Affiliates note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. My content may contain affiliate links to products and services. If you click through and make a purchase, I'll receive a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay.
What is the REAL Mediterranean Diet?
In today’s vodcast, I chat about what happened to the Real Mediterranean Diet over the years. Learn about the rise and fall of low-fat diets and how the Real Mediterranean Diet can play a significant role in helping people lose weight.
Get to know more about these topics in the following blog post sections:
- Pseudo-Mediterranean Diets in the Twentieth Century
- Low-Fat Diets in the Twentieth Century
- The Real Mediterranean Diet is Back!
- Mediterranean Diet Helps You Lose Weight
These conversational vodcasts are available to the Kitchen Pioneers who have joined my YouTube membership community—The Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy.
Affiliates note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. My content may contain affiliate links to products and services. If you click through and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay.
Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy
My comprehensive vodcasts are exclusively available to members of the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy, who we call Kitchen Pioneers. You can learn more about my optional YouTube membership community, including members-only videos and exclusive perks.
This membership community is optional. I’m still publishing my weekly detailed instructional cooking videos on my public YouTube channel that you can watch for free. (Thanks so much for being a Sweet Friend and subscriber!)
In addition to links to the latest Kitchen Academy vodcasts, this blog post lists some of the public videos that I talk about in my vodcast.
Pseudo-Mediterranean Diets in the Twentieth Century
Do you remember nutritionists telling us to eat a Mediterranean Diet in the mid to latter part of the twentieth century? If so, you may have wondered if this diet included the types of foods that were really eaten by people who lived in the Mediterranean.
Not surprisingly, that twentieth-century diet did not reflect what the people in the Mediterranean were eating. Where were the eggs, fat, and pasta? In many cases, these types of foods were missing from the diet. Instead of a Mediterranean diet, those twentieth-century nutritionists recommended a pseudo-Mediterranean diet, which they promoted as a low-fat diet.
Low-Fat Diets in the Twentieth Century
During this time in the twentieth century, some biased scientific research—sad to say—encouraged this low-fat diet. Unfortunately, we became less satiated with the lower fat diets, which meant more frequent hunger pangs. The lack of fats caused us to add more carbohydrates (often over-processed and rich in white sugar) to quell our cravings. Low-fat diets led us to a great deal of overeating that, unfortunately, created what we know today as the obesity epidemic!
Read more about how the low-fat diet movement came about and how it has since been debunked with this article:
- Weston A. Price Foundation: The Skinny on Fats
The Real Mediterranean Diet is Back!
Fortunately, in recent years, the Real Mediterranean Diet has returned to the forefront with a nutritional profile of 40% fats, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% protein. Unlike the pseudo-Mediterranean Diet, this Real Mediterranean Diet in our twenty-first century reflects what the people in that region actually ate. And yes, pasta—cooked properly in the al dente style—is part of a healthy Mediterranean Diet!
I talk about the Real Mediterranean Diet in my member vodcast. You can also learn more about what happened to the Mediterranean Diet and how it returned to its real roots with the following links:
- Weston A Price Foundation: The Mediterranean Diet: Pasta or Pastrami? – The Weston A Price Foundation website offers a wealth of information. Their content explores not only the Mediterranean Diet but many other traditional diets as well.
- Oldways: Cultural Food Traditions – The Oldways website offers more specific information about the Mediterranean Diet and how to implement it in your daily diet.
And for more reflections on traditional diets, watch my previous member vodcast that explains traditional foods diets and how to get started.
Mediterranean Diet Helps You Lose Weight
As I mention in my vodcast, the Mediterranean Diet is consistently rated as the top diet to lose weight and eliminate many troubling health conditions. Dr. Kim Foster is a medical doctor and a health coach with several free resources to learn more about the Mediterranean Diet:
Modern researchers discovered the real Mediterranean Diet provides many health benefits. You can learn more by reading these fascinating studies:
- The Mediterranean Diet: From an Environment-Driven Food Culture to an Emerging Medical Prescription
- Health Benefits of Mediterranean Diet
- Mediterranean Diet and Prevention of Chronic Diseases
More Kitchen Pioneer Videos
Catch up on some of the recent videos in our membership community:
- Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy video playlist (Optional Membership Community)
Remember that you’re always welcome to post questions and comments on my videos at any time, and I’m glad to reply.
Stay in Touch with Mary’s Nest
- Subscribe to My YouTube Channel for Traditional Foods Videos (Free) - When you subscribe, be sure to click on the notification bell that will let you know each time I upload a new video.
- Subscribe to Mary’s Traditional Foods Newsletter (Free) - Get a free 36-page eBook for signing up: How to Stock Your Essential Traditional Foods Four-Corners Pantry.
- Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy (Optional Paid) - For more detailed videos and exclusive members-only perks, join my YouTube membership community.
- Order The Modern Pioneer Cookbook (Optional Paid) - Get a printed book of Mary's nourishing recipes from a Traditional Foods Kitchen. This bestselling cookbook is published by Penguin Random House with their DK imprint.
I look forward to having you join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen!
Shop for items used in this blog post or video
Favorite Kitchen Supplies
- Chef’s Knife
- Bamboo Cutting Board
- Lodge Cast Iron Frying Pan
- Scanpan
- Spatula Spoon
- Whisk
- Large Stock Pot
- Stainless Steel Colander
- Large Measuring Cup
- Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Baking Sheet
- 2-Cup Glass Storage Jars with Lids
- 10-Piece Glass Bowl Set
- Flour Sack Towels
- Fat Separator
- Favorite Aprons
In addition, the following links and promo codes will help you save on fermentation supplies and grain grinders.
- Masontops Fermentation Kit (See promocode below)
- Mockmill 100 Stone Grain Mill (See promocode below)
Use promo code MARYSNST for a one-time 15% off Masontops and Breadsmart products on Amazon.com.
Learn more about Mockmill electric grain mills for making fresh flour and their Flake Lover's Flaker that flakes whole grain in minutes.
Amazon Shop and Shopping Guide
- Visit Mary’s Nest Amazon Shop
- Visit my Shopping Guide page
Get up to 15% off for stocking your Traditional Foods Pantry and equipping your Modern Pioneer Kitchen, including discounts from US Wellness Meats, Farmhouse Teas, Lehman's, Masontops, Cultures for Health, Survival Garden Seeds, Redmond Real Salt, Plan to Eat, and More!
