Trend Diet: Mediterranean diet.

(Mediterranean Diet, 2018)

Trend Diet: Mediterranean diet.

By Laura Molloy.

Posted: 9^th of April 2019.

I have decided to dedicate this blog to the Mediterranean diet. I hope to write this diet for anyone who is considering making a change to the Mediterranean diet, or just for simple curiosity!

The Mediterranean diet is a well-balanced diet. It comes across as the perfect diet! It is full of natural food along with a good lifestyle. I believe it is perfect who the person who aspires to be vegan but doesn’t want to take a massive jump to completely different diet. What I will be examining in this blog is, if the Mediterranean diet is what it is made out to be. I will look at the benefits, negatives and whether it is feasible to obtain in a mild climate, such as Ireland. I hope to educate you further on this diet. I will look at scientific evidence and only reveal the truths involved with the diet. If you would like to find out, keep reading!

The Mediterranean diet was founded in the Mediterranean region. It focuses on natural foods which are good for health and wellbeing. It focuses on the use of healthy fats, such as olive oil, olives, avocados and peanuts. Research of the diet has been ongoing since World War 2. In one study, 13,000 middle-aged men were examined. They were from America, Japan, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and Finland. From research developed during this period, the Mediterranean diet was proclaimed to have immense health benefits. People following this diet were seen to have better cardiovascular health. This gave the Mediterranean diet an assisted title as a seen promotive to prolong good health (Baer-Sinnott, 2018).

The diet has its own food pyramid. This pyramid is 26 years old…

What is most interesting about the pyramid, is that it not only focuses on diet, it also looks at lifestyle and wellbeing. On the bottom of the pyramid, to be considered the most important, is to get enough physical activity and to share and enjoy meals with others around you. Placed above that is fruit, veg and wholegrains. The value of fibre is truly seen in the pyramid. Placed next is fish and shellfish. The Mediterranean diet is based along the sea. With this comes plenty of fresh fish. People following the diet are recommended to consume two portions of fish a week. This fish should be high in omega 3 fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna or herring. This is essential to maintain a healthy heart and for brain functioning. Next comes poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt. They believe in eating little dairy products. On the top of the pyramid is meat and sweet food. It is recommended that meat is to be eaten in small portions. It is also recommended that water, and red wine is consumed (Baer-Sinnott, 2018). This adding of wine into the pyramid is quite strange, as we would consider alcohol to be unhealthy. Although, red wine consumption is known to provenly reduce the risk of CVD. Phenol in red wine is known to reduce oxidation which occurs in LDL cholesterol in humans (Shrikhande, 2000).

(Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, n.d.)

The Mediterranean diet is known to have numerous benefits associated with it. Research shows people who follow the diet are more likely to live a longer life. This may be due to the fact people who follow this diet are of lesser risk of developing chronic diseases, such as heart disease. They are at lower risk of developing hypertension and LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol). They have improved brain functioning. They are at low risk of developing type 2 diabetes; little sweet food products are consumed in this diet. The risk of depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease is reduced. The benefits are outstanding! It is no wonder the Mediterranean diet is ranked top diet in America by the US News & World Report of their annual ranking (Baer-Sinnott, 2018).

Now that I have listed many benefits with the diet, I wanted to argue against my case. Are there any negatives associated with this diet…? One possible negative associated with this diet, is the fact that portion sizes and amounts of food are not focused in the Mediterranean diet food pyramid. This can lead to more calories being consumed than needed. This excess of calories may lead to an increase in weight. This creates confusion on how much portions of each food group you must be eating. It is important to base your portion sizes on your weight, gender, age and activity level. This is where the advice of your Nutritionist/Dietitian is most valued. Once you sort portion sizes and amounts out, the risk of weight gain is avoided. Although the Mediterranean diet is seen to reduce the risk of disease immensely, this is only done by the combination of all foods recommended consumed together in a balanced manner.  Only having single foods of the Mediterranean diet in your food intake will not see as much of benefits as having a varied, balanced Mediterranean diet. Therefore, it is important to adopt the diet entirely to see optimum results (The Nutrition Source, 2018).

Finally, is the Mediterranean diet sustainable in a mild climate?  Yes, 100%. The diet contains numerous amounts of foods which can be grown in our climate, such as different types of fruit, vegetables, potatoes, etc. It also contains eggs, fish, meat, bread and so on. Other foods contained in this diet can be imported from other countries and still be off huge nutritional significance. There are no possible reasons why we should not be able to be maintain a Mediterranean diet. The only problem with how it may not be sustainable in today’s world may be due to lack of time. People now a days are busier working and maintaining social lives, leaving little time for food preparation. People are opting for more ready to eat foods. These foods are extremely bad for health. They contribute to obesity, metabolic disorders and so much more (Alkerwi, Crichton and Hébert, 2015).

Once time is allocated for food preparation and cooking, this diet is very suitable. I hope this information has gave you more insight on the Mediterranean diet. If you are still considering switching to this diet, go for it! There is so much facts to back up the significance of the Mediterranean diet. Before you change to the Mediterranean diet, please remember to get advice off your nutritionist/ dietitian. Thank you for reading my blog, I hope you have enjoyed. All references used are available below if you’d like to have a look.

Bibliography

Baer-Sinnott, S. (2018). The Mediterranean Diet: A way of eating for the ages and for the aging. Journal on Active Aging, [online] 17(1), pp.60-66. Available at: https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=8&sid=2bfd261b-9919-4858-ba5c-de2547b1ac8e%40sessionmgr101 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

Mediterranean Diet. (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/mediterranean-diet-may-help-cut-depression-risk-by-a-third-1.3641261 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

Mediterranean Diet Pyramid. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://oldwayspt.org/resources/oldways-mediterranean-diet-pyramid [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

Shrikhande, A. (2000). Wine by-products with health benefits. Food Research International, [online] 33(6), pp.469-474. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996900000715#aep-abstract-id6 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

The Nutrition Source. (2018). Diet Review: Mediterranean Diet. [online] Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-weight/diet-reviews/mediterranean-diet/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

Alkerwi, A., Crichton, G. and Hébert, J. (2015). Consumption of ready-made meals and increased risk of obesity: findings from the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Luxembourg (ORISCAV-LUX) study. The British Journal of Nutrition, [online] 113(2), pp.270-277. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4302389/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].