The 7 Key Characteristics of a Mediterranean Diet Plan

Aug 20, 2010 by Emilia

Mediterranean sea

The Mediterranean diet has received quite a lot of attention from the scientific community over the past several years, and for good reason. Between 1958 and 1970, nutrition researcher Ancel Keys surveyed the eating patterns of people living in seven countries.

His study found that people in certain areas of Greece and Italy who follow a Mediterranean diet plan had substantial lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cancer.

The 7 Key Characteristics of a Mediterranean Diet Plan

Keys and his wife published How to Eat Well, Stay Well the Mediterranean Diet in 1975 (now out of print) to promote this diet to a larger audience. Its key characteristics include:

An abundance of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grain cereals and whole grain breads. If you are a diabetic, do not eat more than 3 pieces of fruit a day
Extra virgin olive oil as the primary source of fat
Low intake of saturated fat and trans fats
Low amounts of dairy products
Fish, poultry, and eggs a few times a week
Red meat only a few times a month
A moderate amount of wine with meals

The Lyon Diet Heart Study

Some reviews of Key’s work have asked whether other factors such as genetics, exercise or even portion sizes might play a role in the favorable rates of heart disease. An important study from France, the Lyon Diet Heart Study indicated that Keys was on the right track.

Making olive oil

This study enrolled more than six hundred men and women who had survived their first heart attack, and divided then into two groups. Half followed a low fat diet widely recommended by the American Heart Association for people with coronary artery disease, while the other half followed a Mediterranean diet plan with characteristics similar to those listed above.

The study was interrupted less than halfway through its five year course because the people following the Mediterranean diet were doing so much better than those in the other group, with 73% fewer coronary event and 70% fewer deaths from all causes.

Final Thought

Although we see that people living along the Mediterranean countries are changing their diet with the introduction of Westernized foods high in saturated fat and refined carbohydrates, there is no reason for us to ignore the principles that for centuries have kept Mediterraneans in good health. Let us take home the basic principles of what is a Mediterranean diet plan and follow them.

To Your Mediterranean Diet Plan Success!

Emilia Klapp, RD, BS
Your Diabetes Coach
www.TheDiabetesClub.com