Mediterranean Diet Food: Basics
Whole Grain Breads
Fresh, healthy food
The basics of the Mediterranean diet food types include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, seafood, yogurt, olive oil, and small amounts of wine.
Healthy fats
On the menu are the monounsaturated fat found in olive oil, nuts, and avocados; and polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, and trout); and fat from plant sources, like flaxseed.
Olive oil
The Mediterranean natives use olive oil in almost everything they eat, including pastas, breads, vegetables, salads, fish, and even cakes and pastries.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are bursting with health benefits.
More vegetables, less meat
The traditional Mediterranean diet food is practically vegetarian, with lots of fish and very little meat. As for vegetables, Mediterranean people feast on tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, capers, spinach, eggplant, mushrooms, white beans, lentils, and chick peas.
Mediterranean Diet Food: Pyramid
As seen on the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: The base of the pyramid is made up of Mediterranean diet foods like whole grain breads, cereals, pasta, potatoes and rice. Fruits, legumes, nuts and vegetables make up another large share of your daily diet, along with smaller amounts of cheese, yogurt and olive oil. Poultry, fish and eggs are eaten weekly and red meats are only eaten about once per month. For liquids: you should drink six glasses of water every day, along with moderate consumption of red wine. The Mediterranean Diet pyramid even allows for one sweet treat every week.
As reported by MedicalNewsToday.com, the Mediterranean Diet food types are as follows:
- Lots of plant foods
- Fresh fruit as dessert
- High consumption of beans, nuts, cereals and seeds
- Olive oil as the main source of dietary fat
- Cheese and yogurt as the main dairy foods
- Moderate amounts of fish and poultry
- No more than about four eggs each week
- Small amounts of red meat each week (compared to northern Europe)
- Low to moderate amounts of wine
- 25% to 35% of calorie intake consists of fat
- Saturated fat makes up no more than 8% of calorie intake
