The Cretan diet involves eating foods native to the Greek Island of Crete. Until the early 20th century, the traditional Cretan diet consisted of unprocessed foods, with a large amount of olive oil providing fat and calories. While not a low-carbohydrate diet, the Cretan diet features more fat and less carbohydrate than many common dietary plans. Consult a health care professional before beginning any dietary program.
Olive Oil
Before large-scale processing was introduced to Cretan food production, the Cretan diet consisted of nearly one-third of the daily calories coming from olive oil. This not only provided calories, but an incredible amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which decreases your risk of heart disease, and can reduce inflammation and swelling in joints and connective tissues. According to the Office of Dietary Supplements, omega-3 fatty acids can reduce difficulties from irritable bowel syndrome and improve cognitive function.
Cretan Diet
The traditional Cretan diet consisted of more than olive oil, it also featured cereals and bread, locally grown fruits and vegetables, and limited quantities of cheese, milk and eggs. Red wine was also consumed with lunch and dinner. While much of this, particularly the eating locally grown fruits and vegetables while avoiding processed foods, is common to many areas, the largest difference between the Cretan diet and many other diets is the volume of olive oil.
Modern Cretan Diet
If you wish to adopt the modern version of the Cretan diet, you may wind up consuming more fat that you are used to. Your total dietary fat should range from 25 to 35 percent of your total caloric intake, with less than 8 percent of your fat coming from saturated fat. Olive oil should be your primary fat choice. Consume the bulk of your remaining calories from unprocessed vegetables and whole grains. Consume low to moderate amounts of fish, poultry, cheese and yogurt daily. Eat fruit as a desert every day, but only eat red meat once or twice per month. Drink one glass of red wine per day if you are female, two if you are male.
Cretan Diet for Fat Loss
There is nothing unique about the Cretan diet in terms of fat loss. If you wish to drop unwanted body fat, you still must burn more calories than you take in. Begin by cutting your calories by 250 per day, and increase your activity through exercise. Modest exercise in the gym three times a week plus 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three times per will help you achieve your goals. Exercise with the benefits of a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids will help improve all aspects of cardiovascular health and fitness.
References
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Health
- "The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete"; Artemis P. Simopoulos, et al.; 1999
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