Ingredients That Make Up The Mediterranean Diet: Top 10

The Mediterranean diet is famous all over the world. It is without a doubt one of the healthiest diets in the world. It is even number one in the world rankings several times! Today we want to share with you the top 10 ingredients that make up the Mediterranean diet.

Read on and discover in this article the most important tips to perform this balanced diet at home every day. You will not regret it!

The Top 10 Ingredients That Make Up The Mediterranean Diet

If you want to change your eating habits and start the Mediterranean diet, find a pencil and paper and take notes. Here we present the 10 basic ingredients of this cultural heritage.

1. Use olive oil as a basic fat

Olive oil is one of the most important healthy fats due to its fatty and antioxidant content. Wherever you look, olive oil is the most commonly used fat. It is rich in antioxidants, monounsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E and is used for everything from preparing salads to frying.

Are you making toast? Then don’t hesitate: a dash of olive oil might be just what you need. Are you planning to bake potatoes? Or are you making a salad? Without a doubt , you should use olive oil over other types of oils and butters.

2. Eat fresh food every day!

The Mediterranean diet is based on the consumption of fresh and seasonal dishes. Therefore, buy fruits and vegetables that are in season all year round.

That way you can take advantage of all their nutritional value and save money! If you also choose local food, you ensure that you get the best quality for the best price.

3. Steps To Shape The Mediterranean Diet: Eat Fruits And Vegetables With Every Meal

This step goes hand in hand with the previous point to create a Mediterranean diet. Add fruits and vegetables to each of your meals. So you eat between 1 and 2 pieces of fruit per day and about 3 servings of vegetables per day. How can you do that? Let’s look at some examples:

• Eat a piece of toast with tomato and olive oil and a piece of fruit separately for breakfast.
• Eat nuts as a snack in the morning.
• Have some pasta with fried vegetables for lunch and fruit for dessert.
• Snack on yogurt with fruit or nuts or an avocado and ham sandwich.
• For dinner, fried fish with salad and potatoes. Have some fruit for dessert.

4. Eat fish several times a week

Fish contains high-quality proteins and essential fatty acids that are healthy for the heart. Cut down on red meat and focus on increasing your fish intake. Eat white and oily fish at least twice a week.

There are so many ways to make them: baked, grilled, fried… The omega 3 fatty acids they contain help you maintain your vascular health by lowering cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.

5. Eat eggs four times a week

Contrary to what you may think, eggs are healthy. Many years have passed and many new studies have been published since eggs were thought to be harmful to your health. Today, we know that eggs are a source of high-quality protein, vitamins, and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

The problem with eggs is the belief that it raises cholesterol. However, this is not the case. Not quite: Excessive egg consumption, along with other factors such as a sedentary lifestyle and stress, can lead to high cholesterol levels. It is of course always better to eat them cooked than fried.

6. Steps to Shape the Mediterranean Diet: Regular Consumption of Dairy Products

Cheeses and yogurt are part of the daily meals in the Mediterranean diet. This is because they are rich in vitamins, minerals such as calcium and phosphorus and proteins with a high biological value.

Do you need an idea? For example, you can combine a piece of cheese with fruit or even yogurt with pieces of fruit in it. You can also mix chunks of feta cheese into your salad.

7. Minimize your red meat consumption

According to the WHO, a number of studies indicate that red meat can affect your heart health if you eat too much of it. To form a Mediterranean diet, it is important to reduce your consumption of red meat by choosing more white meats such as chicken and fish instead.

Recall that a few years ago, the World Health Organization warned of potential problems resulting from excessive consumption of processed and red meat (Spanish link).

8. Eat Healthy Grains Every Day

Grains are part of the foundation of the food pyramid because they provide us with energy. We mainly recommend choosing whole grain versions of :

• pasta

• rice
• couscous
• bread

9. Steps to Shape the Mediterranean Diet: Keep your sweets intake to a minimum

You should eat sweets, pastries and cakes in an extremely moderate way. In other words, you don’t have to completely avoid their consumption, but it should be extremely controlled. Keep in mind that excess sugars can cause diseases such as diabetes or obesity. Less than two servings per week is ideal.

10. Drink water all day long

Your favorite drink should always be water: it quenches thirst and provides no empty calories. We recommend that you extremely moderate your consumption of sugary drinks, such as soft drinks and juices.

What do you think of this top 10 list of ingredients to make up the Mediterranean diet? As you can see, it’s not that hard to follow. You just need to change your habits to eat healthy and keep the consumption of the least healthy foods to a minimum, in addition to regular exercise!