WHY MEDITERRANEAN DIET?

The Mediterranean diet is a lifestyle based on a balanced and varied diet in which predominates food derived from the traditional crops of the geographical area bordered by the Mediterranean: wheat, olives and grapevine.

His discovery as a healthy diet was made based on nutritional studies in Greece where it was detected an incidence of “arteriosclerosis”, cardiovascular disease and degenerative diseases below average, and of course a longer life expectancy.
The study results showed a clear relationship between the characteristics of the diet and the health of its population.

The basic foods and the main characteristics of this diet are:
1. Abundance of plant foods: fruits, vegetables, bread, pasta, rice, cereals, legumes and potatoes.
2. Olive oil as the main source of fat both for frying and for seasoning.
3. Eat seasonal foods in their natural state, it have to be always chosen the freshest.
4. Normally consume red wine in moderation during meals.

5. Consume a moderate amount of cheese and yogurt.
6. Consume weekly a moderate amount of fish, eggs and poultry.
7. Eat nuts, honey and olives in moderation.
8. Red meat a few times in a month.
9. Use herbs as a healthy alternative to salt.
10. Make a regular physical activity to work the heart and keep in shape our joints and our physical tone.

The need for outlining these foods and their share on a balanced diet, this pyramid arose. This is based on the proportion of nutrients that made up the Mediterranean diet. It is a graph showing the type and quantity of food that can be taken. Each region has a climate crops and food is also different. Thus a pyramid can be adapted to each of them, but in all cases remains a general outline with the proportion that may be consumed.

Bread and pasta as the main source of carbonyhidrates. So carbonydrates should provide 50% of total dairy energy intake.
Vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes contribute to be a higher fiber and antioxidants diet. Fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products as the main source of protein. So proteins provide 15% of the total energy.
Lower consumption of meat and animal fats. By this, fats or lipids contribute about 35%of total energy intake.
These foods and culinary treatment lead to a lifestyle that complements habits that invite the climate, such as trips on the sun, gatherings or the nap.

By María José Gómez