The Mediterranean Diet – A Quick Summary

The Mediterranean diet, celebrated for its health benefits, emphasises the consumption of whole foods such as whole grains, vibrant vegetables, luscious fruits, nourishing nuts, and pulses/legumes.

To further elevate its nutritional prowess, the Mediterranean diet advocates for the incorporation of extra virgin (cold-pressed) olive oil, a rich source of heart-healthy unsaturated fats. This dietary approach also encourages moderate consumption of fish, lean meats, and dairy products, while recommending that individuals exercise moderation when it comes to indulging in red meat and sugar.

Widely recognized worldwide as a powerful tool in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and other lifestyle-related ailments, the Mediterranean diet utilises a predominantly plant-based eating pattern, emphasizing minimally processed whole foods and the inclusion of nourishing fats from sources such as olive oil, nuts, and seeds.

The DASH Diet – A Quick Summary

The DASH diet, too, includes lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products. It promotes the intake of fish, poultry, nuts, and beans but restricts sugar-sweetened beverages, red meat, and “unhealthy” fats (saturated and trans fats). It also encourages the consumption of potassium, calcium, and magnesium-rich foods while limiting the intake of sodium-rich foods. 

The DASH diet was first designed to lower blood pressure, hence the term DASH – Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension. This dietary approach largely focuses on reducing sodium intake while promoting potassium-rich foods to help reduce high blood pressure.  

History of the Mediterranean Diet

Ancel Keys, an American physician and researcher, emerged as one of the pioneering voices suggesting that the Mediterranean diet could serve as a protective shield against heart disease. His curiosity was piqued when he observed the remarkable longevity of individuals residing in Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Southern Italy, where a significant number of people living into their 100s could be found. Interestingly, Keys himself lived to the age of 100, which perhaps adds a touch of intrigue to his findings.

Keys’ groundbreaking study, widely known as the Seven Countries Study, revolutionized our understanding of the impact of diet and exercise on cardiovascular health. The study highlighted the critical role played by high serum cholesterol levels, elevated blood pressure, and smoking as major risk factors for coronary heart disease. However, even after accounting for these risk factors, striking disparities in cardiovascular mortality rates persisted between “Western” countries like the United States and their Mediterranean counterparts. It was during this era that the differences in dietary patterns between the Western world and Mediterranean regions began to take centre stage as a potential explanation for these disparities.

The lower mortality rates in the Mediterranean countries prompted researchers to begin to look at the difference in eating patterns between the countries – from here research on the “Mediterranean diet” began and many health benefits became apparent which we’ll discuss later on!

History of the DASH Diet

The DASH diet initially emerged in the 1990s, first established in 1997 by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to reduce blood pressure.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) began sponsoring many research initiatives to determine whether specific dietary treatments could help alleviate hypertension. They discovered that food interventions alone could reduce systolic blood pressure by 6-11 mmHg.

This impact was noticed both in hypertensive as well as normotensive patients. Based on these results, the DASH diet has been advocated as a first-line treatment for hypertension.

Basic Principles of the Mediterranean Diet

• The Mediterranean diet encourages the consumption of various whole, unprocessed foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, pulses, legumes, and nuts.
  
  
• It also promotes the consumption of healthy fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids from natural food sources like nuts, seeds, olive oil and fatty fish.
  
  
• The consumption of non-vegetarian protein is recommended from lean proteins like chicken, turkey and fish.
  
  
• It emphasises the social and cultural importance of food such as enjoying the meal with your family and taking time to relish your meals.

Basic Principles of the DASH Diet

• Like the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet encourages the consumption of minimally processed whole foods like whole grains, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, lean protein and low-fat dairy products.
  
  
• The diet restricts the consumption of trans fats and saturated fats while promoting the intake of healthy unsaturated fats.
  
  
• The main objective of this diet is to encourage an eating pattern that reduces sodium intake. For an average person, the recommended sodium intake is around 2300 mg/day (about 1 teaspoon!). People at risk of developing hypertension or who already have hypertension should restrict their sodium intake to 1500 mg/day.
  
  
• The DASH diet encourages the intake of potassium-rich fruits and vegetables, which may have positive impacts on lowering blood pressure.
  
  
• The diet recommends reducing your intake of sugary drinks and sweetened beverages.
  
  
• It advocates limiting alcohol consumption.
  
  

The Mediterranean Diet – What Foods Should I Eat (or Avoid)?

You can have all kinds of vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes, fish, seafood, chicken, turkey, herbs, spices, and condiments. Just ensure you eat them fresh and with no/minimal processing.

TOP TIP: steam your vegetables, don’t boil them. Steaming retains the most nutrients, when we boil them, a lot of the nutrients leach into the water.

You can enjoy red wine and dairy products in moderation. Red meat can be eaten occasionally (focus on fresh, lean red meat). Try to cut down on refined sugars, processed foods, sweets, butter, margarine, and an excess salt intake while on this diet.

The DASH Diet – What Foods Should I Eat (or Avoid)?

Foods to include in this diet are pretty similar to the Mediterranean diet – munch on fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, pulses and healthy unsaturated fats from vegetable oil, avocados, seeds and nuts.

The main “avoid” in the DASH diet is high levels of sodium, so, in other words, limit your salt intake. The DASH diet aims to bring us back down to that one teaspoon of salt per day (2300mg) – in some cases, the DASH diet can limit salt to 1500 mg/day.

Consumption of processed foods, sugary foods, unhealthy saturated and trans fats and red meat should be limited, alcohol should also be consumed in moderate amounts.

Potential Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

• The Mediterranean diet has been shown to help reduce many diseases and health conditions – cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and even the risk of Alzheimer’s disease!
  
  
• People who follow the Mediterranean diet have a several times lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who don’t. The diet also improves glycaemic control (keeping your blood sugars balanced) in people with prediabetes/diabetes.
  
  
• Another significant health benefit of this diet is its ability to promote heart health due to being rich in healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats, antioxidants and other cardiac health-promoting nutrients.
  
  
• The diet is loaded with natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients and thus helps reduce oxidative stress, free radical damage, and inflammation.
  
  
• It reduces the risk of cognitive decline and subsequent development of neurodegenerative ailments.
  
  
• It’s also been shown to decrease the incidence of malignancies, especially breast, liver, respiratory, bladder, gastric, head and neck cancer.
  
  

Potential Health Benefits of the DASH Diet

• The primary benefit of this diet is its ability to decrease and manage blood pressure.
  
  

• By helping reduce blood pressure, it can enhance cardiovascular health.
  
  
• The DASH diet has been shown to have beneficial effects on the management of blood glucose levels in diabetes patients and improve insulin resistance.
  
  
• It can help reduce the amount of “bad” LDL cholesterol, too much LDL cholesterol can lead to plaque developing in our arteries and increasing the risk of a cardiac event, like a heart attack.
  
  
• Due to the high amount of dietary fibre present in this diet, it can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.
  
  
• The diet can help people with weight loss and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
  
  

Mediterranean VS DASH – Which One?

When it comes to identifying the best diets with a more “clinical” focus, the DASH diet undeniably shines as one of the top contenders. This meticulously formulated dietary plan has gained recognition for its ability to effectively reduce blood pressure. If your aim is to prioritise blood pressure management, and a trusted medical professional has deemed it safe for you, embracing the DASH diet emerges as the optimal choice among the best diets available.

If you are looking for a general healthier approach to eating, the Mediterranean diet can provide this. This dietary pattern brings with it an array of health benefits – lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive diseases, type 2 diabetes and more!

How Do I Get Started?

In the case of the Mediterranean diet, start by making small changes, like replacing your major carbohydrates with whole grain alternatives, increasing the servings of fruits and vegetables per day and cutting down on processed foods. 

Here are a few more quick tips:

• Switch to olive oil – I am always ranting about the benefits of olive oil (as I did in my blog about Greek salads). 
  
  
• Try incorporating seafood into your diet at least 2-3 times weekly. 
  
  
• If you can’t go without alcohol, try getting accustomed to red wines rather than other varieties.
  
  
• Swap out fizzy drinks for low-sugar flavoured water (or plain old water!).

The DASH diet, too, can be started by increasing the intake of whole and unprocessed foods, increasing the servings of fruits and vegetables, avoiding foods with trans fats and limiting alcohol consumption.

Here are a few more quick tips:

• Try replacing your saturated fats from processed foods with healthy, unsaturated fats from nuts, seeds and fish.
  
  
• Try flavouring and seasoning your food with natural fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs and condiments rather than salt.
  
  
• Take a look at your diet and see where your sources of sodium are coming from, next time you do your food shop try and look for lower salt alternatives! For example, go for the lower-salt version of soy sauce, munch on unsalted nuts and look out for low-sodium salad dressings.

The Bottom Line

The Mediterranean and DASH diets both emphasise healthy and mindful eating. Being rich in whole foods like grains, legumes, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, lean protein and healthy fats, both of these diets can help you enhance your overall health and cut down the risk of developing chronic diseases.

The Mediterranean diet is more of a generic, “healthy diet” and is a way of eating to improve overall health. Although the DASH diet’s main focus is on reducing blood pressure, it too can enhance overall health and well-being by making simple dietary changes towards a more whole food approach.