Embracing the Journey to an Authentic You through a Mediterranean Diet

As we continue the journey to embrace the authentic you, I am going to share about one of my favorite ways to eat and in celebration of this upcoming Greece trip! Our CEO + Founder and nutrition podcast co-host for Stacked Intent is headed to Greece, so I thought it appropriate to highlight one of my favorite parts of the Mediterranean… the food! You may have heard of the Mediterranean Diet before and you have written it off as being another one of those fancy “fad diets”, but the Mediterranean Diet is not really a diet in the sense that you follow it for a brief time to achieve a desired weight goal. Rather, it is an evidence-based lifestyle pattern of eating that has been proven to support heart and brain health. Rooted in the traditional eating habits of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, such as Greece, Italy, and Spain, this diet emphasizes whole foods, healthy fats, and a balanced approach to nutrition.

The Mediterranean Diet is very similar to the pattern prescribed by the American Heart Association’s Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet with a greater emphasis on vegetable consumption, healthy fats and plant-based proteins, rather than meat. The Mediterranean-style diet has been proven to play a big role in the reduction of chronic disease risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Wholistically, what you eat affects various aspects of your health, and the foods that make up this eating pattern that have been found to be good for your heart also support brain health. Both the Mediterranean and DASH diets have been proven to beneficial to your ticker and your thinker!

The Mediterranean Diet includes foods that offer multiple beneficial nutrients that work together to aid your body, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, beans and legumes. These foods have many different vitamins and nutrients, fiber, plant protein, and antioxidants that aid in digestion, immune health, energy production and cell repair. The dietary pattern also emphasizes incorporating foods high in healthy monounsaturated fats like olive oil, avocados, nuts and oily fish.  While many trending diets focus on decreasing carbohydrate intake, the Mediterranean Diet encourages the consumption of whole grains that are packed with important nutrients like fiber, iron, and B Vitamins that help control cholesterol levels, weight and blood pressure, lowering risk for diabetes, heart disease and other chronic health conditions.

There are so many health benefits to gain from this dietary pattern of eating, not to mention the opportunity to savor the rich flavors that are found in these foods. Exploring the Mediterranean Diet can be an exciting and tasty adventure, and we can’t wait to hear about Becca’s experience after her trip! Stay tuned and be authentically YOU!

For more information, check out the American Heart Association’s website: https://bit.ly/3ScYxHG . Listen to our podcast episode where we talked about the Mediterranean Diet.