Throughout our lifespan it is important for us to maintain a good balanced diet. Maintaining a balanced diet, and restricting calories is one of the best ways that we can prolong our lives. The most highly recommended diet for longevity is the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet as a way of eating that resembles the standard diet and activity level of those in the Mediterranean area.
Although this can be a helpful diet throughout our entire lives, the Mediterranean diet is especially helpful as we get into older age. The older we are, the less calories we may need to consume and be more nutritious foods that we will need to consume. Our bodies undergo certain changes that make absorbing certain nutrients more difficult the older we get. But we can avoid this by making sure to eat a variety of foods that contain all of the necessary nutrients.
We are going to talk about what it is, why it’s important, and what are some easy foods that you can incorporate into your life right now.
What is the Mediterranean diet?
The Mediterranean diet is based on the traditional foods of those in that area. Countries that commonly consumed this diet include France, Spain, Greece, and Italy. Researchers have noticed that individuals from this area are much more healthy than the people in other areas, including the United States. Much of our diet consists of saturated fats, high levels of sodium, and high levels of sugar. In addition to this, our regular lifestyle is mostly sedentary. Contrast this with the way that individuals from that area live life, many of their foods consist of healthy options combined with a lot of activity, namely walking.
There are no strict rules or regulations for this diet, but more of a general idea of the certain foods and activity levels that should be done to achieve similar health status of individuals from that area. The Mediterranean diet can promote weight loss, and prevent heart attacks, Strokes, type 2 diabetes, and death at a younger age.
Benefits of the Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet provides a number of benefits for our health at any age. One of the best things about this diet is that it promotes heart health. It has been studied extensively due to its ability to positively impact heart health and those who participate in this diet. One study compared the effects of the Mediterranean diet and a low-fat diet and showed that the Mediterranean diet was better at slowing the progression of plaque buildup in arteries. Plaque buildup in arteries can narrow the space that blood has to travel through the vessels and can lead to ischemia and stroke if a part of the plaque breaks off. Other research shows that a Mediterranean diet could also help reduce levels of diastolic and systolic blood pressure which also can support heart health. The higher pressure in your arteries, the more your heart has to work to push blood through the vessels. Eventually your heart begins to wear and tear, and can begin to scar or grow due to the level of activity required in order to keep your blood pumping.
Another benefit is that the Mediterranean diet supports healthy blood sugar levels. The foods with in the Mediterranean diet include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and heart-healthy foods. When the majority of your Foods consist of this diet, you are able to better regulate your blood sugar. If you currently struggle with diabetes, type 1 or type 2, then having better blood sugar control is one of the ways that you can prevent the negative consequences of diabetes including retinopathy, nephropathy, and cardiovascular disease. The Mediterranean diet has also been shown to reduce insulin resistance which is also an important factor in diabetes, particularly type 2.
The Mediterranean diet has also been shown to be positive for brain health. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was shown to improve memory and reduce risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s disease, as well as be connected to lower levels of dementia, cognitive impairment, and again Alzheimer’s disease. In fact it may actually lead to improvements in cognitive function, memory, attention, and processing speed in healthy older adults.
How to follow the Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet is fairly simple to follow. And involves eating a well-balanced diet that includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, potatoes, whole grains, herbs, spices, Fish, seafood, and extra virgin olive oil essentially every day. In moderation you can also eat poultry, eggs, cheese, and yogurt. These foods have great amount of protein, and yogurt is very good for gut health which can be very important as you begin to get older and have decreased gut motility and increase risk of small intestine and large intestine bacterial diseases, and inflammatory diseases.
Finally, things that you should rarely eat are red meat, sugar – sweetened beverages, added sugars, processed meat, refined grains, refined oils and other highly processed foods. So this means that prepackaged meals and snack cakes from the grocery store are things that should be eaten very rarely, like maybe once a week with the end goal of about once a month.
Water should be your go-to beverage if you are adhering to the Mediterranean diet, and moderate amounts of red wine are also acceptable. This is the equivalent to about one glass per day. Coffee and tea are also other healthy beverage options while following the Mediterranean diet, but you should be wary of adding a lot of sugar and cream to them. Honey may be a good additive into your coffee or tea that is sweet but also does not require much for its effects to be noticed. Fruit juices and sodas or sweet teas are things that should probably be consumed in moderation due to their high sugar contents. If you are a diabetic, or pre-diabetic, or overweight or obese and need to work on losing weight, then a lot of sugar will be the antithesis of achieving those goals. Here is some additional information including a shopping list, example weekly menu, and a guide for when you are eating out.
The Mediterranean diet is a very useful way of eating, and should not be considered a diet, but instead a lifestyle change. The Mediterranean diet includes a lot of foods that you may already consumed, but also encourages you to add and some different items that you may not be used to. Changing the way that you eat can be uncomfortable, scary, and just something that you don’t want to do. But it’s important to take agency in your own health by doing something as simple as eating better and moving more.
The Mediterranean diet is an easy way to accomplish both of those without cutting out all of your favorite items and going cold turkey. Approaching any sort of change this way will most likely lead to non-adherence and a relapse of those poor behaviors. In order for your eating and activity to improve, it’s important that you change your mindset first. Start with thinking about why you are doing this, and what you hope to gain. Focus on that every single time you want to quit your diet and give in to a temptation.
By following this diet, you will reduce your risk of having a major health issue, such as a stroke or a heart attack, that can severely limit your activity. If you are in a position where your activity has been severely limited, and you need assistance preparing food for this diet, or any other activities of daily living, then please consider Diverse Health Services. We are a home health agency that can assist those who are unable to do things completely independently. This includes but is not limited to shopping, going to the grocery store, cooking, cleaning, providing medication distribution, and many other activities. Please visit our services tab to find out if we are a good match for your family.
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