Reviews of the Mediterranean diet by nutritionists
The Mediterranean diet is among the healthiest diets available today. inherently balanced and healthy. According to nutritionists, such a diet has no contraindications and does not harm health.
The main advantage of the Mediterranean diet is that it does not imply strict restrictions1. Rather, it is saturated, but at the same time very healthy diet, which includes a variety of products. At the same time, you need to be prepared for the fact that the result will have to wait a long time. But no breakdowns and painful hunger.
The benefits of the Mediterranean diet
An important plus of the Mediterranean diet is the absence of contraindications. The menu is balanced, contains all the necessary substances for the body, suitable even for adolescents, pregnant and lactating women.
You should not go on a diet only in case of allergies and individual food intolerance. And for people suffering from acute and chronic gastrointestinal diseases, it is better to consult a doctor beforehand.
Most of the diet consists of fruits, vegetables, vegetable fats, and proteins. Sweets and fatty meats are excluded from this.
The slow process of losing weight is carried out on its own, without feeling hunger and stress, by eating low-calorie healthy foods and eliminating harmful ones. In addition, vigorous exercise is recommended.
disadvantages of the Mediterranean diet
The main disadvantage of the Mediterranean diet is that the results of losing weight will have to wait a long time. The main goal of the diet is to learn to eat healthily and improve your health. But the extra pounds will disappear slowly, so you need to be patient.
Lovers of sweets will have a hard time since sweets, pastries, and other harmful foods are restricted to a minimum during the diet.
Drinks with a lot of sugar are also prohibited. We advise you to reduce the daily dose of sugar little by little - then there will be no temptation to break, and the stress from reducing the number of sweets in the diet will be less.
What can you eat on the Mediterranean diet?
The list of allowed products is quite extensive and allows you to lead an active and healthy lifestyle.
- Meat in moderation. Prefers lean pastures (meat and poultry free of poultry). Light beef, chicken, turkey, guinea fowl, veal, and rabbit.
- Fish and seafood 4 times a week. Priority is given to wild fish species over fish raised in aquaculture. Mussels, oysters, crab, octopus, squid, seaweed.
- A loaf of whole grain bread from Bran.
- Cereals and pasta durum wheat pasta, brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur, quinoa, corn cereals, oatmeal, whole oats, amaranth, pearl barley.
- Legumes are chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, beans, beans, and peas.
- Vegetables of all kinds of cabbage, zucchini, eggplant, carrots, pumpkins, cucumbers, sweet peppers, green beans, tomatoes, all kinds of onions, olives, radishes, radishes, and beets. All kinds of leafy greens. Limited potatoes.
also :
- Citrus fruits and berries, avocados, apples, pears, Kiwi, cherries, raspberries, peaches, apricots, figs, mangoes, sea buckthorn, currants, grapes. Bananas in moderation.
- Dairy products, eggs 4 times a week goat cheese, natural yogurt without additives, curdled milk, mozzarella, feta cheese, cottage cheese, cottage cheese. 4 eggs per week.
- Nuts and dried fruits in moderation. Raisins, prunes, dried apricots, mussels, cashews, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, macadamia, pecans, sesame seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds.
- Spices and seasonings homemade mayonnaise, mustard, honey, ginger, garlic, turmeric, and dried herbs.
- First cold-pressed vegetable oil: olive, linseed, pumpkin, grape seed oil.
- Sweets in moderation. Bitter chocolate.
- Drinks are tea, coffee, cocoa, purified water (up to 2 liters per day), and red wine (two glasses per week for women, 3-4 glasses for men).
The Mediterranean diet's forbidden foods
The list of prohibited products is not as exhaustive as with other diets. However, to achieve the result, it is still recommended to exclude some products from the menu. It is also recommended to reduce the amount of salt in the diet, and use spices instead:
- Bread and pasta are white bread. Yeast bread, as well as sugar, baking powder, and dyes. Soft wheat pasta.
- Meat products sausage, sausage sausages, and smoked products of industrial production.
- Refined sugar, industrial sweets, sweets, ice cream, milk chocolate.
- Sauces all industrial sauces containing sugar and preservatives: mayonnaise, ketchup, cheese, mushroom additives.
- Oil all kinds of refined oils, as well as cottonseed, soybean, and rapeseed. Margarine and palm oil.
Menu of the week for the Mediterranean diet
The menu of the Mediterranean diet includes a large amount of lean fish and seafood, which can be eaten 4-6 times a week. Fish replaces the usually fried cutlets and banned pork. Lean beef, chicken, turkey, and rabbit can be eaten lean. The amount of dairy products without additives with a low-fat content is also increasing. Fresh vegetables and fruits can be eaten every day.
Berries, fruits, nuts, and yogurt are great snacks for the whole day 3.
1. day
- Breakfast: oatmeal with fruits, boiled eggs, whole grain toast with soft cheese, coffee with milk.
- Lunch: fish soup, cucumber, and tomato salad with olive oil ،
- Dinner: grilled fish, fresh cabbage salad, carrots, and herbs with linseed oil.
The second day
- Breakfast: toast with avocado and eggs, tea with lemon.
- Lunch: bean soup, bran bread, eggplant broth with garlic and herbs.
- Dinner: baked perch, salad with fresh cucumber, radish, olives, and mixed leafy vegetables.
Bean soup recipe:
- Beans - 300 g ؛
- Carrots - 1 piece ؛
- Beets - 1 piece ؛
- Onion - 1 piece ؛
- Parsnip - 50 g ؛
- Dill - one bunch ؛
- Parsley - one bunch ؛
- Spices - as desired
- Carnations - as desired
- Olive oil-50 ml ؛
- Salt to taste.
Cooking :
- Rinse the beans and soak them in water (preferably overnight). To speed up the process, you can pour boiling water for several hours.
- Boil the beans until soft.
- Wash and clean all the necessary vegetables. Grind with a grater.
- Fry the prepared vegetables in a frying pan, and add the necessary spices.
- When the beans are half cooked, add the vegetable mixture and bring the soup to a boil.
- At the very end add salt and chopped herbs.
Day 3
- Breakfast: bruschetta with lightly salted salmon, green tea with lemon
- Lunch: mushroom soup, pieces of baked veal, grated carrots, or beetroot salad with olive oil.
- Dinner: zucchini pasta with seafood, slices of fresh cucumber, tomatoes, and sweet peppers.
Fourth day
- Breakfast: millet casserole with raisins, natural yogurt, coffee with milk.
- Lunch: chicken soup with homemade noodles, croutons with chicken liver, tomatoes, and lettuce.
- Dinner: brown rice salad, squid, and mussels with lettuce, olive oil, and pumpkin seeds.
Millet casserole recipe with raisins:
- Millet - 1.5 cups ؛
- Vegetable milk without sugar - 3.5 glasses ؛
- Vegetable oil-1.5 tbsp.l. vegetable oil. L.
- Vanillin - as desired
- Cinnamon - to taste
- Raisins - 150 GR.
Cooking :
- Rinse the millet until the water becomes clear and transfer to a saucepan with a thick bottom.
- Pour vegetable milk over the millet and bring it to a boil. Reduce the gas power and cook until cooked.
- Steam the raisins with hot water.
- Let the finished porridge cool down. Add oil, spices, and raisins to it.
- Grease a baking dish with a little oil and put the cooled porridge on it.
- Millet casserole is baked in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.
Day 5
- Breakfast: 6 scrambled quail eggs with paprika, broccoli, green beans, and tea.
- Lunch: vegetables (cauliflower, pumpkin, carrots) baked with rosemary and garlic, stewed rabbit.
- Dinner: baked pink salmon, grilled/boiled asparagus, filtered with hemp oil seasoned with fresh herbs, sunflower seeds, and chopped almonds.
The sixth day
- Breakfast: rice bread, goat cheese, dandelion drink.
- Lunch: pasta from durum wheat, chicken meatballs in tomato sauce, a mixture of fresh herbs, and pieces of vegetables.
- Dinner: lentil pizza with vegetables.
Lentil pizza recipe with vegetables:
- Red lentils - 150 g ؛
- Tomatoes - 1 piece ؛
- Red onion - 1 piece ؛
- Olives - 30 g ؛
- Canned corn - 30 g ؛
- Baked turkey fillet-100 g ؛
- Dried herbs - to taste
- Salt, pepper - to taste.
- Tomato paste-for sauce.
- Sour cream-for sauce.
Cooking :
- Lentils are poured with warm water for several hours, but preferably at night.
- Rinse the lentils, drain excess water and mash with a blender. Add salt and spices to taste.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the lentil puree.
- The base is baked in an oven preheated to 190 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
- Grease the lentil base with tomato paste and sour cream sauce, and lay out the filling.
- Bake in the oven until cooked.
The seventh day
- Breakfast: zucchini pancakes with boiled egg, avocado, and coffee with cream.
- Lunch: boiled lentils, steamed Turkey, leaf salad with olive oil.
- Dinner: baked redfish with broccoli, toast with soft cheese, herbs, and fresh cucumber.
Results
Thanks to the Mediterranean diet, weight is reduced smoothly, without the slightest harm to the body. Because the body has not been subjected to stress, the lost kilograms will not return immediately after the end of the diet.
But you can't count on serious weight loss, because the diet does not limit the diet, but is the basis for a healthy and balanced diet. You can lose up to 3 kg per month
Reviews of nutritionists
Igoshina Natalia, an ultrasound doctor, nutritionist, nutritionist, and Doctor of Preventive Medicine, shared her opinion about the Mediterranean diet with us.
The Mediterranean diet is one of the most commonly recommended diets. Very effective for general health, easy to follow, and gives noticeable good results.
Here are some interesting facts that speak for themselves:
- In 2013, UNESCO declared this diet an intangible cultural heritage of humanity ؛
- According to the World Health Organization, it is one of the best diets for longevity ؛
- The ability of the diet to prevent the development of metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular and bronchial diseases has been scientifically proven.
Doctors and nutritionists recommend not only following a diet but also adhering to the "Mediterranean" lifestyle. It is based on a calm attitude to life, physical activity, and good healthy food.
Can you lose weight quickly on the Mediterranean diet?
I do not recommend losing weight quickly on any diet. Weight loss should be smooth and safe. Following the Mediterranean diet, you will gradually lose weight by reducing fat mass (provided that you exercise). Carbohydrate metabolism will improve, and you will not feel hungry. Due to a balanced diet, there will be no disruptions in prohibited foods.
Can the Mediterranean diet be a preventive measure for many diseases?
Absolutely right. Numerous studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and colon cancer.
Is it possible to follow the principles of the Mediterranean diet on an ongoing basis, or should I take breaks?
He can. The Mediterranean meal plan can become a lifelong nutritional strategy. Several long-term studies have been conducted that have shown beneficial effects on the body: lowering blood pressure, blood glucose, total cholesterol, and triglycerides, as well as a significant decrease in body fat mass.