Mediterranean Diet Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner For Weight Loss

What is Mediterranean diet

Mediterranean diet, I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about it online or mentioned by your friends. It’s been described as a healthy diet but what exactly is it and what are the health benefits to the Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean diet otherwise known as Media-diet is based on traditional food fare that are consumed by people in countries bordering the Mediterranean sea such as Greece and Italy.

Interest in this diet became popular as people living there generally live longer with much lower incidence of chronic diseases as compared to Americans and in recent studies this healthy prudent dietary pattern has been shown through scientific evidence to contribute to the prevention of chronic disease.

This meta-analysis of multiple studies has concluded that the Mediterranean diet reduces obesity and abdominal fat and waist circumference. It reduces cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart attack; it reduces the risk of diabetes and may even improve the sugar control in diabetic patients.

It also improves hypertension and increases the levels of good cholesterol. In fact there are evidence also to suggest that Media-diet can increase life expectancy and improve the quality of life and well-being.

what comprises the Media-diet?

The principles of the diet are, on a daily basis consume more than seven servings of vegetables and whole fruits. Choose staples which are whole grains such as whole grain bread red or brown rice, oats, whole grain-based pasta or other carbohydrates. Snack on baked nuts, seeds and beans instead of deep fried snacks like potato chips.

Cook with oil that contains healthy oils such as olive oil. Season with natural spices and herbs and use less sugar and salt. Drink lots of plain water. On a moderate basis, which is about two to three times a week, consume healthily prepared seafood such as crabs, clams and prawns steamed. Fish that contain healthy fats such as mackerel salmon and tuna. Take poultry such as chicken that is roasted or boiled not deep fried. You can also take eggs, natural cheese, and Greek yogurt.

Avoid Drinks and Soft Drinks

One to two glasses of red wine a week. Who doesn’t like that? And one to two times a month, you consume red meat such as beef or pork. Avoid as much as possible refined grains such as white bread or white rice, processed meat and foods such as ham, bacon and processed cheese. Sugar-laden foods such as cakes, ice cream, fruit juices, soft drinks.

Avoid refined oils

Avoid refined oils such as soybean oil, canola oil, and cottonseed oil. So a recommended meal can be as follow: breakfast, oatmeal with Greek yogurt chopped with fresh fruits.

Lunch Time Diet Plan

Lunch, whole meal bread with egg, chicken breast and fresh vegetables. Snack, a handful of baked nuts and for dinner, lightly stirred fried salmon with vegetables and brown rice. Please let’s not forget about exercising in chronic disease prevention on top of Media-diet.

In fact there are now ongoing studies to evaluate whether exercise together with Media-diet may give rise to even better health benefit. This Predated plus study has been ongoing since 2014 and i look forward to the results when they do publish it at the end of the study. So please adopt a healthy lifestyle where you exercise at a moderate intensity for at least 150 minutes a week.

Have meals together with your family and friends to foster togetherness. So thank you for watching till the end. I hope I’ve managed to provide some insight on the Mediterranean diet and i look forward to seeing you achieve your health goals in the coming year.