For the last 30 years, as president of Oldways, I’ve been bringing groups of American travelers to the Mediterranean region — Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Morocco and many more destinations. Through weeklong culinary tours, we see all of these principles of the Mediterranean diet come to life, through long, leisurely meals, visits to producers of wine and olive oil, farmstead tours to learn how cheeses are made, and sometimes, we’re even invited into the home kitchens of locals.
The Mediterranean diet is backed by decades of scientific research; it seems that there are new studies out every week, explaining how the Mediterranean diet can benefit longevity or reduce the risk of a chronic disease like heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Oldways, the nonprofit who created the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid with the Harvard School of Public Health in 1993, has over 300 studies on its website, and that only goes back as far as 2006.
Here’s what I’ve learned about the Mediterranean diet through my travels over the years.
[READ: How to Eat Like the Mediterranean Diet With Foods From Other Cuisines.]
5 Things to Know About the Mediterranean Diet
It’s not just one thing that makes the Mediterranean diet so special
The health benefits, as well as the culinary benefits of the Mediterranean diet, come from a variety of foods. It’s not just olive oil. It’s not only fruits and vegetables, but the “stew” of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes, nuts, herbs and spices with extra virgin olive oil that make Mediterranean cooking so delicious and so healthy. Add in fish and seafood twice a week, plus smaller amounts of dairy, poultry and eggs, along with red meat on occasion, and you’ll be a Mediterranean diet star.
“A common mistake we see with Americans is trying to embrace the Mediterranean diet is that they miss the forest for the trees. For example, people will get caught up in choosing between salmon versus sea bass, or kale versus chard, and lose sight of the bigger picture of how their overall diet fits together,” says Kelly LeBlanc, Oldways’ vice president of Nutrition Programming.
A Mediterranean diet is more than the sum of its parts. Shifting our overall dietary pattern and lifestyle to align with the Mediterranean diet pyramid is going to have a greater impact on health than simply substituting one or two Mediterranean ingredients into a standard American diet.
“A healthy dietary pattern opens the door to a wide array of foods, flavors, cultural traditions and nutrients that promote head-to-toe health … and enjoyment. The sum of nutrients in whole, minimally processed foods is greater than their individual parts,” explains Liz Weiss, an author, blogger and podcaster at LizsHealthyTable.com. Weiss explains that “nutrients in foods interact with one another in complex ways. For example, vitamin C enhances the absorption of iron; and vitamin D enhances the absorption of calcium. So a varied diet allows for those natural interactions to occur.”
Plus, don’t forget portion size. Huge quantities of even high-quality Mediterranean foods don’t equal good health or a healthy weight.
Similarly, moderate consumption of wine is part of the Mediterranean diet — whether it be red or white — but the moderate part is the key, not whether it is red or white. “Moderate” means two glasses a day for men and one glass a day for women. As with any healthy eating pattern, physical activity is also important. It can be as simple as walking. Triathlons are not required!
[SEE: 10 Best Mediterranean Diet Snacks.]
Tourist restaurants often don’t reflect the Mediterranean diet
I’ve heard people complain that they ate too much fried food on their vacation. This could very well be the case. There are great fried foods in Mediterranean countries — fried in extra virgin olive oil — but they don’t form a steady diet for the Mediterranean families who actually live in the region. Home cooking is where you’ll find consistent Mediterranean cooking, reflecting the local traditions and ingredients of the place.
The same thing can be said for the quantity of food. Many times, tourist restaurants serve portions that might be more American than Mediterranean.
“Just because you’re touring the Mediterranean, doesn’t mean you’re eating the Mediterranean diet,” notes Carolyn O’Neil, dietitian and author at the happyhealthykitchen.com. “It’s just as easy to fall for too many sugar laden pastries, heaping bowls of pasta and fried fish suppers in Italy as it is in Indiana (or wherever you live). Rather, seek out the Mediterranean way of enjoying a great variety of delicious foods — even the decadent ones — in smaller portions.”
Through Oldways Culinarias, we’ve been lucky to be able to enjoy meals in people’s homes. In Cyprus, journalist and cookbook author Marilena Joannides, brought the group of 35 into her kitchen, and then served lunch to all of us. And in Madrid, the legendary Clara Maria de Amezua (Spain’s Julia Child) invited all 30 of us to her elegant home for tapas. It helps to see what is real versus touristy!
[SEE: Best Mediterranean Diet Food List.]
Desserts are for special occasions
Everyday dessert in the Mediterranean is fruit, not tiramisu or baklava or praline cream puff pastry. When you’re traveling, try the local specialty once (maybe sharing with someone), and then also be sure to try the local in-season fruit. Just as sweet!
When you’re at home, try the same thing. Finish your meal with whatever is in season. Your sweet tooth and your waistline will thank you.
We’ve found some beautiful fruit-focused desserts during our travels. On the island of Pantelleria, just southwest of Sicily, Mar Luchetti created a lovely ice bowl and filled it with fruit. In Liguria at Ristorante Giorgio in Cervo, chef Caterina Lanteri Cravet served shelled peanuts and clementines in a gorgeous candy dish. Both easy to do at home too.
Dr. Antonia Trichoupoulou, president of the Hellenic Health Foundation and known by many as “the Mother of the Mediterranean diet” due to her pioneering research into the eating pattern, explains that “in the Mediterranean diet, sweets are consumed only a few times a year; the rest is fruit at the end of each meal.”
[READ: Mediterranean Diet on a Budget]
The Mediterranean diet can be done on a budget
One reason we’ve heard for NOT adopting the Mediterranean diet is cost. For example, in a survey conducted by the Cleveland Clinic, almost half of the respondents cited the cost of food as the biggest obstacle to following a healthy diet.
Following the Mediterranean diet CAN be expensive, just like any other way of eating, but it doesn’t have to be. As explained by LeBlanc, “the Mediterranean diet is based on ‘peasant foods’ like legumes, whole grains and seasonally available vegetables, which are consistently less expensive than meat and highly processed snack foods.”
Relying on canned or frozen foods is a simple way to follow the Mediterranean diet and stay on budget: beans, tuna and salmon, tomatoes (when fresh tomatoes are out of season) and other fruits and vegetables. Making your own whole-grain bread or pizza dough is another way to save money, and it’s a lot of fun.
The ultimate budget foods — foods to buy and prepare when you want to cut your grocery bill — are at the heart of the Mediterranean diet as well as other cultural food traditions from around the world. Be sure to add these foods to your grocery list: beans, brown rice, pasta, frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, tuna and seafood, and eggs.
Given the relative affordability of these foods compared with the cost of meats and highly processed convenience foods, research has found that a Mediterranean diet can actually be cheaper than a typical Western diet and can also help you save money in health care costs down the road.
The Mediterranean diet has other heritage diet relatives
Contrary to popular belief, the Mediterranean diet is not the only path to healthy eating. Additionally, many are surprised to learn that the overall pattern of the Mediterranean diet — with its emphasis on plant-based foods is shared by other traditional diets around the world, from Costa Rica to the diversity of African heritage diets.
“There is emerging research showing many traditional diets from around the world provide health benefits,” explains Krista Linares owner of Nutrition con Sabor, noting that a traditional Mexican diet, may help lower insulin resistance. “Consider what a traditional Mexican diet and the Mediterranean diet have in common,” says Linares. “A traditional Mexican diet also features plenty of legumes, whole grains (corn tortillas), fruits, and vegetables. As a dietitian, this means I feel confident my patients can see similar health benefits to the Mediterranean diet while enjoying and preserving food traditions from their culture.”
In addition to the pattern of eating and health benefits, these traditional diets or cultural food traditions have one other characteristic in common. They are yummy.
All in all, following the Mediterranean diet or any of its relatives that put plants at the center of the plate, you’ll be doing yourself, your family and the planet a favor. They’re well worth bringing into your home and introducing them to your family.
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I’ve Led Culinary Education Programs Throughout the Mediterranean: Here’s What Americans Get Wrong About the Mediterranean Diet originally appeared on usnews.com
