Make your Breakfast Healthy with the Mediterranean Diet

If you’re concerned about your heart health, the Mediterranean diet is the right option for you. This diet is the blend of basics of healthy eating depends upon the cooking methods and traditional flavors of the occupants living in the Mediterranean coast.

This diet is defined as a diet rich in plant-based foods including cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, tree nuts, seeds and olives and the main source of fat is olive oil. The Mediterranean diet refers to the moderate consumption of fish, eggs, seafood, poultry, and dairy products, low consumption of red meat and often moderate alcohol intake during meals.

In 1960, it was observed that the inhabitants of Mediterranean countries especially in Greece and Italy, the United States, and northern Europe have fewer death rate caused by coronary heart diseases. Following studies indicated that the Mediterranean diet is linked with reduced risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Serra-Majem et al. observed that the Mediterranean diet prolongs life, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer while Giugliano et al. researched that the Mediterranean diet act as an anti-inflammatory diet that can prevent and treat chronic inflammation-related diseases such as metabolic syndrome.

WHO recommended this diet plan as a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern and as an intangible cultural assert. Pérez-López et al. informed that the high intake of olive oil, the risk of cardiovascular disease is much lower among people across the Mediterranean region.

Breakfast is considered as an essential meal that has an impact on chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cognitive performance and weight control. Farshchi et al. pointed out that skipping breakfast raises the consumption of high-energy nutrients for the rest of the day and increases the risk of various chronic diseases. So, breakfast is highly recommended in order to maximize the health benefits.

Pakistan Journal of Nutrition presented a research work to see the observance of adults to the Mediterranean diet and link this observance with breakfast. They found that more than half participants of the study had a moderate level of compliance with the Mediterranean diet. They claimed that the results of this study will contribute to the literature in terms of interpreting the adherence of the participants to the Mediterranean diet in the context of their nutrient preferences at breakfast. They recommended further studies with a larger sample size should be conducted.