the side of lots of veggies and whole grains).

“Less Often” Recommendations

Meats and Sweets

We told you nothing was off limits. The peak of the pyramid belongs to red meat and sweets. The foods in this category are still meant to be enjoyed, just less often than the other categories. There aren’t any specific guidelines on how often because that part is up to you. Isn’t that great? Talk about food freedom.

We like to think that after adding all the other foods into your meals (like fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, seafood, poultry, etc that you’ll find meat only fits in occasionally anyway. There’s only so much room on a plate.

Outside the Pyramid

You’ll also see that the Mediterranean diet includes recommendations outside the pyramid that pertain to lifestyle.

Another great thing we love about the Med Diet – it includes areas like daily activity, eating meals with others, drinking water, moderate red wine and enjoying food!

The Mediterranean Diet All Wrapped Up

We know that’s a lot of info and there is so much more we could delve into when it comes to the background of the Med Diet.

In a shorter summary – it’s a lifestyle that is center on the eating patterns of the countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. It’s a diet that is focused on lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and olive oil. No foods are forbidden but just recommended in lesser amounts for a lifestyle that fits into your life and also includes spending time enjoying good food with others.