Based on the traditional eating habits of the inhabitants of Crete and southern Italy, the Mediterranean diet emphasizes plant-based foods and healthy fats while limiting meat and carbohydrate intake. It's become popular not just because of its ability to help people shed pounds and maintain weight loss but also because studies show that it may protect against heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and other health problems. Just as with any diet, however, it's important to be able to separate the myths from the facts when you're considering the Mediterranean diet.
Myth One: It's Just About Food
How you eat is just one part of the Mediterranean diet. How you eat and how you spend the time when you're not eating are just as important. According to the Mayo Clinic, eating with friends and family is an important part of the Mediterranean diet since it encourages you to concentrate on what you're eating and savor the flavors of your food. Regular exercise is also an important part of the Mediterranean diet, especially if you want to reap the health and weight loss benefits.
Myth Two: It's Just a Diet
The Mediterranean diet isn't actually a diet. It's an eating plan. Though that may seem like a nit-picky distinction, it's actually an important one: diets are usually intended for short-term weight loss, while eating plans are lifelong strategies for healthy eating. Instead of giving you specific meal plans, the Mediterranean diet encourages you to make healthy choices in general, opting for lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and monounsaturated fats like olive oil and nuts, fish and poultry instead of red meat.
Myth Three: It's Authentic
The Mediterranean diet may be the way people living along the Mediterranean used to eat, but it's not how they eat now, according to a 2003 report given at the third International Symposium on Obesity and Hypertension at the Communications Center of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin by researcher Anthony Kafatos. Kafatos reports that roughly one-third of the children and one-half of the adults on the Mediterranean island of Crete are obese, in large part because their diets have become Westernized with more meat and saturated fats.
Myth: It's All-You-Can-Drink
Wine is part of many meals in Mediterranean culture, but moderation is key according to the Mayo Clinic, which recommends women limit their intake of wine to 5 ounces or less per day and men drink fewer than 10 ounces a day. Stick with red wine, which has protective benefits for your heart because of its anti-clotting properties and skip wine altogether if you can't limit your intake to the recommended amount.
Myth: Olive Oil Overload
It's true that the monounsaturated fat in olive oil is better for you than most other kinds of fat, but monounsaturated fat is still high in calories. Michael Ozner, a professor of medicine at the University of Miami and medical director of wellness and prevention at Baptist Hospital of Miami, said in an article published in the Lean Plate Club at the "Washington Post" that a tablespoon of olive oil has 120 calories. Moderation is key.
Myth: Cheese Cheese Cheese
Though it's hard to picture a traditional Mediterranean meal without cheese, in fact, cheese is a relatively small part of a Mediterranean diet. Dairy, like red meat, is included sparingly in the true Mediterranean diet and the Mayo Clinic recommends opting for low-fat or no-fat dairy products instead of full-fat versions when you do eat them.
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