A well-balanced diet is essential, for it supplies our body with adequate energy, nutrients for growth and repair, helps in weight loss, and prevents most chronic diseases such as cancer, heart diseases. For a healthy lifestyle, you should consider the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes eating healthy food plants, and sea meat. The diet discourages feeding on red meat and sweetened drinks and snacks. Pregnant women on a Mediterranean diet will have a smooth pregnancy and help prevent their babies from premature deaths. In this post, we’ll provide a detailed Mediterranean Diet Food list and a few tips.
The Mediterranean Diet Food List consists of:
Vegetables
Eating vegetables is fundamental to your body, for they are rich in minerals, vitamins, and dietary fibers. Having a reasonable portion of different vegetables keeps you healthy and prevents you from some illnesses such as blood pressure, poor vision, cancer, heart diseases, and diabetes. Vegetables are also rich in calories that help in reducing cholesterol in your body. Most vegetables also help in weight management. The following some vegetables that shouldn’t miss in your diet: Spinach, Kales, onions, ginger, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, broccoli, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, carrots.
Fruits
These delicious wonders of nature contain minerals, vitamins, and are rich in fiber. Consumption of fruits helps you boost your immune system, thus preventing you from falling sick anyhow. Since fruits are rich in fiber, daily intake of fruits helps you have smooth digestion and prevents constipation. Also, a high intake of fruits helps one gain appetite, especially pregnant women who have nausea. Eating of fruits may also prevent one from diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. For a healthy living, consider eating the following fruits: Apples, avocados, dates, grapes, oranges, lemons, limes, kiwis, pawpaw, melons, bananas, strawberries, figs, etc.
Whole grains
Whole grains are usually rich in proteins, minerals, fiber, and vitamin B. Plant proteins are the best meal for dinner because they subject the body to minimal digestion activity hence good sleep. On the other hand, Fiber enhances digestion, therefore preventing constipation. Minerals and vitamins will mainly protect you from most chronic diseases.
Legumes
Legumes such as beans, peas, peanuts, lentils, and chickpeas should never be missed in your daily meals. Taking the recommended serving sizes of these legumes is essential for a healthier life. Legumes contain nutrients such as carbohydrates, fiber, proteins, calcium, magnesium, folate, and zinc. Legumes have low-fat content and are free from cholesterol hence thus prevent heart diseases. They are energy giving foods due to their high concentration of carbohydrates. Women in childbearing age should ensure that they don’t miss the required portion in their daily plates; their high content in folate is used in manufacturing red and white blood cells and produce deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid.
Fish and Seafood
Fish and seafood are the best proteins in this diet due to their richness in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are useful to your body because they help manage weight, anxiety control, and prevent heart diseases. Therefore, it’s important to include fish and seafood in your diet for a healthy life. Kindly consider eating salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines for a healthier and happy life.
Water
This is the only healthy drink that should be fully included in your diet. Water has multiple benefits for our bodies. These benefits include Body hydration, aids in digestion and excretion process, weight loss, acts as a body cooling agent, prevents constipation and, aids in nutrient absorption.
Mediterranean Food List Tip: Eat These Foods in Moderation
Dairy products
Milk products are rich in vitamin D, potassium, proteins, and calcium, thus have numerous health benefits. Dairy products that you should consume regularly include cheese and yogurt. These foods help in bone development, Speeds calcium absorption in the gut, and prevent small children from developing rickets. The extra calcium found in these products is used by pregnant women during the gestation period and is very important to the elderly.
Poultry
White meat is more preferred in a healthy diet than red meat because it has low volumes of saturated fats, contains omega-6 fatty acids, has high protein content, and is rich in vitamin B12. For children and people with gastric problems, poultry meat is the best since it’s easy to digest.
You Should Not Eat These Foods According to The Mediterranean Diet:
Red meat
Due to its high fat saturation, red meat, especially processed and fatty cuts should often be avoided. Low intake of red meat or complete elimination will help lower fats in your bodies, hence low cholesterol intake and in turn, low chances of becoming overweight.
Sweetened foods
Sodas, sweets, and red wine shouldn’t be consumed often if you have to stay healthy and live longer, according to the Mediterranean diet. Avoiding these foods help reduce the risk of heart conditions, diabetes, and reduces stomach fats. Therefore, the Mediterranean diet food list is a beneficial tool to keep your body functioning.
Why do it?
The Mediterranean diet is a great diet to do if you want to change your diet to a fresh, nutritious lifestyle. It uses fresh produce that are vitamins rich, and no processed food. When starting a new diet, it can be rough since it is a huge transition for people. That is why we suggest you look into a Mediterranean meal delivery service so it can train you with the items that you can eat and adapt to a new balanced diet.
Looking for a healthy or good Mediterranean restaurant? Read our review of Leyla or our review of this first All Paleo Restaurant in NYC.
