MEDITTERENEAN DIET

The Mediterranean diet is thought to reduce the risk of heart disease,cancer, obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. It is based on the traditional dietary patterns of poor coastal regions of Spain, southern Italy and Greece (mainly Crete) in the 1960s.


The prenciples of the Mediterranean diet include:

1) Plenty of exercise
2) Eating a a lot of legumes
3) Eating healthy fats such as olive oil (omega-9) and canola oil (omega-3)
4) Consuming herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
5) Eating small portions of nuts but in small amounts as they are in high calories
6) Eating a a lot of fruits and vegetables
7) Moderate consumption of dairy products
8) Drinking red wine, in moderation
9) Consuming very little red meat
10) Eating fish or shellfish at least twice a week
11) Bread without margarines or butter


1) Anatomy of health effects of Mediterranean diet: Greek EPIC prospective cohort study.

Trichopoulou A, Bamia C, Trichopoulos D.
BMJ 2009; 338: b2337. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b2337 ,
2) Olive oil and health: summary of the II international conference on olive oil and health consensus report, Jaén and Córdoba (Spain) 2008.
López-Miranda J et al
Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 May;20(4):284-94. Epub 2010 Mar 19.