What's so great about the Mediterranean diet - and how can you get started?

The summer may feel long gone but as you head into the autumn, you can still dream of cosy meals with friends and family. Enjoying delicious and nutritious food together the Mediterranean way is great for your health and happiness!

Cuisines from countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Southern France come under the umbrella of the ‘Mediterranean diet’ which is the most researched of all diets and is considered to be one of the most beneficial for overall health. ¹

The Mediterranean diet and lifestyle

It’s not only the food but also the sharing of cooking activities and mealtimes with family and friends which further enhances the enormous health benefits of this diet. ¹⁰ In fact, UNESCO has recognised the Mediterranean diet as a cultural heritage of humanity due to the consumption of local produce, sustainable farming methods as well as culinary practices and social traditions. ¹¹

Positive influences on your gut microbiome

The beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet on your gut microbes are largely down to the higher intake of polyphenols, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and the diversity of fibre.¹²

Numerous benefits to overall health:

Reduces blood lipids including less LDL cholesterol ¹⁸
Protects against oxidative stress and inflammation ¹⁹
Helps to lower the risk of blood clots ²⁰
Modifies the gut microbiome to produce beneficial substances ²¹

These physiological effects help to prevent a number of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, breast cancer and obesity. ²², ²³, ²⁴, ²⁵ In fact, scientists would go as far as to say the Mediterranean diet “is associated with a reduction of all-cause mortality” ²⁶

If you’d like to find out more about your own gut health, consider a Microbiome Test which examines how well your gut microbiome is functioning by examining five key areas: bacterial diversity, probiotics, pathogens, fibre synthesis and butyrate production. The test includes a 30-minute private consultation with one of our nutritional therapists who will go through your results with you and answer any of your gut-related questions.

The basic principles of the Mediterranean diet are incorporated into our own Gut Health Diet, but with the valuable addition of probiotics and prebiotics.

Get inspired with some of our delicious gut healthy recipes, here: https://www.chucklinggoat.co.uk/blog/categories/?_categories=recipes