The Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest ways of eating and it’s about as far from a fad diet as you can get. Australia’s leading Mediterranean diet expert, Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos, shares how you can embrace a healthy Mediterranean Diet and a beetroot recipe.
It was traditionally a poor man’s diet that’s largely plant-based because there was not a lot of meat. It’s also high in fat, specifically plant fats like nuts and olive oil, and this difference is one of the key aspects that makes eating Mediterranean so healthy.
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In fact studies on Mediterranean diet are literally changing the way we are eating. The PREDIMED study – the world’s largest study on the Mediterranean diet – proved a high fat Mediterranean diet, boosted with extra nuts or olive oil, was far more beneficial for preventing heart disease than a low fat diet. The evidence was so convincing governments around the world, including Australia, had to rewrite dietary guidelines and recommend eating more plant sources of good fat.
And it’s just one of many studies. The healthy high-fat Mediterranean diet has been shown to improve memory, significantly cut the risk of diabetes, and reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. Recent Australian studies have also found it can reverse symptoms of depression and fatty liver. Importantly all these benefits have been observed without any sign of weight gain, actually it often helps to drop kilos.
This compelling evidence is finally helping us shake the fat phobias from the 1980s. Hearing so much positive news about good fats is encouraging Australians to embrace them – ten years ago, who would have thought that adding nuts to a smoothies or smashing avocado on your toast would be the norm!
So how can you embrace good fats and gain the benefits of the healthy high-fat Mediterranean diet? The good news is it’s not about cooking traditional Moussaka. To gain the health benefits you simply need to embrace the key ingredients of the Mediterranean diet.
Four Steps To Embracing A Healthy High-Fat Mediterranean Diet
Go Nuts – literally
Nuts should be a go-to snack and something that’s eaten every day. You should be aiming for at least a handful or 30 grams, on average Australians eat just 6 grams of nut a day. The biggest study on the Mediterranean diet shows when it is boosted with an extra handful of nuts a day it can reduce the risk of heart disease by 30% and diabetes by 52% without any weight gain.
Make Olive Oil the Go To Fat
On the Mediterranean diet we recommend 3-4 tablespoons or 60ml of olive oil a day. That may sound like a lot but it’s really just about making olive oil your main added fat from cooking to dressing and even spreads.
Swap meat for oily fish
Eat smaller portions of meat less often, no more than once or twice a week. Instead switch to fish or legumes as an alternate source of protein. When eating fish choose oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines that are high in omega 3 fish oil.
Veggies are a must at very meal
Increase your veggies, especially try to eat more leafy greens and tomatoes. While a traditional Australian dinner may be meat and two veg, a typical Mediterranean dinner plate would hold four times as much veggies as it would meat or seafood. So change the ratios from 2:1 to 4:1.
Beetroot, Green Runner Bean, Walnuts and Goat’s Milk Feta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
1 bunch (700 g) beetroot
100 g green runner beans, ends removed
2 tablespoons crushed walnuts
¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
¼ cup (60 ml) balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
freshly milled sea-salt to taste
50 g feta cheese
Method
1. Remove and dispose of the roots from beetroot, remove the leaves and place to one side.
2. Place beetroot in a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Add leaves and cook another 30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, drain and set aside to cool.
5. Cut cooled beetroot into wedges (8–10 per beetroot) and place in a serving bowl with leaves.
6. Add beans to a small saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool.
7. Add cooled beans and walnuts to beetroot and toss gently.
8. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, garlic and salt and toss again.
9. Crumble over feta and serve