The truth about the Mediterranean diet | ZOE Dailies with Christopher Gardner
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- Опубліковано 11 тра 2024
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Each day this week, we’re examining one of the world’s most popular diets. Putting the latest scientific evidence under the microscope, we’ll find out these diets' true impact on your health.
Today we’re talking about the the Mediterranean diet. This indulgent diet champions vegetables, beans, fish, and even red wine, all with a liberal helping of extra virgin olive oil.
However, this relatively high fat diet undergoes many regional adaptations, and the wide range of options can be confusing, even intimidating if you’re not that confident in the kitchen.
In this special episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan is joined by Christopher Gardner, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and the Director of Nutrition Studies at Stanford Prevention Research Center. Together, they discuss this diet's potential health benefits and pitfalls.
If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to zoe.com/podcast and get 10% off your personalised nutrition program.
Follow ZOE on Instagram: / zoe
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
00:42 Topic Intro
02:50 What is the concept of the Mediterranean diet?
04:15 Why do we have more data on this diet?
06:14 What are the main differences between this and other diets?
07:39 How much meat is in the Mediterranean diet?
08:33 Is the Mediterranean diet a 'whole food' diet?
09:23 How do whole grains fit into this diet?
10:07 Where do oils and legumes come into this?
11:43 What happens when you switch from a US/UK centric diet to a Mediterranean diet?
13:35 What is going on inside the body to deliver the health benefits?
14:22 What are the possible challenges of the mediterranean diet?
16:10 Keto vs Mediterranean diet study
19:32 What's the verdict?
20:11 Outro
Mentioned in today’s episode:
Adherence to Ketogenic and Mediterranean Study Diets in a Crossover Trial: The Keto-Med Randomized Trial, from Nutrients
Link: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33802...
Effect of a ketogenic diet versus Mediterranean diet on glycated hemoglobin in individuals with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus, from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Link: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35641...
Is there a nutrition topic you’d like us to explore? Email us at podcast@joinzoe.com and we’ll do our best to cover it.
Episode transcripts are available here: joinzoe.com/learn/category/po... - Наука та технологія
A Brit living in Barcelona, Spain. The Catalans/Spanish understand their food better than most. Their knowledge of Fresh food, sleep and the way of life(Slow) is incredible. They fiercly defend their culture and love their food, fresh whole food. They do not snack, they rest and they make food a centre of their family, eat together and seem to be highly inteligent about their food and how to prepare it.. incredible to live here..
I have a similar experience - I have family who live near Girona, and when they want to go to a special restaurant its usually the restaurant of a farm, in the middle of nowhere. Big on organic. Big on traditional mozeralla and tomato. Always meeting friends at surprisingly cheap organic restaurants, and invited me in to their Kefir sharing network. Tempting to live there.
@@AnthonyCassidy50 I don't know if they are very representative of Spain. The people I know in Spain eat insane amounts of meat and fish -insane. I have recently been to an Indian restaurant in Alicante and one of our party asked for a tandori chicken and the waiter brought a kilo of meat. I assume they adapt to the Spaniards.
You can look it up. Farm to table is everywhere there. I don't think it conflicts with your story about tandoori.
@@AnthonyCassidy50 with the tandoori story I wanted to illustrate that even Indian restaurants in Spain adapt to the the culture. In England, they serve much smaller portions of meat. Certainly the people I know in Spain eat a lot of meat and fish. Enormous amounts.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Spanish fare
The great advantages with this diet as opposed to some of the bizarre ones examined is that we don't have to imagine and pretend or cut out entire food groups therefore it is more likely to be sane and possible to follow without doing mad stuff.
What hasn't been mentioned here is iodine.Being surrounded by the Med means inhaling the iodine filled sea air everyday. Omega 3 through eating fish and locally made pure virgin olive oil, vitamin D3 from the sun for 8 to 9 months of the year, swimming and generally family oriented. Not being alone.
The Mediterranean diet definitely is “a way of life “ not just olive oil and beans.
It is quite simple…old world people were primarily agricultural. Got up with the sun & went to bed early (no electricity). Engaged in physical work, lots of walking (no cars, elevators or couch potato days). Fresh seasonal foods of all sorts (no ultra-processed). Lots of fermented foods (no artificial preservatives). Not a lot of expensive luxury candy, sweets, chocolates, alcohol.
I'm from Austria where I lived for the first 30 years of my life and I go back home once a year. I travelled all over the South of Europe and spend a lot of time there. One of the biggest differences when compared to the US is portion size and how much you walk every single day. And yes there is meat and cheese and coffee and pastry for breakfast, but all the food we buy is fresh, local and most families I know cook their own food every single day. Every meal has vegetables or a side salad if it is not mostly plant based anyway. Do not equate the food eaten here with what people eat in restaurants when they come for vacation. This is not how people in Europe eat every day.
When I first come to live in the US I was shocked by the enormous heaps of food you get when you go to a restaurant. Supermarkets were a shock too, only 'plastic food' as my brother called it. Finding real bread and real cheese when I first travelled in the US in the 90s where impossible to find. Sandwiches you buy at a deli have an inch of meat in them and you eat them with a side of french fries and chips. Still baffles me to this day why this is a good combo.
Glad to hear that Restaurant food in France is not the norm. For a few years we regularly had a few days golfing in France. The lovely hotels.restaurants etc., we stayed at never produced salads or veg with the main meals, delicious as they were, always glad to get home to a plateful of veg.
What you are saying is better than the loquations work=arounds about fear and irrelevancies. You are the one with the word of truth.
Thanks.
So here's the perspective from someone who actually lives in the South of France, close to the Mediterranean. I'm a genuine flexitarian by nature, having little taste for meat and eating it rarely. I do like fish more, but that would be only once a week or so. My workplace is remote, far from a town to go and buy any food, and we don't have a staff restaurant. That means that everyone brings in their own lunch from home every day. Certainly, there are vegetables eaten and fruit, but honestly, 90% of my colleagues eat meat as the main part of their meal, and this, every day. There will often be cheese, a glass of red wine, and a yogurt for dessert (or fruit). The only nuts I ever see eaten are if we are having drinks together and nuts are on the table as nibbles. No one, ever, ever, ever, brings seeds! Those who bring bread get it fresh from the bakery every morning on their way to work. There is little ultra-processed food, and we have an hour to eat, and everyone stops for the hour. It's a sacred moment. I've lived and worked with French people for 37 years, and this is what I have seen everywhere. It's as much the lifestyle that is beneficial as the food. As to the diet, I repeat, it is heavy on meat.
Med Diet is based on traditional food, not what people are eating today. The diet in Canada has evolved in the 60+ years I've been eating. When I was a kid, processed foods weren't the norm. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3684452/#:~:text=The%20Mediterranean%20diet%20has%20its,the%20ancient%20world%20took%20place.
The modern diets in these areas have nothing to do with the classification of the "mediterranean diet". It is simply a name attached to the sort of diet that Christopher Gardner is describing. The naming came from scientists in the mid 20th century who studied the dietary patterns in these mediterranean areas when they still largely ate what Professor Gardner is describing and had significant health benefits.
France barely passes for Mediterranean. I think most people understand the Mediterranean diet to be much more skewed towards the Spanish / Greek / Italian cuisine. I grew up in Mediterranean Spain and can tell you nuts and seeds are a large part of the diet there. Sunflower seeds particularly consumed by the fistful as a snack product. Almonds are extremely popular, too. Then you have things like toasted corn, etc.
@@jfinnie78 France 'barely passes for Mediterranean'? Try telling that to the large population who live along its more than 2000 km coastline! (Compared to the 1600 km of coastline in Spain - the rest being the Atlantic coastline!) 😉
@@wackthegood8884In terms of Mediterranean diet as a thing, yes, France barely figures. A common definition of the Mediterranean diet is "The Mediterranean diet is a diet inspired by the eating habits and traditional food typical of southern Spain, southern Italy, and Crete, and formulated in the early 1960s.[1] It is distinct from Mediterranean cuisine, which covers the actual cuisines of the Mediterranean countries. While inspired by a specific time and place, the "Mediterranean diet" was later refined based on the results of multiple scientific studies.[2]"
Not once is mentioned that the Mediterranean food is seasonal and grown locally! That's why it's tasty and full of nutrients. People mostly cook, hardly any consume very little highly processed food. Teenagers are fat because of the McDonald's and the like.
He just talked about eliminating processed foods and sugar in this diet! He also talked about cooking at home.🙄
Exactly! Of all the recommendations you can make about a healthy diet, #1 should be to make your own food from scratch---you would never put the junk in your own food that restaurants and food companies use. Having said that, I know a few people who think "home cooking" is baking chocolate chip cookies.
yup!@@miketranfaglia3986 I've been cooking like this for years - not really calling it "Mediterranean". I call it my #WTFisinthefridge meals. But I do not buy crap with labels on it, either. I buy REAL food - dry legumes (Yes I know that term because I'm a gardener too) that I soak in beer overnight before cooking the next day; I buy whole grain berries in bulk to mill into flour to make sourdough bread from or to cook in the pressure cooker for 25 min to add to my salads or grain bowls. I eat dark leafy greens and other fresh veggies & fruits & nuts and seeds. Yes, it's more work, but I learned to enjoy the preparation. It's my cooking meditation. I still make chocolate chip cookies once a week to use up sourdough discard, but I make them with freshly milled flour from rye, wheat & barley. I eat to live - not live to eat. That is basically the difference. I don't enjoy restaurants anymore. That does limit me in socializing, because here in the US THAT seems to go together. If I do go out and only drink my beer, folks look at me funny - like there's something wrong with me. I eat to live, not live to eat. It's basically a lifestyle. Now I need to find some sheep to go into the mountains with. ;)
No question that the dominance of ultra-processed and fast foods has paved the way to so many people eating less and less plants, more meat, more fried foods.
There are a couple more issues at play as well, I feel.
1) Antibiotics for humans and animals we eat. Bad for gut health and immunity.
2) Food is far more convenient these days compared to when I was young. I'm 71.
Used to be you had to go to the store, shop and cook the food.
Then the family ate at the dinner table.
Everyone cleaned their plates.
Most kids wanted to be excused from the table asap because being with parents after a day of work wasn't always joyful.
No in-between meal snacks.
Dessert was an apple or jello.
3) People knew well that ice cream and other sweets were bad back in the day.
The thinnest people (my parents and grandma) were very reserved about eating sweets for fear of getting sugar diabetes.
I remember hearing about this many times.
We drank iced tea at dinner with sugar. We had one piece of toast with margarine no jelly, one egg, one bacon or sausage, no biscuits, honey, gravy.
We ate potatoes, but no pizza, rice, pasta, or mac and cheese.
I suspect this was because my family ancestry was English, Irish, Scottish and they knew little about such foods.
In these times, people tended to stick closely to family culture. We were Irish, English, Scottish, so we never ate rice, pasta, pizza or Asian food.
Green salad, meat (usually beef), potatoes, and one green or yellow vegetable were it.
We ate were broccoli, carrots, summer squash, corn, spinach, collards, green beans, black eyed peas, green peas.
Salad was iceberg lettuce, tomato, celery, green pepper, and later, avocado.
We never ate bread at supper, only toast for breakfast or a sandwich for lunch.
When I was in high school (late 1960s) we did have raisin bran, homemade hamburgers and french fries, fried chicken, ham, pork chops, pork and beans, salami lunch meat, hot dogs, and tater tots occasionally.
We never went out to restaurants except for Mexican food on rare occasion.
After supper and homework, we often sat outside after dark...until TV got better shows.
4) Everyone got outside more often.
I walked to school every school day, even when it rained and I had to wear a dress and dress shoes and carry books without a backpack. If it rained, I wore a raincoat and galoshes.
School was several blocks to 2 miles away.
When I got home, I went outside to see friends and did homework later.
In the summer, I went swimming almost everyday. I was taught to swim at 8, swim laps and dive when I was 11. I was taught to fish and hunt dove at 14.
If we were at the lake or beach, we swam or walked around hunting for shells, rocks or fossils or water-skied.
Few had a gym membership. Many people walked, biked, golfed, played tennis, badminton, volleyball, softball or water skied.
5) There were fewer people, cars, busses.
No traffic. People often left work on time and had a life outside of work. But when they worked, they worked hard. They often did their own yard work.
6) Every year during Lent, we didn't eat meat on Fridays. No fasting but we didn't eat before church on Sundays.
Thr theory in your first sentence does not hold up outside of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Not many foods are grown locally in cold climates. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and other nightshades as well as cucurbits like squashes and cucumbers require warm temperatures and regular moisture or they die. And then there are olives. And seafood? Nothing local or seasonal here in landlocked New Mexico in winter! Which leaves cactus, mesquite pods, beef, and creosote, pretty much. WE do get food trucked up from Mexico, but it is out of season items grown in huge hydroponic greenhoue factories and generally not very tasty or nutritous. I imagine it is even more bleak in Nevada.
I live on a small Greek island and I'm really sorry to have to be the one to say this but fish is not a big or even medium part of our diet. It is too expensive for most of us, the Aegean isn't full of fish, and most of us get our protein from other sources. Tourists here eat a lot of fish, but residents don't. The ACTUAL Mediterranean diet is the physical work that people have traditionally had to do in order to get adequate nutrition.
Do you get your protein from grains and legumes then?
@@ianbryant Most people do eat quite a lot of meat, especially pork, just not fish and seafood. And yes we eat a lot of lentils and beans as well. I wouldn't look to grains for protein. Personally I'm obsessed with nutrition and I get a lot of protein from yogurt, cottage cheese, and chicken. If I had more money I would be buying fish also.
I am allergic to fish and seafood, so I am pleased to hear that they don't eat a lot of it. I only eat meat once a week and I am definitely not protein deficient. Like you, I'm obsessed with nutrtion as well and I believe the mediterranean diet is probaby the best and certainly the easiest to make into a lifestyle.@mockingbirdnightingale7169
I am greek and I don't know why you say fish is expensive? I live in mainland Greece and if you go to fish market you can get great fish for a good deal . We eat fish at least 2 times a week . So , I don't think fish is too expensive.
The Mediterranean is a big region with many, many food sources. I think it's wrong to think that meat (Especially goat and lamb) is not part of it cause it is. I came from that region and I can say unequivocally that meat, fish and poultry is big part of that diet. Shish Kabab, Shawarma, meat patties, all that is Mediterranean! Yes, people in that region walk much more than the average "westerner", but they also have much more satisfying social connection that help them live longer.
And important it is saisonal food , full of nutrients and home cooked!
I think he kind of alluded to that at the beginning although I don’t think he emphasized it enough. Also, ‘the Mediterranean Diet’ is based on the way some groups of people in Mediterranean countries ate back in the 1950’s not how they eat today.
@@ggjr61 I can tell you, again from growing up in the middle east, that meat is the center of the meal, a good meal is not counted as a"complete meal" without a piece of meat, fish or chicken. The only reason people eat it once a week is because meat is too expensive. Not for health reason...
@@ziv2liv Did you grow up in the middle east in the 1930-60 or later? The Mediterranean Diet" describes the diet of that period, not since the world has become wealthier and meat more available and affordable.
@@juliebrown8375 Yes. I was born in 1954 so yes and moved to the US in 1984. Meat has always been a main component of that diet ever since, if one can afford it. Now again, the Mediterranean is a vast area with many people, cultures and different culinary habits, but at leat in the eastern and south part of the Mediterranean, meat (Lamb, poultry, fish and to a lesser degree beef) is a major component.
The main problem with *ALL* of these diets is the whole family has to be on it. It's no fun living in a house of 2 adults and 2 children but 1 person doing Keto/Mediterranean/Vegetarian etc
I can see the Mediterranean sea from my kitchen window, so I qualify! The main thing, I think, is that we tend to cook from scratch, and it's very varied. I would disagree with meats and fish not being the centre of a meal, they can be, and often are. But then there are lots of vegetable and legume stews and soups, and stuffed vegetables, and salads. It probably all evens out in the end. But fast-food culture is catching up with all Mediterranean countries, with the accompanying health issues.
The people in Crete are Greek Orthodox and they did the fasting with their church. The church fasting seasons are essentially vegan plus no olive oil or wine, and the feast days everything including dairy and meat.
Many good points in this one; the "Mediterranean Diet" is really not well defined, and in most cases does not correspond with what is actually eaten in any Med countries. I'm Italian-American, have lots of friends in Italy, and have traveled there extensively. Ditto for southern France, Spain, and Portugal. There is a lot of meat consumption in these countries! Lots of pork, and an almost religious worship of steak (Bistecca alla Fiorentina, anyone?) Not as much fish as most folks seem to assume (though tons of sardines and anchovies in Spain and Portugal.) And, of course, lots of refined grains. News flash---Italians eat a lot of pasta and bread and rice and polenta, and they're all highly refined grains. Vast quantities of (excellent) cheese, and lard spread directly on bread the way Dr. Gardner might use his tofu spread. There are none of these mythical "whole grains" to be found. Wheat berry salads do not exist in Italy. No one eats any kind of trendy fermented foods in Italy. Almost all Italians eat a diet comprise largely of what we would call processed foods (cold cuts, cheeses, sauces, etc.), but virtually no ultra-processed food. And they virtually all eat this way every day, with loads of coffee and wine for lunch and dinner. Then they go for a walk...
One study I would like to see someone take on: as there are huge regional differences in diets within Italy (north vs. south, coastal vs Piedmont vs mountains), are there differences in health outcomes?
The ‘Mediterranean Diet’ is based on studies from the 1950’s and included other lifestyle behaviors such as exercise. People in the Mediterranean countries don’t eat that way today which is becoming a problem for them.
I live in the Veneto and I can verify that meat is a major component of the local diet, as it is in Emilia Romagna and other regions in the North and Centre of Italy.
Just know that flour (white flour) in Italy is quite different to what you buy in America.
@@reejan8109 Italians use many different flours for many different applications---even chestnut flour in season for special regional pastas; but they're not whole grains by any stretch.
There is an Italian longevity researcher who spoke about the differences in health outcomes between northern and southern Italy! I always wondered this too. He said although southern Italians live longer, they are also very frail and suffer more hip fractures and such whereas northern Italy may have more cardiovascular problems but they have stronger bones which make a difference in long-term health outcomes. Ugh I wish I could remember his name
I live in Bali and in the recent tourism madness / plague the thing that keeps me still here is the continuous availability of all kinds of vegetables and fruits imaginable. Fish and nuts are one the plate regularly and some pork and chicken occasionally. I shop in the wholesale market where the farmers from the mountains come every morning with their fresh produce. They sell from their small trucks. That's the closest I've ever been to whole natural food. Zero industrial farming.
Always find Prof Gardner's knowledge so wonderful. His youthful energy and enthusiasm is contagious.
I’d love Zoe to do a full review of the olive oils on offer to us in UK supermarkets. There’s a big range of prices and colours and shelf life of the oil inside the bottle. Surely UK has to import olive oil, so maybe it’s not as fresh as when eaten in the Mediterranean and may have oxidised by the time we put it in out cupboards.
Just have a tablespoon of olive oil. if it burns your throat considerably, it's good quality!
Yes, that would be useful and interesting, as there is such a variety and price range, and I'm confused
A few years ago I changed from corn/sunflower/rapeseed oil and so on to olive oil, and I've tried several types, from cheaper supermarket own label olive oil to up market & expensive types, but TBH I can't really tell much difference
I don't mind paying extra for quality, but I wonder if it's really worth the extra cost
So, rightly or wrongly I'm staying with basic well known brands such as Berio & Napolina
But it would be good to have an opinion from people who know more about this than myself
It should say the harvest year on the bottle but in general if it's been pressed within the last 18-24 months is OK. The main issues is that often you get blends with supermarket oil, so different acidities or olive types. That's not a problem on paper provided that the acidity stays under a certain limit (which I forget) but someone has to check that if it's a blend then all oils in the mix were pressed in the same year.
Excellent talk on Mediterranean diet. I would also add that most of their food is locally sourced, that is in season, as well organically produced.
If you live on the shore it’s local fish. If you are in the mountains it’s the meats, again available locally.
My father was from Korčula, a small Dalmatian island just up from Dubrovnik. I am very acquainted with the so called Mediterranean diet. Large amounts plant based food: Brussel sprouts in olive oil, kapuska which is a cabbage stew. Sardines, Bakalar which is a dried salted Cod (it stunk) & squid. He had Loads of olive oil on everything, red wine which his father made from black muscatel grapes. They never ate avocadoes! He never ate sweets or cakes. After he came out to Australia @ about age 45 paradoxically he developed Type 2 Diabetes as because he would go through ½ loaf of bread with every meal; our processed white bread is very different to the bread he had back in Yugoslavia. His father lived to over 95 back in Yugoslavia.
I appreciate the mention that this is an approach to lifestyle that includes improved exercise and sleep habits, in addition to nutrition. This syncs with Zoe's message that a short walk after a meal will lower blood glucose response (do I have that right?). Thanks, Zoe!
I was on some sort of a Keto Diet, and struggling loosing weight. Many could argue i was doing it wrong, but the fact remain, i was not loosing weight, hard time finding stuff to eat, etc. Then i switched to Mediterranean diet, and more precisely the Mind diet which is a mix with the Dash diet. Easy to find stuff to eat, not boring, focusing on quality ingredients. Four months later i lost 30 pounds.
You probably were not doing keto wrong, is that you were consuming too many calories
This has been an amazing series. Thank you so much 👍
In Italy, pasta, pizza, bread (all white flour!) white rice (never brown), lots of meat and preserved meats like salami, all these things are forbidden by the American notion of the Mediterranean diet! Ancel Keys wrote about the Poppi diet, but the village of Poppi lives on white flour pasta. The US/UK ‘Mediterranean’ diet includes things like avocado and salmon, which were quite unknown in Italy until recently.
You need a different name. Whole grains unheard of in Italy, except for trendy wholefood shops following US/UK diet recommendations!
shhhhhh, don't ruin good business 🤣
Been living in Italy for over 30 years and have seen an increase in "healthier" options, ie more organic products, lower fat, artisan bakeries etc but also in highly refined foods, microwave ready, big increase in selection of things like breakfast cereals, sugary yoghurts, milk based snacks, biscuits and baked sweet snacks. Fast food outlets have spread like crazy. Can't help but wonder about the quality of mass produced extra virgin olive oil at 8-9€ a bottle compared to farm produced oil at 3x the price. The older generation on the area where I live have a staple diet of egg pasta, mince ragù, hard seasoned cheeses, white flour, lard, salame and sausages, overcooked veg. (Medicines by the handful.)
We have been 100% whole food plant based for 5 years. We do include modest amounts of avocado, nuts, and seeds. After 6 months of eating this way, my husband's fatty liver, kidney disease, and asthma were gone. 5 years later, those diseases still no longer plague him. That's enough for us! And by the way, our food is delicious!
At least in Adria region, the soup is a must ( not stew, but light one with vegetables, not always with meat) and pickled vegetables. The soup fills the stomach, therefore the main course portion is smaller. Although, in recent 20 years the meat percentage skyrocketed ..
Great series that I will revisit as a resource in the future. And some headshakes in the Comments of other chapters are priceless, especially for the carnivore and keto segments.
Lifestyle exactly! Omg I feel like this is the most overlooked aspect. I have travelled extensively over the greek islands for last 30 years. I remember watching old ladies, probably in their 70s - 80s manually till the ground, or dig trenches of the small holding. I'd look at their cottages they are basic. It's like going back 100 years or more. That's the Mediterranean diet, you are physically active and strong out of lifestyle demands and eat simply.
When it comes to nutrition, exercise and health
(for the most part), YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE.
Put in a good effort consistently you get good results.
Shopping should not be confusing because you should be buying things with no label to decode.
Cooking required for health and a good performance level.
so well said! “simple because there’s no label to decode”! exactly! I moved to the US over a year ago - omg! isles and isles and isles of plastic/artificial/dead stuff. and yes, I cook. and yes it does take time. but I love to cook: it is my time for meditation, creativity, reflection, time spent with nice pots and utensils
Love Christopher Gardner because he is so evidence based and common sense. I always learn something on Zoe. Thank you.
Well, I was always amazed with other people talk about Med diet because I live in Spain, and yes they eat fruit and veg, but fish is so expensive and they do not eat fish as often as pork for example. Every day, they will eat some sort of port, tortilla, potatoes, cheese etc. And a lot of bread.
Also ham (with a lot of salt, fuet, lot of salt etc.
It really is not true that they eat "healthy". Maybe people in villages eat as people think of med diet, but not in towns. Really not.
@@AngieStonesPhD The Med. diet, is really more of the traditional Med diet. What did people eat 100 plus years ago in these areas.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful is Zoe did a side series of what this actually looked like and how people could start to incorporate this into their life.
Bringing together all aspect of the information you give. Recipes , movements, sleep, a beginner simple guide.
I think people require much more guidance than you think due to all the confusion out there.
Thank you Zoe, I’ve been waiting for you to review this diet! Totally agree with all that’s been said.
That makes you as ignorant of these Zoe people.
Totally agree with Dr. Gardner - thank you Zoe. Love this diet especially. 👍
@@kst157 sucked you in didn’t he…you need to understand his agenda…he’s in somebody’s pocket.
I’ve heard of legumes for the past 50 years. I never heard of “pulses” as a food until watching Zoe.
Only place I ran across the term was in King James Version Bible book of Daniel. As young man captive in Babylon, he challenged the officer in charge of male captives to allow he and his closest friends to delay the "acculturation" diet prescribed for them by 10 days. In that time, he ate pulses and water, not meat and wine from the kitchen that served the Babylonian king. At the end of 10 days, he was determined to be healthier, and quicker of wit than those on the King's diet!
Although Nutritionists, botanists, and other experts might differ, as far as most people are concerned beans, peas, lentils, pulses, and legumes are more or less the same thing
I have seen that people who live a long life, eat simply - not indulgent - oats, some dairy, stews with meat, fish, fruit, and don't over indulge cakes and sweets but aren't uptight about having a little and they don't get drunk but can take a little alcohol if they want and small portions. We eat too much. I do and it's bad for you.They also have very regular simple lives which includes walking working and relaxing
Great info like this should be taught in schools
Definitely my favourite one so far! Now we need a good Mediterranean diet cookbook to follow.
The Blue Zones Kitchen : 100 Recipes to Live to 100
by Dan Buettner
just to share my approach to cooking. It might sound a bit strange, but works great for me: I cook by recipes very rarely. mainly when I do my traditional Ukrainian dishes or bake things.
I normally stock up on various proteins (diff kinds of meat and fish) and a ton of veggies, greens, fruits and diff herbs and spices.
Then I see how I feel - what protein I’d like to have and in what form (braised, sautéed, stewed (I fry very rarely)). Then I see what veggies and what form I’d like to have with that protein (a salad or braised or steamed). I follow no recipes, just do what I feel like. and use whatever spices and herbs I feel like. Yes, sometimes I may screw up (for example added zucchini too early yesterday and it became mushy. technical stuff that would be addressed in a recipe but I missed or didn’t think of), but overall the food is very tasty (imo of course)))
For desserts it is dried fruits and nuts, sometimes parmesan or other fancy cheese goes great with my Turkish coffee as well. Or dark chocolate. or fruit.
And I do not buy things that I don’t want to be eating - to not be seduced. So I am not a great host for many of my friends and relatives for that reason)))
just wanted to share
(I realize though that it works bc I live by myself. when I had family, it was a toooootly dif story)))
Anything by Claudia Roden
@@ep0nym0us28i do exactly the same! 😊
@@ep0nym0us28 That's exactly what I do and call "intuitive cooking" or "#wtfisinmyfridge" meals. I do "perimeter shopping" - avoiding the junk food isles in the middle of the grocery store. I don't eat a lot of meat anymore - getting my protein mostly from plants, eggs and dairy. I make my own kefir & Kombucha, Sauerkraut & Sourdough, as well as Tofu & Tempeh. Eating & cooking this way makes me happy. My husband humors me and eats mostly the same ...with the additional steak! He knows how to BBQ - I think that's a great teamwork way to cook and works great for us.
There's no such thing as the mediterranean diet,, as the diet differs quite a bit from one country to the next.
Thanks to your video, I'm beginning to understand what Mediterranean die is. Or I think it may mean different things but now I see the point of recommending the 'good form' of a Mediterranean diet. I appreciate the clear explanation of Dr Gardner. And I love his lack of dogmatism and his 'buena onda'.
I'm so happy in my country we have an abundance of unprocessed grains like millet, wheat berry, buckwheat and barley and I have to say, as a kid I hated those foods, now I start to appreciate them way more)
With tinned fish and beans/lentils it can be quite quick to cook Mediterranean - salads can be even quicker (and it is easy to buy pre-prepared salads that fit - if you want to spend the money).
Never been fat in my life, followed the Med diet almost unwillinlgy throught my whole adult life since I am Turkish and I always hesitated from simple carbs due to weight control for sportive performance(climbing/mountaineering/running), and for the past 2 years I have been into keto. The one certain thing about both diets is that they are extremely delicious hahah :D All the best!
It is a peculiarly British/American stereotype that meat is not an important component of the Mediterranean diet.
That's because they have been "brainwashed" to believe that for commercial/political reasons. American interests have been pushing grain/plant-based products for decades. Cheap to produce, cheap to turn into hyper-palatable ultra-processed products which they sell at a very nice profit. As a bonus, they make and keep people sick which puts billions of dollars into the pharmaceutical companies.
Of course meat (beef, lamb, pork) is a very important part of the diet. It has been so for thousands of years. Meat is preferred, vegs are secondary (for flavor, color). The same way that it is in most parts of the world.
This diet is not the med diet. This is the diet my family that lived in rural Alabama ate. Fresh vegetables, little meat, lots of water, little dairy, fresh fish caught from the river. Never had high blood pressure, never heart disease, no joint problems. Now, this diet ended in my family about 40 years ago and everybody got sick. When I went to my grandparents for supper when I was a kid we had fresh tomatoes, fresh cucumbers, fresh baked catfish, boiled potatoes, green beans.
👍💕 and green beans..
Unfortunatelly Greeks are obsessed with meat, but at least we do eat beans and 'ladera' okra and green beans once or twice a week.. (I eat them every day 🙂)
PSA: The Mediterranean diet does NOT refer to the modern cuisine of the Mediterranean like the processed meat and refined grains common in Italy. It refers to eating patterns in places like Crete way back in the 1950s. It is well established that these cuisines have changed dramatically - the diet of Spain today, for example, is as 'Mediterranean' as Poland in terms of consumption of whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish etc
Remember that the “Mediterranean Diet” traditionally included more meat than some would have us believe….ie : Pigs, Wild Boar, Sheep, Rabbit, Poultry etc (various) Game and Wild birds and of course plenty of fish & sea food. All combined with seasonal foraged plants and of course (as Prof Chris points out) the climate and the (non-gym) exercise…often in the form of trudging with loads up and down hills…and hard agricultural & maritime labour!
Don't forget lamb and even mutton that all those healthy shepherds and their families ate in the 'blue zones'. Shepherds are not going to tend sheep just for their fleece and milk. This was downplayed by the professor when he mentioned all those healthy shepherds. What they did not eat a lot of compared to standard western diets is sugar and grains. Yes grains, even whole grains, which are a staple food elsewhere and account for many people having digestive issues (such as gluten intolerance) and maybe other health issues as well.
exactly👍@@dennisward43
I've been to morocco many times, and most people can't afford olive oil. They use vegetable oil more than we do.
In Italy and Spain we can’t eat Mediterranean diet no more since we’ve been sadly colonised by the western american junk diet forever
Thank you for this episode!
Really appreciate Tim, Sarah, Will, and Christopher as contributors to Zoe podcast. Seeing them keeps me motivated!
I just got to a point of eating 21 different plants in one day and meeting the RDA of 25 g fiber for women for 1375 calories including some lean animal protein.
Still not eating much olive oil though.
I'll try that after I adapt to this number of diverse whole food plants for a couple of months.
Eating a few different raw unsalted mixed nuts daily though (thanks to Tim Specter's nut jar episode).
Eating barley, lentils, beans, greens, steel-cut oats, whole high fiber fruits daily, but dropped the bread, crackers, sweets, ultra-processed foods.
Got 40 pounds to lose still.
We'll see how this plays out.
I'm hopeful.
@@susanswinny588 good luck
Can you do a program about high levels of purines alfatokins and oxalates that are in vegetables legumes fish etc.I have liver cirrhosis and have had to be very very selective in what nuts beans and fish I can eat.I wish the info from podcasts and hospitals was more precise and less generic than it is.
Christopher is so charismatic 😍
You mention local bakeries. Europe has many, but the USA has almost none. However, you can find them. Also, besides whole grain, sourdough baking is a desirable goal.
Great series.
Except it’s full of mistakes
3:33 "They were shepherds who..." apparently kept their animals for entertainment purposes if you keep pushing the idea that they were something like near vegan or pescetarians at the best.
Totally mythology these goofuses talk about.
Some time ago, a year or so, I came across an article about why doctors recommended the Mediterranean diet. Surprise answer? People will stick with it. I don't know enough to say if it is absolutely the best diet but I do know that it is balanced, not full of items that you have to hunt down and nothing is prohibited. Just eat more of this and less of that. Lots of veg and some plant based proteins and some animal based proteins. Some of every food group.
💕 provence, fr. comes very close to the ideal med……diet
These were very interesting, but I can only find 6 interviews................ when will the 7th be posted?
I don't know about the Mediterranean diet (because it includes the nutritional habits of many suboptimal cultures) but the truth is that the Greek diet is what Hippocrates, the father of medicine, ate and lived for 91 years which for that period would be equivalent to 120 years+ today. It is important to remember that what Hippocrates knew then and we finally begin to rediscover now, is that health begins in the gut, promotes the functions of a healthy liver, and also protects the brain. The Mediterranean diet might be a superior option to SAD (standard American diet) but is not the optimal diet. The optimal diet is the one based on ketones and unfortunately, the Med diet has too many legumes and crappy carbs (such as pasta and grains - refer to the previous comment of the Italians being a suboptimal culture in nutritional matters) to induce healthy ketogenesis in your body.
A mediterranean diet could be is as high as 50% from fat? When I think of the mediterranean diet I think of the way Dr Ancel Keys studied it post WWII, and I don't think it was anywhere near that high in fat because they simply couldn't afford it.
It's absolutely untrue that small amounts of meat are eaten in Mediterranean countries. In Italy large amounts of meat, including red and processed meats are eaten on a daily basis. I had Parma ham and salami on a daily basis growing up in Italy in the 70s and 80s. We often had steak, sausages, burgers, lamb, pork. And there were no avocados there at the time. Nuts and seeds were not widely consumed. Quite a few fried foods were part of my diet. Pasta is always of the white variety.
I always find it weird when I hear the Mediterranean diet described the way it is in this video. And obesity is increasing in Mediterranean countries too.
It is a historic diet, like paleo, and with just as many assumptions and bias as to what it actually was.
@@dennisward43 indeed.
Hear hear! The American/British judgement re the “Mediterranean diet” is highly skewed and untrue
My experience in Italy and France was, white pasta and white bread make up a significant portion of the "Mediterranean diet". Yes, the bread is usually fresh from a bakery, but it's still often white rather than wholemeal or whole-grain. The pasta is made from durum wheat (semolina), but it's white. A French baguette is usually white. And pastries are popular (made with white flour and fat).
“Typical” white flour baguette sandwiches send me on a blood sugar crash 😭 I could never live off that and be functional. High quality semolina pasta I can handle without crashing. Thankfully!
No whole grains or nuts in Italy. A USA delusion.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Finally a common sense NO EXTREME approach to eating. YES mostly plant based BUT some meat, fish, cheese and eggs.
I think it would be helpful to point out the difference between highly inflammatory seed oils (so-called vegetable oils) and olive oil. Instead of being highly processed, used with GMO round-up ready crops (seed oils), olive oil is high in polyphenols, anti-inflammatory and generally much healthier.
If you want them to do it, I think you need to find the evidence, since that does not reflect the scientific literature. Dr. Gil Carvalho did fairly deep dive into this issue reviewing the literature about 5-6 months ago... and the evidence does not suggest that seed oils are inflammatory, there is also the fact that Canola Oil (fancy name for rapeseed oil) was allowed on the Ornish Diet, and was encouraged in the North Karelia project in Finland.
There are so many studies showing that seed oils do not increase inflammation and pretty much zero evidence that it does.
...which leads me to ask, what influencers are spreading this misinformation because I see people everywhere saying this despite the totality of evidence saying the opposite?
@@BillMcHale I've seen Dr Gil's video and that and of others showing there's no compelling data to show seed oils are inflammatory, in otherwise healthy people. But that's the caveat. There seems to be a lot of argument that seed oils can exacerbate inflammation in those with a known inflammatory disorder. Dr Brooke Goldner who makes her living treating people with inflammatory immune disorders has a video demonstrating the molecular pathway of this. So I think that saying seed oils are inflammatory or not is not completely accurate. The question really should be, for whom. Me, I'll avoid seed oils and always choose extra virgin olive oil.
@@BillMcHaleoh yeah, trust Gil Carvalho 🙄, a member of the True Health Initiative, a global coalition that literally _makes its members pledge_ support for their 'core principles', the first of which is promoting a WFPB diet. It's on their website. What is he and his channel possibly going to say; that they are unhealthy and you should use evolutionarily appropriate cooking lipids? Good luck.
But anyway to the OP, did you see how sneakily he danced around the subject of 'oils'? He kept suspiciously saying 'its not just about the olive oil', and even around the 10:43 mark let slip that he thinks 'all oils are fine'? I think he is intentionally not pointing out the difference because he doesn't want the public to believe they are inflammatory, whether the science says so or not. What cooking fats would they choose otherwise? Not olive oil with its low smoke point. It's almost like it's agenda driven 🤔?
Oh yeah, trust Gil Carvalho 🙄, a member of the True Health Initiative, a global coalition that literally _makes its members pledge_ support for 'core principles', the first of which is promoting a WFPB diet. It's on their website. What is going to possibly say; that they are unhealthy and you should use biologically appropriate animal fat? Good luck.
But anyway to the OP, did you see how sneakily he danced around the subject of 'oils' he kept suspiciously saying 'its not just about the olive oil', and even around the 10:43 mark let slip that he thinks 'all oils are fine'? I think he is intentionally not pointing out the difference because he doesn't want the public to believe they are inflammatory, whether the science says so or not. What cooking lipids would they choose otherwise? Not olive oil with its low smoke point. suspicious, no🤔?
I have a theory. I think the healthiest food in the world is the so called TRADITIONAL food.
I wished scientists and doctors focused more on traditional food.
1. Traditional food was created or invented usually in times of hunger, poverty, crisis, war, plague, disease, etc. Traditional food is survival food, the food that stood the test of time, the food that allowed entire populations to survive periods of hunger. So traditional food needs to be healthy, nutritious, cheap and abundant, based on local ingredients.
2. But traditional food usually can taste very bad, sometimes being outright vile and repugnant. Most countries in the world usually have some kind of traditional food. In times of plenty most people tend to underestimate, look down, dismiss or even despise traditional food because it doesn't taste good. But that is really a big mistake, because that is the food that humanity needs to rely on in times of hunger, and also to remain healthy. So it is really important to keep and preserve traditional food, no matter how bad that food may be.
In Sweden there is a fermented fish called surströmming, that is considered by many to be the stinkiest food in the world.
How is it possible that people eat such a thing? But surströmming has existed for hundreds of years, is nutritious, healthy and cheap. And most certainly it was invented by starving people in times of hunger and poverty. Many people make fun of surströmming because of its foul smell, but very few people seem to realize that surströmming is a super-food that literally saved entire populations from hunger.
3. The biggest problem about traditional food is that it may difficult to replicate in other countries, because it may not taste good and the ingredients may not be as cheap or abundant in different regions or countries. For example it is often said that olive oil is healthy, but olive oil can be very expensive outside Europe. Japanese traditional food uses no olive oil at all.
4. It is ironic that unhealthy food is only available in times of plenty, while in times of hunger the only food available is traditional food. So the richer the country, the more unhealthy the diet becomes. A poor person on the other hand needs to eat healthy food, otherwise he won't survive. So paradoxically, the poorer the person, the healthier the diet, because a poor person simply can not afford to eat unhealthy food. While traditional food is based on local, cheap, abundant ingredients, unhealthy food is usually based on expensive, imported, exotic ingredients. While older generations try to encourage traditional food, younger generations tend to despise traditional food and prefer modern, expensive, unhealthy food.
5. The United States unfortunately does not have a firmly established traditional food, simply because the country is relatively young and has not suffered any major war or disaster or famine or disease. So most of its diet is based on European culture, which may not be the most appropriate for the region. In my opinion the US should look into native American culture, because they probably have a very strong traditional food culture most appropriate for the local conditions.
The Mediterranean diet is recommended for treating fatty liver due to metabolic syndrome. One of the few conditions using diet as an intervention since no approved drug currently exists that specifically treats fatty liver (some are in clinical trials).
I’m very curious. Has there been a study comparing strict whole food plant based (no oil or meat) with Mediterranean plus?
What do you mean by "strict" ? Strict for health reasons, or strict for ethical reasons?
Example..."no oil", not a drop as a famous doc says. That must be for ethical reasons because no one seems to have ever done a study showing the benefit of going from a few sprays or drops in a pan to instead using "zero oil".
At least I've never seen a single study showing a benefit of removing the last few drops.
These days even people like Ornish and Kim Williams allow for small amounts of oil.
How about some cheese? Aside from cottage or feta, can you recommend some and what amount can be incorporated?
I'm getting very confused by the Thumbnail titles on Zoe videos.
If I just went on those, like many do, I'd be totally confused about what is broadly the right diet.
I was a vegan at one time. I was lacking certain nutrients and was very fatigued. I went to Mediterranean diet. Never eating red meats. Feel so much better
Thanks a million for all what you are doing. I wonder if you could talk about raw vegan diet. I have been doing it for about 4 months. But I dont know if it is really healthy.
I suspect that that diet is a bit niche for the purposes of this series. I know they included Carnivore but that is hot on social media right now, I would be thrilled if they looked at any sort of 100% plant based diet.
MODERATION in ALL things. Just get the bias towards sleep, exercise, whole grain, nuts, fruit & all should be OK. Am I on target?
I’m currently doing the raw vegan diet right now and it’s not easy. It requires a lot of discipline as I’m sure you can relate to. I think I’m only doing to do it for this month of January. I keep thinking of eating some cooked food at times. Raw food is boring 😖. The reason I’m doing this diet now is to cleanse my body.
The first time I did the raw food diet was about 20 years ago. I was 50 years old and I did it for a year and a half. It was basically an experiment and it was transforming. My health improved significantly. My allergies disappeared, my aches and pains disappeared. I felt very healthy. I had incredible energy and I felt like a teenager again.
However, I felt it was unsustainable because raw food doesn’t have a lot of calories so I was always eating. If you are working during this diet, it can be very inconvenient. You can’t just take breaks at work to go eat. Yet, I discovered that if anything goes wrong with your health, this is the diet you want to fall back on, our natural human diet, raw fruit and vegetables. We are not herbivores. While we can be omnivores at times, we thrive ideally on a raw fruit/ vegetable diet. Herbivores eat grass and other plants, those are not us.
I have a cousin who did the raw food vegan diet for a few years. He had improved health when doing it.
@@tommythompson6319 I have yet to see any evidence that whole grains are healthy. Only that they are healthier than refined. I have seen plenty of evidence that some whole grains like wheat (gluten) cause digestive problems for many people. Also fruits are only healthy when eaten in moderate amounts.
Lots of people in the comments seem confused: The naming of this diet has virtually nothing to do with what the people in these regions eat today!
In my Italian family, lunch could never start without a big chunk of Parmasano on the table plus some slices of a fatty salami. Sooner or later, the health of my ancestors showed the consequences of this excess fat.
It’s a way of leaving not just the diet or macros. Let’s not forget the sun ☀️ and the sea 🌊 My parents have never eaten UPF or snaked , walked to work and spent time on the beach. It’s a way of life
Legumes is also French for vegetables
So they were Sheppard's tending their flocks and not eating much meat?
He did hit the nail on head though, if you are eating properly, it is very hard to eat enough
The social connectedness among, and within, Mediterranean cultures is another health-enhancing, third-variable factor that wasn’t discussed, which can boost the benefits of the ‘Mediterranean Diet’.
In other words, it is not just the food that Mediterranean people eat, it is their overall lifestyle, including better social connectedness among, within Mediterranean cultures that results in health benefits among ‘Mediterranean Diet’, which is actually an entirely different overall lifestyle, than diet difference alone.
We, in the U.S., are mostly DISCONNECTED socially from out community and/or our family, which harms our physical health (increased diabetes; heart disease). Loneliness is now equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes per day, per the U.S. Surgeon General.
I thought the typical Mediterranean diet was gelato, pizza and cigarettes. 🙂 I've spent quite a lot of time in Spain and they love their jamon.
1) When the Mediterranean diet was originally studied on Crete,these people were not only physically active but they regularly fasted in the Roman Catholic way. This significant fasting fact is no longer mentioned. 2) Other studies found people tended not to lose weight. I am certain Christopher follows this diet because he has a small barrel of fat around his waist. From my own studies ,I conclude the whole plant "Nutritarian " diet by Dr. Fuhrman delivers the best health, disease reversals and longevity.
They are Greek Orthodox (Eastern Orthodox), not Roman Catholic. Orthodox fasting is different than Catholic fasting. There is a fasting calendar online if you are curious.
Mediterranean name seems very Euro centric. Plant based would include Japanese meals, beans grown in Latin America, corn, tofu, chilies, avocadoes, quinoa.
Relax. It was a name derived decades ago and has added a lot of foods sourced from around the globe. Christopher mentions avocados and quinoa in the podcast and is a big fan of tofu.
Please could you do a podcast on oxalates. Greetings from England.
Do you think christopher gardner would ever do something that could scare people off plants?
No, it would be scare mongering and the risk is to a small number re breast cancer. If you want a slobbering meat eater to demonise plants theres plenty on here.
Your podcasts are a great idea and I love the information but it’s hard to understand what you’re trying to tell us. I’ve watched maybe 8 of these podcasts and the communication issues I’ve found are: often your scientists don’t answer the question they’ve been asked, even tho’ what they say is important, it’s not the answer to the question, eg what would changing to this diet do to your body? ; speakers often use negatives or the passive voice which is way harder for most people to follow and does take longer to digest and understand (and yes, I meant the pun), for instance, ‘this will make you feel less full and result in eating more sooner’ - not an exact quote but close- is much easier to understand ‘ this will make you feel hungry much sooner and so you’ll end up overeating’ . Also, you need to be more careful with no and not. On one occasion the scientist was eager to tell us what specific foods to eat in the context of a discussion of paucity diets and whilst trying to say we don’t need to avoid avocado, etc what came across was a strong ‘Not avocado…. Etc’ I wasn’t confused for long but if you want to reach the kind of audience who are already watching diet vodcasts, you really need to be competing or they won’t hear you and the message is so crucial. So reframing the information into the positive Do or you can eat avocado,….You are all specialists in the science and we need to hear from you but maybe also drop into the mix a communication specialist or science journalist who can make sure your message comes across clearly and comprehensively. Also, when you’re talking about different diets, maybe identify specific foods? The interviewer asked a few times about what does a Mediterranean diet look like and honestly no clear answer came across. Maybe mention some specific foods beyond a lot of mention of olive oil, needs to be listed of course but hey, what else? Tomatoes, sardines, onions, pepperoni, lettuce, beans, carrot, eggplant, broccoli???? What? What do we eat? Are prawns ok? Pepperoni? It’s super processed but show me an Italian or Spaniard who doesn’t eat this. Honestly, I didn’t get a clear picture of what you were ‘selling’ me here. And maybe that wasn’t the point of that podcast, but it was in the questions: what does a med diet look like? What do we eat? What don’t we eat? Etc.
I hope you can see the comment as helpful and well intentioned. I think what you’re doing is fantastic and I’m grateful for your research and your willingness to share it so freely and generously with the public.
How much percentage of plant needs to be in plant based to qualify as plant based?
There's no formal definition because it's not science based.
I'm really glad I found the Zoe Podcast and would possibly take part in the progam, if it was available in my country. The focus on gut health and a diverse diet, the fact that all food groups are evaluated without an agenda and that the podcast stays clear of the diet wars - that's what I love about the podcast. This series has been disappointing though. Understandably, there's a limit to the amount of information you can give in short episodes like this. At the same time it's probably a challenge to create evermore content after already having said everything you meant to say in the beginning. Still, I simply didn't feel well informed after listening.
Dr Gardner's agenda (he seem's a kind guy) is obvious. He makes Mediterranean diets out to be whole foods plant based. This term (WFPB) is a brainchild of T. Colin Campbell and is used by the Physicians Committee and associated vegan (often low-fat/oil) doctors (Barnard, Greger, Fuhrman ... and Gardner). Mediterranean diets are not whole foods plant based diets, they are real foods diets, diverse seasonal foods diets based in proper home cooking using regional produce. Foods of animal origin are highly appreciated in Mediterranean diets, though consumed in moderation. Also, white breads and other baked goods based on refined flour are favoured. Good luck to Dr. Gardner trying to find whole grain bread with seeds in the Mediterranean. Avocado, quinoa and other plant foods originating in South America are not traditional components in Mediterranean diets. They have only very recently been introduced into European stores as part of the super food wave. Gardner's representation of Mediterranean diets is an American vegan's brainfart and completely insincere.
I'm an omnivore and happen to eat very little meat or fish and include a lot of vegetarian and vegan meals in my diet. Regarding the earlier episodes of this series, I would have liked to understand more about paleo and carnivore diets and why people manage to get all kinds of symptoms under control with them, how carnivores even after eating just meat for years don't drop down dead (since according to Zoe fiber and plant foods are so essential for health, and red meat is so detrimental to health -- I frankly would die of constipation, anxiety and disgust after a week on the carnivore diet), and why some people don't manage to thrive on a more plant based diet/why they have problems with so many plant foods, (even the ancient or gluten free) grains and pseudo grains. But then none of this really is what Zoe is about. Please stay true to yourselves.
Also in Italy pasta is very much a weekly on your diet or even daily but not whole grain and within regional towns and even villages the med diet varies my family live in campania not by the sea so don’t eat that much fish except salted cod true that breakfast quite often is light mid day perhaps a main meal the med diet is so diffrent yet there basic foods that all meds eat
what about vegan and alkaline diets?)
In Israel we ate tons of vegetables, cheese, humus, and bread. Fish and eggs too. Very little red meat. Most people didn’t have meat every day. People get wierded out when I have vegetables for breakfast. But, that's how I grew up.
Lots of olives and olive oil. Only in Israel have I seen kids given a whole pepper or cucumber as a snack
@mikes3756 yeah I ate veggies for snacks all the time
Not a lot of grains then as most grains are eaten for breakfast in the western diet.
When is the vegan episode coming out
I love mexican food - are refried beans full of fiber? They taste so yummy but they look like, and taste like, they should be bad for you (added sugar?).
Yes they are full of fiber however they are traditionally made with lard which is a saturated fat so undesirable. They can be made with unsaturated fats but you may have to make them yourself.
Thankyou @@ggjr61 ! 🥫
Is Christopher Gardner really believing postprandial peaks in the insulin and glucose make a difference?!?
That is: do those spikes in insulin/glucose make more of a difference than the substantial and undisputed decrease in calorie consumption induce by more fiber rich - and therefore less palatable - foods?
The latter seems to be such a more powerful and documented mechanism of action when promoting health.
I really do not understand from this or any other video why peaks in insulin or glucose should be primarily involved in health outcomes, when you know a certain dietary pattern will lead to a sustained caloric intake.
At the very least, the effect of peaks in insulin and glucose will be strongly confounded by the effect of reduced caloric intake.
Finally someone said this. It’s not all about food it’s all about lifestyle. You will get sick if you hate moving even if you don’t eat anything. The other side of diet from Mediterranean countries is dose of happiness. And all discussions is about food. Big mistake….
How can this be Whole Food Plant-Based if it contains fish, which is not Plant-Based and oil is not a Whole Food. Perhaps more Whole Food Plant Centric Diet. I know it seems pedantic, but when I talk to people about Whole Food Plant-Based eating it can be confusing for them if some people it includes fish and oil which are really not WFPB foods.
Because some people consider eating whole plants as the main part of their diet as WFPB.
WFPB doesn't mention the exclusion of animal foods.
So it's not what you imagine it to be for everyone.
People eat sardines or salmon to get omega-3 because whole plant sources aren't as bioavailable.
Many vegans take B12 supplements.
I work with some.
I imagine people who eat WFPB do it as well.
Please look up the definition of Whole Food Plant-Based. Whole Food Plant-Based is whole foods that are Plant-Based like Fruits, Vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, also minimally processed foods like Tofu and Tempeh. It does not include highly processed food like oils and it does not include animal products.
If someone eats fish and oil as part of their meal, which the Mediterranean Diet does contain, it cannot be classes as Whole Food Plant-Based, but as I said it is whole food centric and it is Plant centric, with some fish and some oil.
WFPB started out as a totally plant based diet but in recent years there’s been an effort to make it mean ‘more plants than you used to eat’. It’s really annoying especially when you’re in a hurry and grab a magazine that say plant based on the cover to discover there isn’t a recipe without meat in it.🙄
@@DamienBnc
I'm good with either the stricter definition or the more inclusive, looser idea of WFPB.
💛
Get a good Italian and a good Greek recipe book and get cooking with a glass of wine
Except northern Italian food is richer…
@frannypeony2076 the food we had in Sicily was amazing
@@user-xs1oo6vg2k 😋
Except for, of course, Ligurian food which is most definitely ‘Mediterranean’.
Are canned beans acceptable or considered processed
Canned beans are fine - except dry beans soaked then cooked are tastier 😋
@@frannypeony2076 Maybe it is just me but I don't find beans tasty at all unless spices like chilli are added. Assuming you don't eat any of that sugary bean crap.
@@dennisward43 Spices are a must 🪷
But in the Mediterranean they love BREAD… “pulverised wheat” with water and salt and yeast (or maybe wild yeast), maybe olive oil… It confuses me this is a bit of a contradiction! What happened to Tims love of sourdough bread? I’m starting to get really confused by these podcasts!!
Take a look at the ingredients in a loaf of store bought bread, like Wonder Bread, for ecample. How many words on there do you recognize? Quite often, I bake my own bread. There is 1 kind of sugar(yeasted bread almost always has a sugar added to it to help the yeast to make the bread rise) store bought bresd often has more than 1 sugar in it. Anything that ends in ose is usually a sugar. And there are preservatives, usually a ton. And who knows how those preservatives act in your body, especially if you eat that bread daily. Home made bread, there is none. This is just 2 examples of how good fresh bread differs from the store bought stuff. There are others as well, but those 2 are likely the biggest.
I don't trust bread from supermarkets and stopped eating it years ago. As with any food if you know where it comes and how it is grown or grow it yourself it should be much healthier.
@monicadechering9489 I also make my own bread but this guy is anti all bread basically… I’ve never heard him make a concession for home baked bread or sourdough with wholemeal flour. He talks about eating whole wheat berries (not a good bread substitute) would be more like having barley instead of rice or something like that!
original mediterranean diet(diet of post-ww2 peasants from crete who lived longer and had 20 times less frequent heart attacks, than us citizens) was almost exclusively plant based with negligible amount of fish. few wealthy people on crete were eating meat and had normal(non-rare) rate of heart disease. and that diet almost certainly didn't contain avocados(crete is far away from mexico). and surely it was lower on fat than anything people call "mediterranean diet" now(peasants can't afford drinking olive oil). almost nobody eats original mediterranean diet, including modern people of crete, so now their heart attack rates are closer to americans
Unless someone lives in the Mediterranean, eats seasonally, whole fresh food they prepared and cooked, looking at how we eat culturally (not just about race) and in a way that it is processed is more important than a label.
Meat (beef, lamb, pork, fish) is a very important part of the diet for the people in every Mediterranean country. It has been so for thousands and thousands of years. Meat is always preferred, vegs are secondary (for flavor, color). The same way that it is, and has always been, in most of the world. Only the very poor ate mostly grains and vegs -- not by choice, but because of their circumstances. Anyone trying to tell you differently is surely trying to deceive you, or simply regurgitating what they have heard. Unfortunately, inexperienced people tend to believe the propaganda, and they have suffered the consequences
The U.S.A. and Britain are probably the two sickest countries in the world, they are at the top of lists of just about every metabolic disease (heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, etc., etc.). Why would anyone want to follow their ideas about what a healthy diet is? They push for people to eat more grains and vegetables, and to reduce meat and saturated fat. Riiiight, because that has worked out so well for the people who have followed those guidelines for the past few decades. [smh]
It's absurd, sad, and horrifying.
WHY MAKE IT SOOOO HARD. Don't eat ultraprocessed food!!!!!! THE END.
And cook. And eat with your friends and family.
Avocado in the Mediterranean ? Since when 😅. Grew up in southern France, on the Mediterranean and it makes me laugh each time people talk about the ‘Mediterranean ‘ diet. We had meat at every meal - lots of chicken soup (poule au pot), beef soup (pot au feu), Little pasta or potatoes, fish, … 3 meals a day, good wholesome food. Did I mention animal products at EVERY meal?
But sorry, no avocado, no flax , no quinoa of fancy stuff…
Restaurants and food delivery services? Really? That's what this expert is going to direct us to? Within all these discussions, why are directions to recipes and meal plans never discussed? Because first off there are VERY FEW restaurants (outside of specific Mediterranean countries) that are offering this type of food out there and the ones that do are exorbitantly expensive. The healthy meal delivery services aren't cheap either. So what is someone who doesn't live in a temperate climate having easy access to all this fresh produce supposed to do? We're never actually told how to put any of this into practice in an accessible and inexpensive way, so no wonder people rarely eat this style of diet. These experts are so caught up in their own little bubbles they fail to actually help the people who need it and I think that's a major oversight on their part.
His credentials are pretty cool. I've watched him quite a bit.
Not just any food delivery service is going to serve up a jar of oil :D. It's deep
And on that note, I'm off to walk my flock of sheep 🐑🐑🐑
I had many holidays in Mediterranean countries,but got fed up with all those noodles . I don’t think that’s healthy