• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Bistro Chic

Your Guide to Embracing the Travel and Vacation Mindset

Bistro Chic
  • Articles
  • About
    • Contact Bistro Chic
  • Beauty
  • Health
  • Fashion
  • Food & Wine
  • Joie de Vivre
  • Lifestyle
  • Misc
  • Travel
You are here: Home / Health / Eat, Drink, and Be Mediterranean

Eat, Drink, and Be Mediterranean

by Jennifer Lynn
February 10, 2009Filed under:
  • Health

The Mediterranean Diet is one of the healthiest in the world. Research has shown this diet and overall lifestyle can help you lose weight, reduce incidence of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and is now associated with a reduced risk in mental decline. So, if you’re looking for a healthier approach to eating, the Mediterranean Diet might be right for you.

Mediterranean Food Pyramid

Mediterranean Food Pyramid

But what exactly is the Mediterranean Diet? The Mediterranean Diet is not so much a diet in the sense of a strict eating regimen where certain foods are forbidden, but rather like an eating style. It incorporates all of the aspects of healthy eating but focuses on the wonderful flavors, foods, and cooking style found in countries that border the Mediterranean Sea, including Italy, Greece, Southern France, Spain, Portugal, and Turkey. Although each country in the Mediterranean region provides its own variation in diet, all share 8 common principles characteristic to the authentic Mediterranean Diet.

8 Principles of the Mediterranean Diet:

  1. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, including beans and lentils
  2. Enjoy generous amounts of monounsaturated fats, MUFA, found in olive oil and canola oil
  3. Eat small portions of nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts – also high in MUFA
  4. Drink red wine, in moderation – one to two glasses daily – and refresh yourself with at least 6 glasses of water per day
  5. Choose lean proteins such as chicken, ham, and turkey and limit red meat to a few times a month
  6. Eat fish on a weekly basis
  7. Eat small amounts of dairy, including cheese and yogurt, daily
  8. Engage in regular exercise, such as walking on a daily basis

In addition to these 8 main principles, foods in the Mediterranean Diet are always fresh, in season, and are prepared with fresh herbs including cilantro, parsley, mint, rosemary, thymus, basil, dill, oregano and fennel. In addition to this eating style, people in the Mediterranean have a more relaxed eating style, where they eat slowly and engage in lively conversation with their dining companions.

If you’re serious about following a Mediterranean style of eating, check out MediterrAsian for ideas on recipes, menus, and shopping lists that will help you stock your cupboards and pantry with these healthy foods.

 

Amour? Please Share:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Related

Tagged:
  • European lifestyle
  • Mediterranean

Post navigation

Previous Post Top 10 American Cities with European Flair
Next Post An Incredibly French Valentine's Day

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Oliver says

    February 11, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    So, What “Euro” suggestions do you have for making meals predominately vegetable based without consuming salads all the time?

Footer

Search

THE TOP TEN

  • Pizzelle: The World's First Cookie
    Pizzelle: The World's First Cookie
  • French Vs. US School Lunches
    French Vs. US School Lunches
  • The Art of French Window Licking
    The Art of French Window Licking
  • Yes, I Absolutely Do Need 5 Black Pants
    Yes, I Absolutely Do Need 5 Black Pants
  • The British Curry Experience
    The British Curry Experience
  • How to dress like a French woman: Five tips to remember (and five to forget)
    How to dress like a French woman: Five tips to remember (and five to forget)
  • Olive Oil Pedicure: An Ancient Greek Recipe
    Olive Oil Pedicure: An Ancient Greek Recipe
  • Le Goûter: Refined French Snacking
    Le Goûter: Refined French Snacking
  • The French Woman’s Fall Wardrobe 
    The French Woman’s Fall Wardrobe 
  • New OPI Polish Leaves You Barefoot in Barcelona
    New OPI Polish Leaves You Barefoot in Barcelona

Yours Truly, Bistro Chic

Bistro Chic

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Copyright © 2023 · Bistro Chic

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
 

Loading Comments...