by If your New Year’s resolution didn’t outlast your children’s Christmas toys, here’s a way to start over. Consider the Mediterranean diet to make some lasting healthy changes.
For the fourth year in a row, it has been ranked as the best overall diet by US News and World Report. It also claimed the top spot in five other lists – the best diets for healthy eating, the easiest diets to follow, the best diets for diabetes, the best plant-based diets and the best heart healthy diets.
In case you’re wondering, the DASH diet and the “flexitarian” diet tied for the No. 1 spot. 2 on the overall Best Diets ranking list. The keto diet? At the bottom of the list, it ranked 37th out of 39 Best Diets overall and 39th in the Best Diets for Healthy Eating.
The rankings are made by an expert panel of 24 of the country’s top nutritionists and specialists in diabetes, heart health and weight loss.
But back to the Mediterranean, which seems to be the best way to eat healthy and get your weight healthy. How do you start eating the Mediterranean? It is based on the traditional foods that people used to eat in countries around the Mediterranean, such as Italy and Greece, back in the 1960s. Those Italians and Greeks were extremely healthy compared to Americans and had a very low risk of many diseases. So, researchers began to study what they were eating.
The Mediterranean diet focuses on plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, breads, legumes, potatoes, nuts and seeds. The main dietary fat is extra virgin olive oil, and the diet includes moderate amounts of red wine, fish, poultry, dairy and eggs. Red meat is usually a small portion, often only at Sunday dinner.
That pattern has been found to improve health and prevent disease, especially heart disease. A large study, called the Predimed study, looked at 7,447 individuals at high risk of heart disease. For five years, the participants followed one of three different diets – a Mediterranean diet with added extra virgin olive oil, a Mediterranean diet with added nuts and a low-fat diet control group. The combined risk of heart attack, stroke and death from heart disease was 31% lower in the Mediterranean and olive oil group and 28% in the Mediterranean and nuts group. And the dropout rates were twice as high in the control group compared to the two Mediterranean groups.
Results like that were repeated over and over again. Other studies show that the Mediterranean diet can help with weight loss, Type 2 diabetes and premature death. The bottom line is this is a diet worth looking into.
Q and A
Q: Can foods high in flavanols, such as tea, berries and cocoa, help lower blood pressure? I recently read something that said they might help.
A: It looks like they could. In a study reported in the October 2020 issue of Scientific Reports, researchers compared foods eaten and blood pressure of more than 25,000 people in the United Kingdom. They found that those with the highest flavanol intake were associated with significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, with the greatest difference seen in those with the highest blood pressure. So, grab a cup of tea; eat some berries; and enjoy a piece of dark chocolate.
recipe
Eating the Mediterranean way doesn’t have to be difficult. Try this Greek salad recipe. It is adapted from The Mediterranean Dish website. Serve with crusty bread. You can increase the protein by adding grilled chicken.
TRADITIONAL GREEK SALAD
Servers: 6
1 medium red onion
4 medium tomatoes
1 cucumber, partially peeled
1 green bell pepper, cored
1/4 cup Greek pitted Kalamata olives
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1-2 spoons of red wine vinegar
2 ounces Greek feta cheese
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
Cut the red onion in half, and thinly slice into half moons. Cut the tomatoes into wedges or large chunks. Cut the partially peeled cucumber in half lengthwise, and then slice in thick halves (at least 1/2-inch thick). thinly slice the bell pepper into rings. Place everything in a large salad bowl. Add the pitted calamata olives. Season with dried oregano. Pour the olive oil and red wine vinegar over the salad. Give everything a very fine toss to mix, and then add the feta. Serve with crusty bread.
Per serving: 102 calories; 7 grams of protein; 4.7 grams of carbohydrates; 9.5 grams fat (1.3 grams saturated fat); 1.1 grams of fiber; 28 milligrams of sodium.
Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian with the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois, and the current president of the Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. For comments or questions, contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @NutritionRD. To learn more about Charlyn Fargo and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
Photo credit: Taylor Kiser at Unsplash
