By Lacey Dunn | Published on October 2, 2017
There is almost 50 years of research that provides glowing evidence of the magical benefits of a Mediterranean diet. Not only does it contribute to reducing the risk of a variety of chronic diseases, but it can also help lengthen your lifespan.
Along with the DASH Diet, its Dietary Guidelines for Americans are recommended to promote overall health and prevent illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
The research is compelling and provides strong evidence on the beneficial health outcomes, but can the Mediterranean diet also be used – and be beneficial to – those with physique and performance goals?
By understanding the key components of the diet and its effects on our bodies, we can utilise this well known, yet often undermined, diet to enhance and strengthen our bodies from the inside out.
Goodness from the old country
The Mediterranean diet is based on traditional foods and eating patterns of the countries bordering the Mediterranean sea. It focuses on consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, low-fat dairy and n-3 fatty acid-rich foods, and a moderate wine intake.
Unlike typical Western diets filled with processed and refined carbs, meats and saturated fats, it suggests more nutrient-dense options, which provide the body with the tools needed for optimal health, growth and development.
The diet also has a substantial effect on markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, which in excess can contribute to chronic diseases
and increased mortality.
In 2011, the Journal of Nutrition concluded the Mediterranean dietary pattern was associated with significant reductions in a variety of health risk factors, oxidative stress and inflammation modification which, when elevated, can spell trouble for any fitness or physique goal.
By reducing your risk for chronic disease and chronic inflammation, you can set yourself up for a life-long commitment to the gym.
The offer you can’t refuse
The diet’s muscle building power lies in its quality of nutrients and their ability to fuel your body for growth and recovery. Despite what marketers may suggest, protein is not the only nutrient needed for making those muscles grow, and more is not better.
Sufficient vitamins and minerals in the diet are necessary in order to reach any goal, no matter how much protein you consume. Without these nutrients, your body will not be at its best, internally or externally.
A diet of 1.5-2.5g/kg of protein is sufficient for strength training athletes hoping to gain lean body mass, or reduce lean body mass losses in a diet phase. Though the Mediterranean diet limits red meats, which can be a good source of iron and protein, other proteins such as fish and seafood, beans, poultry, dairy, eggs and other plant-based sources supply plenty of necessary amino acids for the body while providing
key vitamins and minerals.
Without a healthy and fully-functioning body, reaching your performance goals or achieving that six pack won’t be easy and your body will do all it can to fight you. The Mediterranean diet is jam packed with nutrients, and if followed, can help ensure you’re in prime condition to reach any goal you set.
It’s important to make sure you pay attention to not only the quality, but the quantity, of food in your diet, making sure you consume healthy foods within your caloric needs.
– RELATED: The Secret To Building Muscle? Eating Your Vegetables –
Original fuel
The consumption of the right types and amounts of carbs and fats in the diet, on top of a proper protein intake, is essential for optimal performance in the gym and obtaining your goal physique. The Mediterranean diet promotes whole over refined grains, which not only contribute to healthy blood sugar and cholesterol, but also help to regulate proper hormone levels. Whole grains potentially contribute to weight loss due to their effects on satiety and improving gut microbiota which, if thrown off, can cause detrimental effects on your overall health.
They also have substantial benefits on insulin sensitivity, keeping blood glucose stable and preventing rapid spikes and falls that may trigger hunger and hypoglycemic conditions mid-workout.
A trial in Diabetes Care of 215 adults with a newly-diagnosed Type 2 variant found Mediterranean-style eating resulted in a greater reduction of HbA1c levels, higher rates of diabetes remission and delayed the need for medication, providing evidence that this style of eating may be advantageous to individuals with blood sugar issues, or who struggle with mid-workout crashes.
Fats of the motherland
Another key component of this diet are healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, such as olive oil, nuts and seeds. Contrary to the popular saying “fat makes you fat,†this is far from reality. Fats are an essential part of having a healthy, well-functioning body.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids, which include n-3 and n-6, are big players in a variety of metabolic functions including inflammation modulation, platelet aggregation, cell growth, smooth muscle contraction and immunity. They help reduce inflammation, normalise your heart rate and play roles in vasodilation, which are beneficial for not only gym performance, but muscle recovery.
Fish oils, a supplemented form of n-3 fatty acids, remain one of the top beneficial supplements for anyone who cares about both their overall health and fitness goals.
Looking at monounsaturated fatty acids, their consumption has been linked to reducing LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) when incorporated into the diet.
Diets higher in monounsaturated fatty acids (12% of calories or less vs 12% of more) have also been linked to lower fat mass and blood pressure, providing evidence that it’s a good choice for those in both a fat loss or lean bulking stage.
These fatty acids provide significant benefits to your overall health, weight loss and performance, and can be a key piece of the puzzle in heading towards your goal.
Regardless of if you want to follow the Mediterranean lifestyle or not, incorporating fish, almonds, walnuts, avocado and olive oil into your diet, while aiming for 500mg of EPA/DHA a day, can help to reduce your risk for chronic diseases and give your body valuable nutrients in order to fuel your metabolic fire.
Variety breeds success
With emphasis on a variety of nutrient-dense foods, its benefits on overall health cannot be contributed to one single component, but the consumption of all components.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states there is no dietary pattern that is considered to be more successful than another diet approach on weight loss. However, some diets – including this one – have positive effects on cardio-metabolic outcomes and health measures, largely due to increased quality of nutrients and not any one factor of the diet itself.
Incorporating the foods and eating patterns of Mediterranean countries continues to provide promising evidence on lengthening the lifespan and reducing the risk of chronic disease. By doing so, it also ensures a nutrient-dense diet that may be advantageous for those
in a weight loss phase.
It must be noted that a recent article in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition concluded that for improving body composition, a wide range of dietary approaches from low and high-fat and low-carb, to intermittent fasting, all provide similar effects on body composition changes when calories are matched.
Instead of focusing on one sole diet, you should follow an overall balanced diet filled with foods that make you feel your best, allow you to perform optimally and provide your body with the vital nutrients it needs to thrive in and out of the gym.
One of the smartest things you can do is take this diet’s characteristics and incorporate them into your lifestyle, so you will live long and die strong.
Lacey is a bikini competitor and Bodybuilding.com athlete with a BSc in Dietetics.