The Mediterranean Diet benefits have been scientifically proven time and time again so this is the diet I recommend as a your go to maintenance diet after detoxing.
The diet is proven to be good for your heart, your lungs, your brain, and your general well being so it must be worth following don’t you think?
With all the concern over pollution in cities causing lung and heart disease and researchers suggesting that a pill containing B vitamins , vitamins C and D, and Omega 3 fats, Alister McNeish, professor of cardiovascular pharmocology at the University of Reading, UK stated:
Meanwhile a Mediterranean Diet which contains these beneficial nutrients might be a way of protecting yourself against air pollution as it protects against heart and lung disease.
Another Mediterranean Diet benefit is that it can help you to maintain any weight loss you achieved on a detox diet plan or you can continue to lose weight on it too. Let’s take a look at all the amazing health benefits:
Mediterranean Diet Benefits
- Your heart health improves.
- The age of your brain slows, which means it’s excellent for lowering the risk of the various dementias and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Your vision improves because of the green veggies, the fruits, and sweet potatoes; all excellent for eyesight, not forgetting the impact of omega-3 on eye health.
- The risk of getting colon cancer drops. Eating certain foods like those of the Mediterranean diet reduces your odds of developing this disease according to research from the European Society for Medical Oncology.
- Better kidney function which can improve by 50% on the Mediterranean diet, because the foods on it reduce inflammation.
- You can achieve weight loss because studies found that you can lose more weight on this diet without counting calories compared to other diets that contain lower fats.
What’s is the Mediterranean Diet all about?
It focuses mostly on delicious natural plant-based foods such as vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, seeds and lean meats.
Just those foods in themselves are good for your general health and can help to slash your risk of cancer.
Even though last year there was a bit of hype around this diet, where certain studies were retracted because of errors made in the procedure used but were republished with reanalyzed data, a preventative cardiologist said that the Mediterranean diet remains one of the healthiest ways to eat.
After all, its emphasis is on heart-healthy foods such as fish, olive oil, and nuts, with limits on red meat, butter, and added sugar.
Dr Catherine Itsiopoulos, head of the department and associate professor in dietetics and human nutrition at LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia and also an adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, says this about the diet:
It was a poor man’s diet. There wasn’t a lot of meat. There was a bit of fish because fish was more available but primarily they subsisted on plant foods and legumes as their main source of proteins and fermented dairy products like yogurt.
If you are a person habitually buys take-ways or processed frozen dinner meals, then naturally this diet won’t be suitable for you.
But if you are looking for health, knowing that you can attain it through excellent foods and nutrition, you won’t be sorry if you follow the Mediterranean diet.
The Main Staples of the Mediterranean Diet
Whole grains:
While the diet allows for 1-2 servings to be eaten at each meal I advise that you avoid wheat. Dr Fasano, researcher into celiac disease, says we do not have the enzymes needed to digest modern wheat. Some people may be able to get away with it but others can have problems with undigested wheat.
Related reading: Enormous Benefits of a Grain-Free Diet
The problem however may be more to do with the toxic herbicide glyphosate that is sprayed on it before harvesting than the gluten itself.
The glyphosate gets into the products that are made with meat and it’s been found in bread and breakfast cereals. The increase in older people being diagnosed with celiac disease is thought to be due to glyphosate which affects the gut.
And we have to remember that the original Mediterranean diet did not have this problem until modern day farming methods were introduced. The herbicide Roundup, which contains the controversial toxic chemical glyphostate, was not launched on the market until 1974.
Also bread made in the Mediterranean countries is made the traditional way with no preservatives or additives like commercially made bread does. People visiting Europe often find they tolerate artisan bread and pasta when they are unable to in America. Unfortunately many supermarkets in Europe are now stocking bread that is not made the traditional way.
Related reading: Do You Need To Detox Your Body from Glyphostate Weedkiller?
Best to stick to whole oats and pseudo grains like quinoa and millet.
Veggies:
Include at least 2 servings of veggies of all colors for lunch and dinner. The traditional Mediterranean veggies are eggplant, kale, beets, artichoke, and sweet potatoes.
Related reading: 8 Easy Plant Food Swaps For Detoxing
Fruits:
Eat fruit as a dessert with 1-2 servings after your lunch or supper. Fruits like apples, fresh dates, apricots, and pomegranates are eaten. All these are found in the Mediterranean area.
If you have digestive problems then it may be better not to eat fruit with a meal because it can ferment. The theory behind food combining is that fruit should be eaten before a meal.
Fats:
Stay away from processed foods which contain unhealthy processed fats and trans fats. Instead get your fats from extra virgin olive oil and fresh unroasted and unsalted nuts.
Put olive oil on your salads and vegetables. Have 1-4 tablespoons of olive oil a day.
Meat:
Meat is limited on the Mediterranean diet. You can eat a moderate amount of poultry but red meat is limited to a few times a month. When you do have red meat make sure it is grass-fed and preferably organic.
Fish:
Oily fish is a mainstay for heart healthy omega 3 oils in the traditional Mediterranean diet. Wild caught salmon, trout (not farmed), sardines, anchovies and tuna are probably best.
Dairy:
Allow yourself 3 servings of good quality natural cheese and whole organic milk or live yogurt each week. Parmesan and feta cheeses are eaten on the diet but other cheeses and butter are limited.
Drinks:
Filtered water should be your main beverage on a Mediterranean diet. Coffee and tea are also acceptable, but you should avoid sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juices, which are very high in sugar.
Related Reading: Detox Water Recipes For Everyday Drinking
Are you asking “what about wine”?
In the Mediterranean area, people do enjoy their red wine. It’s because it contains certain properties that research shows have benefits on the heart. You just need to drink it in moderation.
Related reading: How to Detox your Liver after Too Much Alcohol
It contains antioxidants from the flavonoids that are in the skin of grapes. Even though wine can truly be part of a healthy lifestyle, there is a fine line that determines what is healthy.
The daily intake is a 4 ounce glass of wine for women and 1-2 four ounce glasses for men. Excessive drinking undoes everything and packs on the calories.
You should be in good health to enjoy this part of the Mediterranean diet because if you have disorders like high blood pressure, pancreatic disease, liver disease, high triglycerides, or congestive heart failure – you just worsen the condition. Talk about it to your health practitioner though.
Keto Mediterranean Diet
The keto diet has become very popular for weight loss and improving a number of health conditions over the past few years yet even people following this diet are now turning more towards the Mediterranean way of eating with the Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet.
You can find out more about this way of eating for fat and weight loss in this article.
Bottom line is this: with all these Mediterranean Diet benefits, if you want radiant health, if you want to improve on the detoxing you’ve done, if you want to improve on the level of health you have at present, and if you want to lose weight too, then it makes sense. You won’t be sorry. Let’s drink to that!
