With Baked Cod & Melanzane alla Parmigiana on the Mediterranean Diet, then it's definitely right for me, and might be right for you too!
If you have a bit of time and LOVE eggplant, then this is a must! Melanzane alla Parmigiana is an epic bake on its own. But pairing it with baked cod is a perfect match and so easy! Full recipe coming soon in Free Downloads!
I'm often asked, "what's the best diet?" and "what should I eat?" These questions aren't that simple to answer because everyone is different and that means their food choices need to be different as well.
Overall, the Mediterranean Diet is considered the gold standard of a healthy eating lifestyle. And yes, it is a lifestyle, not just food on the plate. So what is the Mediterranean Diet exactly and is it right for you?
The Mediterranean Diet is a holistic, mainly plant-based diet that aims at reducing the risk of developing chronic diseases, improving health, and increasing longevity. Steeped in tradition from rural Italy, Greece, and other countries of the Mediterranean basin, the Mediterranean Diet is based on fresh, local, homegrown, and minimally processed produce (Gaforio, 2018).
Key components of the diet are the use of olive oil as the primary source of fat (Gaforio, 2018); plentiful amounts of seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, cereals, and legumes; moderate consumption of nuts, seeds, goat cheese, sheep cheese, fish, seafood, and poultry; limited consumption of red and processed meat, and limited refined sugar (Mazza et al., 2021).
The Mediterranean Diet is multifaceted and addresses numerous chronic diseases concurrently.
Chronic diseases are not usually stand-alone diseases. Chronic obesity for example, can lead to
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. The Mediterranean Diet incorporates a multitude of known health improving components such as being low in saturated fat acids, rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, high in dietary fibre, and rich in nutrients and phytochemicals (Whitney et al., 2019).
The Mediterranean Diet is globally renowned to promote longevity, reduce inflammation and reduce the risk of chronic diseases that are associated with inflammation in the body. These include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, declined cognitive health, and Alzheimer’s disease (Farooqui & Farooqui, 2011; Romagnolo & Selmin, 2017).
A reduction in inflammation is the key to good health and the ability of the Mediterranean Diet to reduce inflammation is one of its most significant advantages. It is suggested that the synergistic effect of nutrients, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and Omega-3 fatty acids, decreases blood pressure and
LDL cholesterol, increases HDL cholesterol, reduces inflammation, and improves cardiovascular health (MartÃnez-González et al., 2019). It's no wonder the Mediterranean Diet is the gold standard of a healthy eating lifestyle!
Interested to find out more?
Below is an extensive list of literature and references on the Mediterranean Diet so you can dive deeper into it! :-)
BOOK a free consultation to see if it's right for you.
References
Caprara G. (2021). Mediterranean-Type Dietary Pattern and Physical Activity: The Winning Combination to Counteract the Rising Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Nutrients, 13(2), 429. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020429
Castro-Quezada, I., Roman-Viñas, B., & Serra-Majem, L. (2014). The mediterranean diet and nutritional adequacy: A review. Nutrients, 6(1), 231-248.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu6010231
Chronic Conditions in Australia. Australian Government Department of Health. (2020). https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/chronic-conditions/chronic-conditions-inaustralia.
Davis, C., Bryan, J., Hodgson, J., & Murphy, K. (2015). Definition of the Mediterranean Diet; a Literature Review. Nutrients, 7(11), 9139–9153. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu7115459
Dernini, S., & Berry, E. (2015). Mediterranean Diet: From a Healthy Diet to a Sustainable Dietary Pattern. Frontiers In Nutrition, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2015.00015
Farooqui, A., & Farooqui, T. (2011). Phytochemicals and human health. Nova Science Publishers.
Fayet-Moore, F., Cassettari, T., Tuck, K., McConnell, A., & Petocz, P. (2018). Dietary Fibre Intake in Australia. Paper I: Associations with Demographic, Socio-Economic, and Anthropometric Factors. Nutrients, 10(5), 599. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10050599
Gaforio, J. J., Visioli, F., Alarcón-de-la-Lastra, C., Castañer, O., Delgado-RodrÃguez, M., Fitó, M., Hernández, A. F., Huertas, J. R., MartÃnez-González, M. A., Menendez, J. A., Osada, J., Papadaki, A., Parrón, T., Pereira, J. E., Rosillo, M. A., Sánchez-Quesada, C., Schwingshackl, L., Toledo, E., & Tsatsakis, A. M. (2019). Virgin Olive Oil and Health: Summary of the III International Conference on Virgin Olive Oil and Health Consensus Report, JAEN (Spain) 2018. Nutrients, 11(9), 2039. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11092039
Gardener, H., & Caunca, M. R. (2018). Mediterranean Diet in Preventing Neurodegenerative Diseases. Current nutrition reports, 7(1), 10–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-018-0222-5
Higdon, J., & Drake, V. (2013). An evidence-based approach to phytochemicals and other dietary factors (2nd ed.). Thieme.
MartÃnez-González, M. A., Gea, A., & Ruiz-Canela, M. (2019). The Mediterranean Diet and Cardiovascular Health. Circulation research, 124(5), 779–798.
https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.313348
Mazza, E., Ferro, Y., Pujia, R., Mare, R., Maurotti, S., Montalcini, T., & Pujia, A. (2021). Mediterranean Diet In Healthy Aging. The Journal Of Nutrition, Health & Aging, 25(9), 1076-1083. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-021-1675-6
Milenkovic, T., Bozhinovska, N., Macut, D., Bjekic-Macut, J., Rahelic, D., Velija Asimi, Z., & Burekovic, A. (2021). Mediterranean Diet and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Perpetual Inspiration for the Scientific World. A Review. Nutrients, 13(4), 1307.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041307
Non communicable diseases. Who.int. (2021). https://www.who.int/news-room/factsheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases.
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