Does A “Perfect” and “Easy” Diet Exist? By Morgan Petoskey (Guest Author)

Introduction:  In the nutrition class I teach, students were asked to write a blog post on a nutrition topic. One of those students, Morgan Petoskey, wrote an interesting blog post on a healthy diet.  Students were also asked to conduct some of their own “research” on the nutrition topic and that research is shared in her post.  I welcome Morgan Petoskey as a guest author to this week’s blog post.  

Source:  Best Diet

Why is it so hard to stick to a diet? 

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people celebrate the new year and their first resolution is to eat “healthier”, but what exactly does that mean?  Most people go to the gym more and count calories, others try and cut out carbs from their diets.  Most people get this mindset that says we aren’t trying too hard, and some diets are just really hard to stick with.  What would be an easy diet to stick to that has easy solutions?  The answer is simple, try the Mediterranean diet! 

What is the Mediterranean Diet?

The Mediterranean diet is the three-time winner for “Best Overall Diet” (rated in the U.S. News & World Report annual rankings) and is simply a “healthy eating plan” (Mayo Clinic).  The diet focuses on eating less sugar, saturated fat, and red meat and instead eating more varieties of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other things that countries in the Mediterranean region would eat such as in Spain and Greece.  I asked 16 people if they knew what the best overall diet was and of the 16, 1 person guessed “eating legitimate portions of foods you enjoy” and the other guessed intermittent fasting.  I then asked the question, “have you heard of the Mediterranean diet?”  Surprisingly, 7 people out of the 16 had heard of it and 2 people told me they actually tried it.  I then asked, “how did you feel incorporating these types of foods/lifestyle into your diet?”  The first person was rather vague and said she has less stomach problems and felt better overall.  The second person I asked said she felt lighter and “with processed foods [she] always felt dragged down, like everything [was] heavier.”  She also said she felt better mentally and was more motivated and had high energy.  

Source:  Clean Eating

What does the Mediterranean diet consist of? 

The Mediterranean diet is full of nutrient dense foods that are rich in many vitamins, minerals, protein, and complex carbohydrates.  Such foods would include fruits, vegetables, grain, nuts, seeds, dairy fish olive oil and others to name a few.  Some foods to avoid would be refined grains (anything that has white flour), added sugars, saturated fat, and processed foods.  The Mediterranean diet is primarily plant-based making it rich in antioxidants, however, there is still a wide variety of food options to choose from.  

Source: Mediterranean Diet Recipes

Why should people consider trying the Mediterranean diet? 

This diet is fairly simple to follow and extremely beneficial to our bodies.  The Mediterranean diet has shown to prevent heart disease and strokes, reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s, and protects again type 2 diabetes (HelpGuide), and give us lots of natural energy.  Numerous studies support the diet’s heart benefits and shows significant improvements in health (Gary Gabelman). 

Staying full for longer, while making your body happier!

Instead of this	Try this Mediterranean option
Chips, pretzels, crackers, and Ranch dip	Carrots, celery, broccoli, and salsa
White rice with stir-fried meat	Quinoa with stir-fried vegetables
Sandwiches with white bread or rolls	Sandwich fillings in whole wheat tortillas
Ice Cream	Pudding made with skim or 1% milk

Source:  HelpGuide

 

Sources:    Diet Review:  Mediterranean Diet (2019, May22).  Mayo Clinic, Nutrition and Healthy Eating.  The Nutrition Source.  Gary Gabelman, G. Why Doctors Recommend the Mediterranean Diet., What Does it Mean to Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods?  Calorie Control Council.   Mediterranean Diet is Best Diet –Once Again.  Scripps Health.  The Mediterranean Diet:  Helpguide.Org.  What is the Mediterreanean Diet?  www.heart.org.   

Image Sources:  Clean Eating , Mediterranean Diet Recipes , Best Diet