I am wondering if anyone here has any experience with the Mediterranean Diet? I am not talking about the low-carb one, I am speaking of the actual diet in general, and how it goes with the blood sugar.
I am a little confused about the searches that I have been doing, as they come up with a low carb site… which I am looking for a REAL mediterranean style?
Thoughts?
Mediterranean cuisine, in general tends to be lower carb than many other ethnicities. I do cook Mediterranean dishes regularly and when picking a restaurant, especially a casual one, will go for Mediterranean before Mexican, Indian, pizza, etc. I don’t think of it as a “diet” per se, so much as tasty and healthy dishes. I made Moussaka the other day (vegetarian version).
The diet of the Mediterranean tends to be fairly low carb, and is full of veg and fresh items. Smaller amounts of fat and more lean proteins. The grains tend to be less processed so they are better for you. There are still lots of white carbs to be wary off, particularly in breads and things, but it really has a focus on fresh veg and greens, and each area has their own influence on the diet.
It may help to look up recipes from certain countries, rather than “Mediterranean” as you will get mostly low-carb diet guru stuff. I love Greek food and at least what I tend to make and eat generally has beans, green & healthy root veggies and olive oil in it. Very good for you!
What is a real Mediterranean diet? The original spin on this came from a study of people on Crete who seemed to live longer and had little heart disease. Their diet was high in fat. Every day the Cretans would eat cheese, nuts and yogurt, but also fruits, beans, legumes, vegetables, and grain, in the form of bread, or pasta, rice, couscous or polenta, and potatoes. On a weekly basis, the islanders ate sweets, eggs, poultry, and fish and, just once a month, some meat. They also led very active physical lives; very few Cretans were office workers, it seems. They also drank wine, but in moderation. (http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.aspx?Id=6759).
Notice that the original study did not identify olives or olive oil as a major component of the diet, and eating fish only occurred infrequently. The original study was epidemiological, it identified a correlation, not a cause. In truth, the Cretans could have lived longer without heart problems because of genetics or other factors. The spartan lives of the Cretans no doubt helped as well. This original study has been used as a basis to suggest that whole grain, vegetarian diets are helpful, yet that has not really held up.
So in the end, I if this is the “real” Mediterranean diet, I’ll pass. I do however eat a lot of olives, olive oil and small fish.