What are the basic elements of the Mediterranean diet?

Olive oil, vegetables, fruit, legumes and pulses; grains including bread, rice, pasta; nuts and seeds; some dairy especially cheese and yoghurt rather than drinking milk; some fish and seafood; a little bit of chicken, less meat. There are many vegetarian dishes in all traditional cuisines, e.g. Italian and Greek and most families have several meatless days per week, as traditionally meat and chicken, even fish, were not eaten daily (in Greece, two lenten days per week as well many other days of abstinence from meat and dairy in addition to 40 days Lent before Christmas as well as Easter are observed by the Orthodox). Wine in moderation with meals. Sunshine. A midday siesta (seriously, this is being researched as a factor for longevity, along with other lifestyle features of Mediterranean peoples, such as close-knit families). Of all the Mediterranean Diet models, the Greek and especially the Cretan one is considered the best. One specific factor may be eating snails as well as the exercise they get climbing the hillsides to gather the snails and wild greens; also, Greeks have the highest per capita consumption of olive oil in the world (c20 Litres a year) and Cretans double that.

From here you can download the original poster illustrating the Mediterranean Diet

http://www.oldwayspt.org/med_pyramid.htm鈥?/a>

Research into the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, and olive oil in particular, has been going on for decades. And to top it all, it is delicious!What are the basic elements of the Mediterranean diet?
the reason the mediterranean diet has been so popular for health is that in those countries they eat less meat and less butter so they get less saturated fat.



Basically in the mediterranean they eat pasta and rice dishes alternated with meat and lots of seafood. They also eat eggs and cheese as mains. They use olive oil and vegetable oil instead of butter and eat lots of vegetables. Vegetables in italy where I come from are proper dishes in their own right...this means you eat less saturated fat. Don't confuse eating low fat with low calorie though. All fats have the same calories.



This site talks all about your question. Good luck|||Tends to be high in fruits, veggies, fish %26amp; olive oil, low in red meat.|||Have a look at here:

Aliment group:



Cereals: bread and pasta, rice, maize, oats, luff, grain, potatoes.



Beans, peas, lupins.



Fruits: apples, pears, oranges, Mandarin, apricots, peaches, grape, fichi, water-melons, melons, raspberries, strawberries, chestnuts, walnuts, nuts, almonds, pistachio nuts.



Vegetables: turnips, carrots, salads, spinach, broccoli, cabbages, tomatoes, eggplants, capsicum, zucchini, onions.



Olive oil



Aromatic grass: basil, thymus, oregano, garlic.



Milk and cheeses



Wine