5 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Follow a Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is based on consumption of traditional foods characteristic for countries in the Mediterranean area. It poses as the healthiest diet in the world, and healthcare providers around the globe recommend this eating plan to their patients. The diet is more like a program one should follow and couple with healthy lifestyle choices. Changing eating habits might be a bit overwhelming to some people, especially if you don’t know how to introduce a new plan to your life. Due to the fact the Mediterranean diet will provide a bunch of health benefits and improve your quality of life, this article will show easy ways you can follow it.

Health benefits of Mediterranean diet
Let’s start with health advantages of this diet first, to serve as additional motivation to adopt this eating plan. For example, there is a strong association between good heart health and certain food groups or dietary patterns including vegetable intake, legumes, monounsaturated fatty acids, which are characteristic for the Mediterranean diet, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.  

The BMJ Openfeatured a research which discovered that adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) is associated with better health-related quality of life, particularly with mental health. The positive impact of the diet on both physical and psychological health is, probably due to a high level of antioxidants.

According to another study published in the BMJ, following the MD is strongly associated with reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes while JAMA Neurology featured a research confirming that MD lowers white matter hypersensitivity burden, a marker of small vessel damage in the brain.

As you can see, health benefits of MD are both numerous and versatile, adherence to this eating plan has a tremendous potential to improve your overall health and quality of life. You’ll be even more impressed with the fact that a study published in the American Journal of Medicine showed that Mediterranean diet is excellent for long-term weight loss, it’s more effective than a low-fat diet.

Now that you know how healthy this dietary program is, you just have to know how to follow it correctly. You’ll be amazed how easy it is!

Read More: On A Strict Diet? How You Can Still Enjoy Eating Out!

1. Go for whole grains
The Mediterranean diet promotes consumption of grains, but you have to be careful. In order to get all benefits that both diet and grains have to offer, you have to opt for whole grains. Why? It’s because they are nutrient-dense. Refined grains don’t contain the nutritious parts of the grains and have little to no nutritional value.

Here are some ideas that you’ll find useful:

• Eat quinoa, if you haven’t eaten it before, dare to experiment
• Buy barely – it’s rich in fiber and acts as appetite suppressant. Here’s an extra tip: barely matches perfectly with mushrooms. Make a soup using these two ingredients; everyone will love it
• Opt for whole grains when buying oatmeal
• Like popcorn? You don’t have to ditch them when following MD, just opt for whole grain, air popped, and butter-free
• You should also include whole wheat bread and pasta to your menu

2. Replace unhealthy fats with healthy counterparts
Not all fats are created equal, and most people aren’t aware of that. The body needs fat to stay healthy and functional which is why eliminating fat entirely isn’t a healthy approach. It’s important to learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy fats, and the best way to do so is by following MD.

One of the most important things you should consider when introducing this diet to your lifestyle is replacing unhealthy with healthy fats. The staple ingredient of MD is olive oil whose health benefits are well-documented. You can also opt for other plant-based oils such as walnut oil or canola oil. On the other hand, reduce consumption of industrial vegetable oils, margarine, and other fats that don’t belong to the group of monounsaturated fats.

3. Increase intake of vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other essential components that our organism requires. Unfortunately, the Western diet doesn’t include a healthy amount of produce which is why rates of obesity and metabolic diseases are on the rise.

The easiest way to follow Mediterranean diet is to include an abundance of different fruits and vegetables into your diet while limiting intake of unhealthy foods at the same time. For example, although meat is allowed, you should consume it once a week. On the other hand, consumption of fish and seafood should increase to at least twice a week.

Basically, the greatest portion of your meals should comprise of vegetables, but make sure you opt for different types of veggies and different colors at the same time. Remember, choosing vegetables doesn’t count if you’re going to prepare them in an unhealthy manner. Instead of frying, practice cooking, baking, or grilling.

4. Choose snacks wisely
All people like to snack from time to time, but instead of French fries, chips, nachos, and other unhealthy items, you should opt for healthier alternatives. To follow MD adequately, instead of unhealthy snacks you usually eat, choose almonds, walnuts of sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, and so on. You can even opt for calcium-rich low-fat cheese instead of cookies and sweets.

5. Be picky about processed food
Mediterranean diet promotes intake of fresh, healthy, and homemade meals that are rich in much-needed nutrients. That’s why you should be very picky about processed food. When grocery shopping in a supermarket, go for products whose ingredients you recognize. Also, if an item has a longer list of ingredients, it’s not a good idea to go for it. The fewer components, the better.

Other things to do

• Opt for low-fat dairy products
• Have one glass of wine a day (not more!)
• Savor every bite; you’ll eat less and become mindful when it comes to food, that way you’ll be more likely to stick to MD
• Make fruit your dessert, instead of cakes and cookies

Conclusion
Mediterranean diet is the healthiest eating pattern in the world, and it’s not difficult to follow it. Adhering to MD requires the substitution of unhealthy items with healthier counterparts, decreasing intake of meat while increasing consumption of produce and seafood. It’s easy and you can, definitely, follow this diet successfully. MD is all about healthy lifestyle and proper eating habits.

References
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19364995
http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/8/e003003.abstract