Almost everything is known about the Mediterranean diet, famous all over the world and based mainly on fruit, vegetables, olive oil, whole grains and fish, and on the reduction of sweets, red meats and animal fats. health are universally recognized.
For some time, however, there has also been a lot of talk about a new version of the Mediterranean diet, which travels parallel to it but has some differences that according to some would make it even healthier: the green Mediterranean diet.
and potentially healthy. The main difference is the elimination of red meat and, but in this case on an optional level, the introduction of green tea and a specific type of vegetable smoothie.of Oldways which serves as a guide to the classic Mediterranean diet, the consumption of red and processed meats should be limited to one-off. In the green one, however, this type of food is eliminated entirely, with poultry and fish replacing beef and lamb.
Furthermore, in this green variant other small tricks are provided.
Foods to insert
Specifically, to properly follow the green Mediterranean diet, you should take:
- 3-4 cups of green tea a day,
- 28 grams of nuts per day,
- 100 grams per day of cubes of Wolffia globose (a plant also known as Asian water meal or duckweed) consumed in the form of a drink,
- unlimited vegetables,
- legumes,
- fish,
- poultry,
- fruit,
- olive oil as the main source of fat.
Foods to avoid
Banned completely instead:
- red meats such as beef and lamb,
- processed meats and sausages such as bacon, sausage, ham and cold cuts of all kinds,
- sweets and added sugars in general,
- saturated fats such as butter.
In addition to these, two recent studies have attributed other specific benefits to the green Mediterranean diet.
Waist reduction
According to what emerged from the observations, people who followed the green Mediterranean diet for six months saw a decrease in their waistline ranging from two to four centimeters more than those who limited themselves to following a healthy diet. This benefit, however, would be more evident in men than women.
Improved heart health
Eating the green Mediterranean diet for six months would also help reduce cholesterol and blood pressure in adults, much more significantly than not following it. According to what was testified in the same studies, in those who embrace this new green philosophy, lower levels of an inflammatory compound called C-reactive protein (CRP) would also have emerged.
In these cases, however, the differences with the classic Mediterranean diet were minimal. Eating healthily, as required by the traditional version of this diet, already leads to these benefits, as further evidenced by studies.
What emerged is simply that in the people chosen to follow the Green version, these positive events happened in an even more significant way.
Improved liver health
The researchers also observed that the people involved in this study and subjected to a green diet, lowered the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, more than those who had followed the classic Mediterranean diet.
The green Mediterranean diet also appears to lead to the loss of fat in the liver. This event is very important for maintaining the overall health of the body, because an increase in fat in the liver is linked to a number of unhealthy factors such as a decrease in insulin resistance, a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease and a less diversity of the intestinal microbiome.
, the green Mediterranean diet has no particular cons, even if before undertaking it the good practice remains valid, fundamental in view of any food choice, of contacting your doctor or a nutritionist. Specific advice, in fact, serves to ensure that this regimen, as well as others, is suitable to follow, also based on one's personal health history and the objectives that are set for oneself.
The only food present in it that is difficult to find is duckweed, an edible vegetable protein and a source of both vegetable proteins and good omega-3 fats, both of which are essential for general well-being. However, in case you can't find it, you can get similar nutritional benefits from protein powders like hemp, chia or flax.
