The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: Beyond Food Groups

           The Mediterranean diet is based on the traditional diet of the Mediterranean region, and is very different than the typical American diet.

            The Mediterranean diet is based off the pyramid system, similar to what you might have learned in grade school when the USDA used a Food Pyramid or MyPyramid to model a balanced diet. The Mediterranean diet pyramid is based off your weekly intake rather than your daily intake.  The core elements of the diet include a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grain grains/cereals, and olive oil at each meal. Meat is not a necessary element in each meal.  In fact, meats are broken down weekly, allotting 10 meals a week with meat, and 2-4 meals with eggs. If you eat three meals a day, that would mean more than half of your meals for the week would be vegetarian!  In a typical western diet, almost all of our meals have meat in them, so eating more vegetarian meals may be a big adjustment for some. What might be an even bigger adjustment?  2 sweet treats a week.  A week!

            In addition, the Mediterranean diet pyramid adds some specific components that might seem unusual.  In the typical ChooseMyPlate, or what many of us grew up knowing as MyPyramid, food is simple. There were 5 simple food groups: grains, fruits, vegetables, meats & beans, and milk.  The Mediterranean diet not only separates different types of meats and dairy, but it also adds specific foods like potatoes, olives, olive oils, and wine as well as teas, herbs, and spices.  Why are these items specifically added?  Part has to do with the culture of eating in the Mediterranean region.  Many dishes traditionally are made with a variety of herbs and spices, and drinking a single glass of wine with lunch and dinner is a common practice. 

            Another interesting things about the Mediterranean diet pyramid is the base of the pyramid.   It consists of seven elements: physical activity, rest, water, conviviality (or a social aspect), biodiversity and seasonality, traditional and eco-friendly practices, and culinary activity.  The base adds elements to a well-balanced diet that we typically don’t include when thinking of as elements to the diet.  This being said, these activities focus on a balanced lifestyle, in which food is built on the foundation of that lifestyle.  You may find that it is more difficult to eat healthy when you are tired, weak, alone, and lack the resources to cook.  Having rest, being physically active, eating with friends and family, and taking the necessary time to cook allows for you to be intentional with your meals, and lays the foundation for healthy eating habits.  The Mediterranean diet pyramid is unique in that it includes lifestyle factors at all.

          What makes this diet so interesting is that it takes into consideration multiple environmental and cultural factors, as well as encourages health of body and mind. 

            Here are the visual representations of the Mediterranean Diet pyramid and the ChooseMyPlate:

Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, photo from https://dietamediterranea.com/en/nutrition/

Choose MyPlate, photo from https://www.choosemyplate.gov/myplate-graphic-resources

            You can compare the Mediterranean Diet pyramid to the US ChooseMyPlate standards by visiting the websites listed below:

Mediterranean Diet: https://dietamediterranea.com/en/nutrition

ChooseMyPlate: https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate

TB

References:

1. What’s the Mediterranean Diet? Fundación Dieta Mediterránea.

 https://dietamediterranea.com/en/nutrition/. Updated 2018. Accessed November 13, 2018.

2. United States Department of Agriculture. What is MyPlate? ChooseMyPlate https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate. Accessed November 13, 2018.

3. Johnston JL, Fanzo JC, Cogill B.  Understanding sustainable diets: a descriptive analysis of the determinants and processes that influence diets and their impacts on health, food security, and environmental sustainability. Advances in Nutrition. 2014; 5: 418-429; doi: 10.3945/an.113.005553.