Surely you have heard that the Mediterranean diet is very good for your health. This is a form of food therapy that has been practiced by people of the Mediterranean region for centuries for good health and longevity.
But what foods does this diet include? It includes many vegetables, fruits, and legumes, but we are going to investigate the types of vegetables, fruits, and legumes.
For example, the Mediterranean diet includes vegetables Like tomatoes, peppers, courgettes, onions, carrots, potatoes, spinach, chard, green peas, eggplants, and broccoli among other vegetables. It also involves the use of seeds like chia seeds, basil seeds, and flax seeds.
We have also said that it includes fruits. What kind of fruits does the Mediterranean diet include? You can eat oranges, tangerines, strawberries, peaches, apricots, pineapple, figs, watermelon, melon, and many other fruits.
It also includes many legumes. The most important are chickpeas, beans, and lentils.
But these are not the only foods that we find in the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet is also rich in cereals and carbohydrate-rich products such as bread, pasta, and rice. How rich everything is!
Furthermore, it is very important to say that the Mediterranean diet also includes moderate amounts of fish and meat. What kind of meat can be included? We can find white meat, such as chicken meat or pork meat, and red meat, such as veal meat.
Also, in the Mediterranean diet, there is a great variety of dairy products. Dairy products are those that come from milk and we have, for example, milk, also cheese, butter, or yogurt.
And it is also very important to know that nuts are found in the Mediterranean diet. I like them a lot, I love almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts. Do you also like nuts?
The most important characteristic of the Mediterranean diet is that almost all of these foods are always cooked with olive oil. Olive oil is that natural liquid fat that comes out of olives. Olive oil is rich in good fatty acids, omega-3. Omega-3 is responsible for a number of healthy characteristics in an individual. It helps to regulate the ratio of bad fats (LDL) versus good fats (HDL) in the human body.
Olive oil also contains a number of vitamins and antioxidants. Science has proved that subjects using olive oil as a part of their diet regimen stay healthy and are less likely to have diseases like hypertension and cardiovascular issues.
In addition, a good Mediterranean diet is always accompanied by came either beer, but in small quantities.
Why are we talking about the Mediterranean diet?
As we have already said at the beginning, the Mediterranean diet is very good for your health. For starters, where do you find this diet? Where do we eat this way?
Well, it is called the Mediterranean precisely because it is the diet of the countries bathed more or less by the Mediterranean Sea. Although they are not the only countries that use this diet but let’s say that the majority do.
That is why Spain, France, Italy, and Greece are the Mediterranean countries where the Mediterranean diet is supposed to originate. It is very healthy and many studies tell us that with the Mediterranean diet we can prevent heart disease.
Well, several studies show that the Mediterranean diet is not only good for the body and for preventing illnesses, but it is also good for preventing mental illnesses, such as depression. Some studies prove it.
So, in general, because of the presence of quality nutrients, good fats, complex carbs, and good protein content, the Mediterranean diet is not only a healthy diet but also a satiety diet. A satiety diet always helps the person with good food psychology management.