Everyone likes
to get things for free. We like coupons for discounts on food and
restaurants, we like free advice, we like free medical care, and we also like
finding a free Vegas
casino. One of the hardest things to find for free
is information on the best way to eat for optimum health.
For example,
diabetics can get dramatically opposite advice on how to get healthier and keep
their blood sugar levels down. Even an ostensibly reliable source as Ted
Talks can feature one lecturer who contends that only a very low-fat diet with
plenty of carbohydrates can keep blood sugar low whilst another lecturer says
that only a diet high in fat and very, very low in carbs can enable diabetics
to fight off the harm their condition can cause.
Mediterranean Diet
Almost every
site that talks about healthy eating gets around to extolling the virtues of
the Mediterranean diet. Here the term “diet” refers to a general eating
programme not a weight loss programme. This diet consists of a lot of
fruit and vegetables, a little meat and chicken or turkey, and a sizable amount
of fish. It also includes Greek yogurt, olives and olive oil, legumes especially
lentils, rice, and lots of coffee.
The coffee is
the one element of this diet that is not particularly healthy!
Why is This Diet Healthy?
The first
reason is that the Mediterranean people for centuries ate relatively little
food. Certainly they ate enough to live but the Western custom of gorging
oneself never took hold in the Mediterranean Basin until late in the 20th
century. Even now, most people in this region eat relatively little when
compared to the great quantities of food consumed in the United States, for
example.
Vegetables
A breakfast
often consists of cut raw vegetables, some yogurt, and coffee. The people
of the Mediterranean Basin never (almost never) eat meat for breakfast and
usually eat meat only at lunch. This makes supper a small, simple meal
that unintentionally follows Benjamin Franklin’s advice to eat supper like a
pauper.
The
Mediterranean nations have long growing seasons. Some countries have two
full growing seasons so the fresh vegetables available year-round are truly
fresh, picked in the morning and served at a meal that day or the next.
Canada and the United States rely on vegetable that have been picked early to
survive the long trip to markets all over North America.
In this area,
people also use copious quantities of parsley, cilantro, lettuce, dill, and
many other greens. In the winter, women go out in the forests and fields
and pick weeds. These weeds can be cooked almost like spinach. Arab
restaurants feature several dishes of these weeds on their winter menus.
The centrality
of vegetable is apparent in any authentic Mediterranean restaurant where the
waiters serve a large sampling of salads even before you’ve ordered your main
course.
In order to eat
a Mediterranean diet in eastern Canada, we have to rely on vegetables that are
as fresh as possible. Home canning can make vegetables healthier.
Fruit
The most
popular fruit in this region is the lemon. Mediterranean people have been
squeezing lemons onto raw vegetables for centuries. Lemon juice is
considered one of the healthiest juices since we can’t drink it as a drink; we
use it more as a condiment.
Lemon juice
goes into two of the most popular dishes in the eastern Mediterranean: hummus
and tahini. Hummus is cooked and mashed garbanzo beans that are mixed
with lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and parsley. Tahini is sesame paste
that is thinned with lemon juice and garlic.
Other popular
fruits are all manner of citrus and local fruits. The Mediterranean
climate is generally mild but the Eastern Mediterranean is milder than the
western.
Animal Products
The most
popular meats are the same as elsewhere in the world but they are eaten more as
condiments to other foods than as the main course. For instance, grape
leaves are a staple of this diet. Grape leaves may be stuffed with meat
or rice or both but the amount of meat is relatively small.
Grape leaves
are cooked slowly for a long time with lemon juice and olive oil.
Olive Oil
This oil has
gained widespread popularity in Western societies in the last 50 years or
so. Before that only people with Mediterranean heritage used olive oil in
their homes. In North America, corn oil was king for generations.
Olive oil is a
great source of linoleic acid which is considered a major part of a healthy
living regimen. Another oil used widely is avocado. This fruit is
used as a dressing for salads and is eaten separately.
Cinnamon
There is some
evidence that cinnamon helps keep blood sugar in check. Arab women use
cinnamon in many meat based dishes. This combination is strange to
Western tastes but it might have something to do with the generally good health
enjoyed by Mediterranean people.
Labaneh
This is Arab
style Greek yogurt. It has traditionally been made from goat’s milk in a long
process that first turns the milk into regular yogurt. Then the yogurt is
hung so more moisture drips out. It’s ready in 24 hours and is a staple
of many Mediterranean homes.
Beans and Lentils
The Fava bean is native to Egypt and is
the most popular bean in an area that stretches across the Eastern
Mediterranean region from Egypt. The garbanzo bean is more popular
further north. In either case, beans and lentils are a major part of this
diet.
Reducing Quantities
The
Mediterranean diet is so tasty that many people who try it find that it’s much
easier in this diet to reduce food portions and the sheer quantity of food
eaten. That is a big step toward healthier living.
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