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Mediterranean Diet: Everything you Need To Know | Nutritionist Explains | Myprotein
Jan 30, 2025
Expert nutritionist explains what the Mediterranean diet is, what it isn't, how it works and the health benefits.
So what exactly is the Mediterranean diet? It’s a diet based on how people eat, all around the Mediterranean Sea. It was originally based on the way people ate in places like Greece, Italy, the south of France and Spain and became popular because of a very famous nutritionist named Ancel Keys. Dr Richie Kirwarn tells us why we shouldn’t call the Mediterranean diet, a diet.
What are your thoughts on the Mediterranean diet? Let us know in the comments below ⬇️
Follow Richie on IG: dr.richie.kirwan
***
Chapters:
00:00 - The Mediterranean diet
02:19 - Food groups
03:29 - Benefits
04:08 - Deficits
05:16 - Fats
06:00 - Fibre
06:35 - Plants
07:48 - Nitrates
10:45 - Any questions?
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
did the Italians and the Greeks really
0:01
figure out the best diet for us all
0:06
[Music]
0:09
how's it going guys my name's Richie
0:11
Kerwin and today we're going to talk
0:13
about one of the most popular diets of
0:15
the last 20 years a diet that I use in
0:19
my own research the Mediterranean diet
0:22
we'll talk about what it is and what it
0:24
isn't how it works its health benefits
0:26
and most importantly why you shouldn't
0:29
call it a diet now before we start as
0:32
always I want to make it clear that I'm
0:34
not recommending you follow a
0:35
Mediterranean diet as with all my videos
0:38
the point is to explain how and why a
0:41
diet might have an effect so you can
0:44
make the informed decisions about how to
0:47
eat yourself if you ever hear someone
0:49
recommending only one specific diet for
0:52
everyone then that's a pretty good
0:54
indicator that they're full of because
0:56
that's not how Nutrition Works so what
0:59
exactly is the Mediterranean diet well
1:02
it's a diet based on the way people eat
1:04
all around the Mediterranean Sea the
1:06
modern version was originally based on
1:08
the way people ate in places like Greece
1:10
Italy the south of France and Spain and
1:13
became popular because of a very famous
1:15
nutritionist named Ansel Keys even
1:18
though when you might think about the
1:19
Mediterranean diet you might
1:20
automatically think of Italian Cuisine
1:22
like pasta risotto antipasti the truth
1:26
is the Mediterranean diet is incredibly
1:28
diverse and includes the Cuisines from
1:30
all the countries around the
1:32
Mediterranean like turkey the Balkans
1:34
the Middle East North Africa and
1:35
Portugal which all have many
1:38
similarities in terms of ingredients
1:40
like I mentioned the Mediterranean diet
1:42
was popularized by Ansel keys and he was
1:45
famous because he was responsible for
1:47
the seven country study which was first
1:49
published in 1966 but continued for
1:52
years after that that study found a
1:54
relationship between higher levels of
1:56
saturated fat in the diet and higher
1:58
levels of cholesterol in the blood and
2:00
the risk of heart disease they also
2:02
noticed that in countries with higher
2:04
intakes of olive oil heart disease death
2:06
rates were very very low
2:09
and as these countries were mostly
2:10
around the Mediterranean Sea a lot of
2:12
interest started in understanding the
2:14
health benefits of the Mediterranean
2:16
diet so what makes up the Mediterranean
2:18
diet well typically it's high in fruits
2:21
and vegetables especially tomatoes and
2:23
tomato sauces it's high in whole or
2:25
minimally processed grains and legumes
2:28
like beans peas and lentils
2:30
it has moderate amounts of seafood nuts
2:33
and dairy products and is usually lower
2:35
in fatty red and processed Meats Lauren
2:38
butter cream and margarines and low in
2:40
processed foods and sweets but without a
2:44
doubt the most famous and defining
2:46
feature of the Mediterranean diet is
2:48
olive oil
2:49
besides the foods that make up the
2:51
Mediterranean diet in terms of macros
2:53
it's made up of about 40 fat which
2:55
sounds quite High compared to low-fat
2:57
diets but it's made up of mostly olive
2:59
oil about 40 carbs and about 20 protein
3:02
on average
3:03
now you might be wondering why it's such
3:06
a popular diet well simply put a huge
3:09
amount of research has been done on the
3:11
Mediterranean diet in the last 50 years
3:13
and that has been found to be beneficial
3:15
to Health in a huge number of ways from
3:18
reducing the risk of heart disease to
3:21
weight loss the blood glucose control
3:23
and diabetes prevention two improvements
3:25
in cognitive or brain function and lower
3:27
risk of fatty liver disease the
3:29
Mediterranean diet has shown benefits
3:31
for a huge amount of chronic lifestyle
3:35
diseases and just in case you're not
3:37
familiar with the term lifestyle
3:38
diseases these are diseases that are
3:40
often the result of a poor diet with
3:42
excess calories and a lack of physical
3:44
activity so as you can imagine lifestyle
3:46
diseases are pretty common right now but
3:49
why is it that the Mediterranean diet is
3:51
so beneficial for health where does the
3:53
magic of the diet come from well that's
3:55
the thing you can't say that the effects
3:57
of a diet are down to any one food in
3:59
isolation because the health effects of
4:01
a diet are usually the sum of its parts
4:04
and in the case of the Mediterranean
4:05
diet it has a lot of different parts so
4:09
let's start with what a traditional
4:10
Mediterranean diet doesn't usually have
4:13
a lot of
4:14
first off it has lower amounts of fatty
4:17
red meat processed meat butter cream and
4:19
processed food
4:21
because of that a Mediterranean diet is
4:23
lower in saturated fat now saturated fat
4:26
on its own isn't a problem all foods
4:28
contain some saturated fats but when we
4:30
eat too much saturated fat it can cause
4:33
our blood cholesterol levels to get
4:35
higher
4:36
that's a problem because high blood
4:38
cholesterol for many years increases the
4:40
risk of heart disease which is the
4:42
number one killer worldwide on top of
4:45
that the low amount of processed food in
4:47
the diet means someone is less likely to
4:49
overeat and develop excess body fat
4:51
which can help contribute to someone's
4:52
risk of heart disease diabetes and
4:54
metabolic syndrome it might be a
4:56
surprise to some of you but Ultra
4:58
processed foods account for over half of
5:00
the calories that we eat in countries
5:01
like the UK and the United States now
5:03
like I said in terms of beneficial
5:05
components the Mediterranean diet has a
5:08
lot let's start with one of the most
5:10
well-known components of diet it's fat
5:12
content you see a Mediterranean diet is
5:15
known for having high amounts of
5:16
unsaturated fat especially
5:19
monounsaturated fats
5:21
those most commonly come from olive oil
5:23
and also from nuts monounsaturated fats
5:26
when they replace saturated fat in the
5:28
diet help to reduce our LDL cholesterol
5:31
levels and that's thought to be one of
5:32
the major benefits of a Mediterranean
5:34
diet by reducing our risk of heart
5:36
disease and other diseases associated
5:39
with our blood vessels even cognitive
5:41
decline
5:42
the diet can also contain useful amounts
5:45
of long-chain Omega-3 polyunsaturated
5:47
fatty acids which come from oily fish
5:48
like salmon tuna and mackerel higher
5:50
intakes of fish are associated with a
5:52
lower risk of cardiovascular disease
5:54
lower blood triglycerides and better
5:56
cognitive function next up another
5:58
nutrient that's really high in the
6:00
Mediterranean diet is fiber which comes
6:02
from a lot of different sources
6:03
including fruits vegetables nuts whole
6:06
grains and legumes High intakes of fiber
6:08
are beneficial for health in a number of
6:10
ways fiber can help reduce the amount of
6:12
cholesterol that we absorb from our
6:14
digestive system which reduces our blood
6:16
cholesterol levels too fiber can be
6:18
really beneficial by slowing the
6:19
absorption of carbs into our bloodstream
6:21
too which improves blood glucose control
6:23
and reduces insulin resistance higher
6:26
intakes of fiber may also help to lower
6:27
our risk of certain cancers like colon
6:29
cancer too next up the Mediterranean
6:32
diet has a high amount of plant or
6:34
phytochemicals like polyphenols
6:36
now polyphenols aren't essential
6:38
nutrients meaning we don't need them to
6:40
survive what they can have beneficial
6:42
effects on our health anyway they can be
6:45
found in dark colored fruit and
6:46
vegetables nuts and legumes tomatoes for
6:49
example are really high in a polyphenol
6:51
called lycopene and another component of
6:52
tomato sauces onions contain the
6:55
polyphenol korsten
6:57
polyphenols are an absolutely massive
6:59
group of different chemicals and they
7:00
work in many different ways in our body
7:03
one of the ways they seem to work is by
7:05
increasing our body's production of
7:06
antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
7:08
compounds helping to lower markers of
7:10
inflammation in the body this is one way
7:13
that polyphenols can improve endothelial
7:15
function the endothelium is the layer of
7:18
cells lining our blood vessels and
7:20
healthier blood vessels are linked with
7:22
a lower chance of developing heart
7:23
disease polyphenols can also lead to
7:25
better production of nitric oxide in our
7:27
blood which helps blood vessels to
7:29
expand and may help lower blood pressure
7:31
some polyphenols also work by a process
7:34
called hormesis hormesis is when the
7:36
body activates protective mechanisms in
7:38
response to a mild stress like a plant
7:40
chemical and overall that has a
7:42
beneficial effect on health another
7:44
major nutrient in Mediterranean diets
7:46
may be nitrates nitrates are made up of
7:49
nitrogen and oxygen and are found in
7:51
large amounts in dark green leafy
7:53
vegetables like spinach and lettuce root
7:55
vegetables like beetroot and even in
7:57
rhubarb High intakes of nitrates can
7:59
lead to the production of higher levels
8:01
of nitric oxide in the blood like I said
8:03
earlier nitric oxide is a gas that has
8:05
many important effects in the body
8:07
including muscle contraction muscle cell
8:09
differentiation glucose and calcium
8:11
homeostasis and mitochondrial
8:13
respiration and biogenesis but by far
8:16
one of the most important functions of
8:17
nitric oxide is as a vasodilator
8:21
that means it can help blood vessels to
8:23
expand reduce blood pressure and even
8:25
reduce the likelihood of blood clotting
8:28
excessively all of which can improve
8:30
brain and cardiovascular health
8:32
if this sounds familiar it's because
8:34
high nitrate vegetables just like
8:35
beetroot juice are often used as sport
8:38
supplements to help improve blood flow
8:40
just like we mentioned which can improve
8:42
sports performance
8:43
so if you're not worried about your
8:44
heart health maybe better gym sessions
8:46
would be a good reason for you to get
8:48
more veggies in your diet honestly there
8:50
are so many different components to the
8:53
Mediterranean diet that it would be
8:54
impossible to cover them all in a video
8:57
suffice it to say that the combination
8:58
of all the different nutrients in the
9:00
Mediterranean diet can have a powerful
9:02
effect on health and a lot of research
9:05
shows that it does have a real benefit
9:06
on health outcomes before we finish this
9:09
up I want to be clear on something
9:11
I don't think anyone should follow any
9:14
type of named diet just for the sake of
9:16
it
9:17
giving a diet a name just locks people
9:19
into stupid made-up rules that might not
9:22
really suit them as does focusing on the
9:24
health effects of single Foods instead I
9:27
like to think of something called
9:28
dietary patterns
9:29
these are the overall proportions
9:31
frequency variety and combination of all
9:34
the different foods that someone eats
9:36
without any hard rules about what those
9:40
Foods or patterns are if I recommend a
9:42
Mediterranean diet that might not suit
9:45
people living in Ireland or the United
9:47
States or Australia so in my own
9:49
research I don't recommend a
9:51
Mediterranean diet instead I recommend a
9:54
Mediterranean style diet that means you
9:57
can adapt a Cuisine to take on some of
9:59
the characteristics of a Mediterranean
10:01
diet so instead of introducing
10:03
completely new dishes you just adapt the
10:05
dishes you're used to by adding more veg
10:07
using more lean meat instead of fatty
10:10
red meat adding more legumes and whole
10:12
grains and cooking with more unsaturated
10:14
fat instead of saturated fat like butter
10:16
in fact there has been research done
10:18
with Indian style Mediterranean style
10:20
diets and Korean Mediterranean style
10:22
diets they still use Indian food and
10:25
Korean food for their diets but they
10:28
just adapted them to be more
10:29
Mediterranean style what I'm saying is
10:32
you don't need to make any extreme
10:34
changes to how you eat to get the
10:36
benefits of a Mediterranean style diet
10:38
just try adapting what you eat now so
10:42
did that clarify the Mediterranean diet
10:44
for you as always if you have any
10:46
questions let me know in the comments
10:47
below and remember to like And subscribe
10:49
to the my protein YouTube channel for
10:50
more great evidence-based nutrition
10:52
information
10:54
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