If you’re looking to improve your diet, then sometimes it is easier to follow a prescribed set of rules or guidelines that others have already found work for them. One of those that has been becoming more popular as of late is that of the Mediterranean diet. Here, we’re going to break down what it is, what its objectives are, and the pros and cons.
What’s it for?
The purpose of the Mediterranean diet is, effectively, to improve healthy eating habits across the board by emulating how cuisine is typically done in Mediterranean cultures. It is not specifically to build up muscle or to lose weight, but it can help with both of those to some degree. Nor is it to try and cut out certain kinds of food to promote a certain body process, like ketogenic diets. Instead, it’s meant to be a more comprehensive improvement to overall health.
What kind of food does it use?
When it comes to science-based diets, this is one that definitely stands out as a winner, and that’s largely due to the food types that make it up. So, what is Mediterranean food? This is, of course, an incredibly vague and wide-reaching term but, in this context, it typically means emphasising your reliance on whole foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish, and olive oil. Dairy and red meat are allowed on this diet, but they are typically limited. What is outright prohibited is added sugar, kept aside for only occasional indulgences.
What are the pros?
As mentioned, the Mediterranean diet has a lot of scientific evidence to back up its effectiveness. It’s great for your heart health, first and foremost, while cutting back on your sugar is also great for preventing or managing the second leading type of chronic illness: diabetes. Focusing more on whole grains and whole foods, in general, is going to aid in weight management, and it has even been associated with cancer prevention. Overall, it’s going to make managing a healthy life a lot easier, so it’s worth considering.
What are the cons?
There’s no such thing as a diet that doesn’t have its drawback, and it’s all about gauging what type of diet fits your needs. For the Mediterranean diet, the cost and effort involved is going to be a prohibiting factor for a lot of people. If you are able to make meal prep a steady habit of yours, however, this tends to be much less of an issue. Otherwise, the dietary restrictions can be tough to follow for those who are just starting to make healthy eating changes and, on the other hand, some people find that the lack of prohibition on alcohol can undermine it, so that might be another rule you want to set for yourself.
There are, of course, pros and cons of every diet. As such, some people prefer to make less prescribed changes, but more generally avoid what is unhealthy and make sure they’re meeting their nutritional needs. As far as a shortcut to that level of healthy eating goes, the Mediterranean diet is not bad at all.
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