If you have ever been lucky enough to visit the Mediterranean region and experience the amazing cuisine of countries in the area like Greece and Italy, then you know just how delicious the food can be! Well, believe it or not, there is actually a diet based on Mediterranean cuisine.
Mediterranean cuisine, in addition to being extremely delicious, is also very healthy, which is exactly why this diet exists. But, you may be wondering whether this diet actually works, or is it one of those fad diets that people latch onto that ends up being useless?
Key Features
- Based entirely on Mediterranean cuisine.
- Focuses on heavy consumption of herbs and spices as opposed to salt.
- Incorporates lots of vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
- Advocates for very little consumption of red meat.
Pros
One of the best things about this diet is its food selection. As was said in the intro, the Mediterranean region has great tasting cuisine, so it should be no surprise that the diet based on Mediterranean cuisine also tastes amazing. The diet has a heavy focus on vegetables, fruits, fish, and nuts.
So, you will always have a wide assortment of dishes that you can make when following this diet. Plus, the dishes are pretty easy to make, as there is a big emphasis on things like salads, which can be quickly thrown together.
Also, unlike many other diets, the Mediterranean diet does not recommend that you abstain completely from alcohol. While it does not recommend that you drink high-calorie drinks like beer, it does actually encourage you to drink moderate amounts of red wine.
This is great because it allows you to indulge yourself when you go out with friends (being the one who has to order water when everyone else orders wine or beer is never fun).
Because the heavy emphasis on olive oil and red wine and the relative lack of red meat, the diet is great for keeping your heart healthy, in addition to helping you lose weight.
Cons
The major drawback to this diet is that it does not really make any allowance for dairy products. So, if you just strictly follow this diet, then you are going to end up consuming almost no calcium in that way. Anyone wanting to try this diet should be aware that they will have to tweak the diet in order to ensure that they are getting the necessary amount of calcium, such as finding it in leafy greens and supplements.
