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Mediterranean Diet


Diet Overview

The Mediterranean Diet is more like an eating lifestyle than a diet. It's designed to resemble the eating habits of people living around the Mediterranean Sea where there is less cancer and cardiovascular disease than in American. The Mediterranean Diet focuses on keeping a healthy weight with a diet containing a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish, beans and olive oil. The Mediterranean Diet limits the amount of eggs, cheese, sweets and red meat that is consumed. A key part of the Mediterranean Diet is an active lifestyle that includes daily exercise.

Here's a Mediterranean Diet Food Pyramid that has additional information about foods included in the Mediterranean Diet.

One criticism of the Mediterranean Diet you might see in popular media is something along the lines of, "...the Mediterranean Diet must be flawed because weight problems and obesity are very common in Greece...". Here's a great blog article explaining why this is flawed thinking: If the greek diet is so healthy why are greeks so obese?

Diet Foods

Encouraged Foods

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, beans and nuts.

Example Foods:
Spice - Allspice     Spice - Bay Leaf     Spice - Cinnamon     Spice - Cumin     Spice - Pepper     Spice - Basil     Spice - Dill     Spice - Thyme     Spice - Rosemary     Balsamic Vinegar     Olive Oil     Apples     Apricots     Avocados     Cherries     Figs     Grapefruit     Grapes     Melons     Olives     Oranges     Tangerines     Peaches     Pears     Pomegranates     Strawberries     Dates     Celmentines     Beets     Broccoli     Brussel Sprouts     Cabbage     Carrots     Celery     Cucumber     Eggplant     Lettuce     Mushrooms     Onions     Peas     Potatoes     Spinach     Sweet Potato     Almonds     Cashews     Hazelnuts     Pine Nuts     Pistachios     Sesame Seeds and Tahini     Drinking Water     Kidney Beans     Lentils     Chickpeas     Bulgur     Cornmeal or Polenta     Couscous     Brown Rice     Oatmeal     Wild Rice     Barley    
Accepted Foods

Fish and seafood are recommended a few times a week. One (women) or up to two (men) glasses of red wine are fine as long as there aren't any medical or personal reasons to avoid wine.

Example Foods:
Red Wine     Mackerel     Sea Bass     Lobster     Shrimp     Clams     Mussels     Salmon     Tuna    
Limited Foods

Poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt should be enjoyed occasionally and in smaller portions.

Example Foods:
Cheddar Cheese     Eggs     Skinless Chicken Breast     Beef - Lean Eye of Round     Nonfat Yogurt    
Banned Foods

Very limited amounts of beef, pork and sweets are allowed - a few times a month at most. Butter and margarine should not be used when possible (use olive oil instead).

Example Foods:
Butter     Cream Cheese     Margarine     Flounder     Lamb     Doughnuts     Jellybeans     Honey     Dark Chocolate    

Diet Discussions


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