The truth about the Mediterranean diet

Each day this week, we examine one of the world’s most popular diets. Putting the latest scientific evidence under the microscope, we’ll discover these diets' true impact on your health.

Today, we’re talking about the Mediterranean diet. This indulgent diet champions vegetables, beans, fish, and even red wine, all with a liberal helping of extra virgin olive oil.

However, this relatively high-fat diet undergoes many regional adaptations, and the wide range of options can be confusing, even intimidating, if you’re not that confident in the kitchen.

In this special episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan is joined by Christopher Gardner, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and the Director of Nutrition Studies at Stanford Prevention Research Center. Together, they discuss this diet's potential health benefits and pitfalls.

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Timecodes:

00:00Introduction

00:42Topic Intro

02:42What is the concept of the Mediterranean diet?

04:22Why do we have more data on this diet?

06:08What are the main differences between this and other diets?

07:30How much meat is in the Mediterranean diet?

08:20Is the Mediterranean diet a “whole food” diet?

09:10How do whole grains fit into this diet?

10:06Where do oils and legumes come into this?

11:31What happens when you switch from a US/UK-centric diet to a Mediterranean diet?

13:23What is going on inside the body to deliver the health benefits?

14:08What are the possible challenges of the Mediterranean diet?

16:05Keto vs. Mediterranean diet study

19:09What's the verdict?

19:50Outro

Mentioned in today’s episode:

• Adherenceto Ketogenic and Mediterranean Study Diets in a Crossover Trial: The Keto-Med Randomized Trial, from Nutrients
• Effectof a ketogenic diet versus Mediterranean diet on glycated hemoglobin in individuals with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus, from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.