The advanced guidelines of the Mediterranean diet provide a means for making healthy dietary choices. The diet attempts to give clearer direction for diet choices, but it also gives you a structure on which to base your diet for the long term. The health benefits of the diet may give you additional reasons to consider it as an eating plan.
Identification
The Mediterranean diet describes both a popular diet and a style of eating which replicates the diet of people living in the Mediterranean region. Like most diets, this eating plan has a foundation of basic principles that stress the types of foods you will eat as well as the foods you will avoid. The diet differs in that it is more of a style of eating rather than a set prescription of assigned meals.
Foods
If you follow the advanced guidelines of the Mediterranean diet, you will find that the diet includes minimum servings of certain foods on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. For example, red meat consumption is limited to a few times per month. Fruits, vegetables and olive oil are part of your daily meals. The diet revolves around foods which are believed to be healthier and without the negative impacts of some items, such as sweets.
Benefits
The primary benefit is the focus on meals that are based on fruits and vegetables. The Mediterranean diet lowers your risk for chronic disease and offers a way to prevent weight gain, explains a 2010 study in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." Researchers credit the health benefits with the advanced concepts of low meat consumption. Some meats can contain high amounts of saturated fats, a risk factor for developing high cholesterol, warns the American Heart Association (AHA).
Servings
Your daily eating goals of the Mediterranean diet include eight or more servings of whole grain products. You should also eat at least two servings of whole fruit and three servings of vegetables. You will also consume two servings of low-fat or non-fat dairy products. Eggs are limited to four each week. One serving of both pork and skinless poultry each week is permitted.
Considerations
Even though the diet is higher in fat, the focus remains on healthier choices, such as olive oil and nuts. Your diet must include at least 20 percent fat, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Consumption of monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats does not carry the same health risks as saturated fats and may even lower cholesterol, explains the AHA. The Mediterranean diet's focus on better foods with an eating plan that is easier to understand can give you the foundation for a healthy lifestyle.
References
- "The Mediterranean Diet"; M. Cloutier and E. Adamson; 2004
- University of Maryland Medical Center: The Mediterranean Diet
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Mediterranean Dietary Patterns and Prospective Weight Change in Participants of the EPIC-PANACEAPproject; D. Romaguera et al; October 2010
- American Heart Association: Know Your Fats
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Chapter 6 Fats
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