Nuts In Mediterranean Diet
The foundation of the mediterranean diet is vegetables fruits herbs nuts beans and whole grains.
Nuts in mediterranean diet. Moderate amounts of dairy poultry and eggs are also central to the mediterranean diet as is seafood. Hazelnuts are a good source of b vitamins like thiamine and folate. Meals are built around these plant based foods. Adding nuts and seeds to pasta dishes fish soups sauces vegetables and even desserts is a delicious way to incorporate more protein more fiber more heart healthy fats and most importantly more flavor.
Hazelnuts also known as filberts and largely produced in turkey were one of the three nuts used in a large scale mediterranean diet study on heart health in 2013. The researchers used almonds hazelnuts and walnuts to show that the mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts one of the groups monitored greatly reduces risk. And in practice following a mediterranean diet plan is associated with lower risk of hypertension cardiovascular disease type 2 diabetes high cholesterol atherosclerosis cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as alzheimer s disease. The mediterranean diet doesn t restrict the kinds of tree nuts you can eat.
Diets such as almonds cashews hazelnuts pecans macadamia nuts and walnuts and less familiar types including ginkgo and lichee nuts. But more than this the mediterranean diet aims to encapsulate a healthy lifestyle. More than 40 types of tree nuts exist worldwide. The mediterranean diet emphasizes fruits vegetables whole grains fish legumes nuts and seeds.
It is not uncommon for vegetables whole grains and legumes to make up all or most of a meal. With the mediterranean diet as your guide it is easy to go nuts for nuts. However whatever vegetables are local and seasonal to you are fine. The mediterranean diet emphasizes tomatoes leafy green vegetables eggplant broccoli and carrots.
The mediterranean diet is based on the traditional foods that people used to eat in countries like italy and greece back in 1960. They grow abundantly throughout greece and their high fat and protein content makes them both accessible and satiating not to mention delicious. These include ones common in u s. Nuts and seed have been an indispensable part of the mediterranean greek diet for millennia.
The important thing is to eat fruits and vegetables from a variety of color groups ensuring you get a wide profile of critical nutrients european food information council 2015. Researchers noted that these people were exceptionally healthy.