Mediterranean Diet
- Sammi Williams
- Nov 1, 2024
- 2 min read
The traditional Mediterranean diet is considered one of the best in the world where people in European countries who eat this way, have shown to have longer life spans and less chronic illness than other parts of the world. It has also been shown in research, to be very beneficial to any system in our bodies and that the effect is has on our brain and mental health is quite outstanding.
As our Food in Medicine topic this month the literature that I studied from points out that some specific nutrients are very beneficial and one of these nutrients is lycopene which is the red pigment found in tomatoes and carotenoids which is the orange pigment found in carrots and sweet potatoes.
I'm going to share a bit of history about the carrot here...
'Some historians believe the carrot originated in Afghanistan where purple and deep red varieties can still be found growing (Allen, 2020).
During the first century CE, the Greeks cultivated a variety of root crops including leeks, onions, radishes, turnips and a poorly developed variety of carrots (Allen, 2020). The unpleasant tasting carrots were rarely eaten but were applied medicinally, (Higdon J.D, 2011). Though the Greeks excelled in cultivating many food plants, they never succeeded in developing the carrot into a flavourful vegetable (Allen, 2020).
During the 16th century avid Dutch horticulturists began improving the colour and flavour of carrots. The truly orange carrot, indicating the presence of beta-carotene, is attributed to Dutch cultivation and is depicted in Flemish paintings in the 17th and 18th centuries (Allen, 2020).'
So 100g of carrots contains 88.6g of water, 5.0g of sugars (1.1 fructose, 1.4g glucose, 2.5g sucrose) and 3.9g fibre (Food Standards, 2019)
Other foods that are included in the Mediterranean Diet are sweet potatoes and are among one of the most nutritious vegetables as they are excellent sources of antioxidants and beta-carotene and vitamin C. Nuts and seeds including almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts and macadamias and seeds such as sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds.
Have a look at this link to the Food Revolution Network about the Mediterranean Diet...
Some of the recipes are really yummy too. I also follow the Blue Zones and love reading about how they live and what they eat. Their lifestyles are very simple and very traditional too. Lots of community involvement when it comes to cooking and socialising. I love that.
Source: Nature Care College Study notes and Food Revolution Network.
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