The Mediterranean diet- in a class of its own.

The Mediterranean diet has won gold as 2019’s best overall diet, awarded by the US News and World Report earlier this year.

The Mediterranean diet is without a doubt in a class of its own – it also took top spot in several subcategories: best diet for healthy eating, best plant-based diet, best diet for diabetes and the easiest diet to follow.

How exactly do “they”’ decide which diets are the best?  News editors and reporters spent months reviewing medical journals, government reports and other resources to create a shortlist of possible diet entries. Nutritionist and food psychology added their own, unbiased research to the diets and rated the diets in the following categories: how easy it is to follow, its ability to produce short-term and long-term weight loss, its nutritional completeness, its safety and its’ potential for preventing and managing diabetes and heart disease. All categories were not equally weighted, for example long-term ratings counted double since the sustainability of diet is one of the most crucial factors.

What makes the Mediterranean diet an excellent and sustainable option is the fact that it is rated the healthiest diet and the easiest diet to follow. I don’t know about you but what more wouldn’t you want a diet to become more of a sustainable lifestyle than a temporary fix?  It is still important to take note of the fact that every person’s needs are unique and it won’t necessarily be the best diet for everyone.

The Mediterranean diet will especially benefit people with the following conditions: cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Principles of the diet

• Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts
• Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week
• Replacing butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and avocado oil
• Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavour foods
• Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month
• Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week
• Drinking red wine in moderation (optional)
• Getting plenty of exercise
• Allowing the occasional treat
• Enjoying a relaxed lifestyle; i.e. making time to enjoy food with family and friends and socialising with friends

 If you would like to give the diet a try, please see below a weekly meal plan example.

 You are welcome to ask me questions or send me feedback.

Mediterranean diet menu plan

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snack
Oat porridge with cacao, blueberries, low-fat yoghurt and honey	Wholegrain sandwich with cucumber, boiled egg and olive oil mayonnaise	Falafel with olives and hummus, grilled root vegetables and courgettes	1 Fruit
Sourdough toast with leftover hummus and tomato	Leftovers- falafel and olives with grilled vegetables	Pumpkin risotto with a small portion of (lean) back bacon Could be made with brown rice as well	Carrot and mango juice
Oats porridge with berries, low-fat yoghurt and honey	Leftover pumpkin risotto	Brown rice pasta with pesto, anchovies and tomato	1 Fruit
Cinnamon quinoa with flax seeds, ½ orange	Leftover pasta	Store-bought fresh soup: low-fat broccoli/tomato with sourdough bread	Berrie smoothie
Spinach, apple and banana smoothie with protein powder	Tuna salad with feta, olives, cucumber, tomatoes and tuna	Quinoa with dukkah-crusted chicken breast, grilled broccoli	Orange