Despite its health benefits... discover the dark side of the Mediterranean diet

Despite the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, it has some negative aspects (Pixels)

You may have heard before about the many health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, and nutritionists have likely recommended it especially if you want to lose weight, or if you have a chronic health condition such as heart disease or high blood pressure, or Even if you are perfectly healthy and just want to maintain your health and live a healthy life in the long term.

However, you may not find anyone to talk to you about the health harms of this diet, as it is only common to talk about its benefits and importance. So continue reading the following lines to learn about the harms of the Mediterranean diet.

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What is the Mediterranean diet?

During the mid-20th century, researchers noted that some countries in the Mediterranean region enjoyed a number of distinctive health benefits, including: recording low rates of chronic diseases, in addition to recording the highest average lifespan among adults despite limited access to On health care.

The researchers concluded that the good health status of the residents of these countries is due to their diet. In 1993, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Fund for the Preservation and Exchange of Traditional Health Methods, and the European Office of the World Health Organization introduced the Food Pyramid for Mediterranean Countries as a guide to help familiarize people with the foods most common in the region.

This diet is classified as a primarily vegetarian diet. It mainly includes eating whole grains, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes, nuts, herbs and spices. This system also includes reducing the intake of dairy products and animal proteins, and relies on obtaining protein through eating fish and seafood.

The Mediterranean diet relies on obtaining protein by eating fish and seafood (Shutterstock)

For 6 consecutive years, the Mediterranean diet has been at the top of US News & World Report's list of the best diets. Nutritionist Trista Best explains to Healthline: “The Mediterranean diet is considered healthy because it focuses on nutrient-dense whole foods and limits the intake of processed and refined foods, which are often high in unhealthy fats, added sugars and salt.” ".

Researchers and doctors have monitored many health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, and the Healthline website lists some of these benefits as follows: improving sleep quality, reducing inflammation, which is due to the foods included in this diet being rich in antioxidants and other anti-inflammatory compounds, reduced risk of Heart disease, reducing the risk of dementia, reducing the risk of prostate cancer, enhancing mental health, and increasing lifespan.

The bad side of the Mediterranean diet

The Medline Plus website indicates that there are some potential health concerns associated with following the Mediterranean diet, including that following this diet may gain weight for some people instead of losing weight, and this may be a result of eating olive oil, nuts and seeds, which can facilitate eating more More calories than a person needs.

People who follow this diet may also suffer from low levels of iron, which is supposed to be easily obtained through eating red meat. But the Mediterranean diet largely avoids red meat. So, if you want to follow this diet, you should make sure to eat some foods rich in iron or vitamin C, which helps the body absorb iron.

The Mediterranean diet largely avoids red meat, which leads to low iron levels (Pixels).

A person following this diet may also suffer from low levels of calcium and vitamin D due to eating less dairy products. Some followers of this diet struggle to meet their calcium needs, since dairy products are not essential in this diet.

Also, although studies indicate that the Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of diabetes and support better blood sugar control, some people with diabetes may need to be more careful or have some additional instructions when following this diet. Diet.

Due to the Mediterranean diet's emphasis on grains, fruits and vegetables, including starchy vegetables, meals may be high in carbohydrates. It is important for diabetics to eat a consistent, controlled amount of carbohydrates throughout the day to avoid dangerously high or low blood sugar. Therefore, in this case, you must work with a nutritionist to help the person plan the appropriate percentage of carbohydrates for his meals within the framework of the Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean diet focuses on grains, fruits, and vegetables, including starchy vegetables (Pixels)

Another criticism directed at this system is that the foods it includes are not everyone can afford and eat. It is true that this system does not contain any foods from expensive brands or special nutritional supplements. But some consumers in many countries may not be able to afford some of the foods it contains, including fish, seeds, nuts and olive oil. For example, fresh seafood tends to be more expensive than other proteins.

The crisis here is that this diet must be followed completely, as research supports the health benefits of the Mediterranean-style eating pattern according to the different foods it includes. It is the combination of these foods that appears to be protective against diseases, as the benefit is not strong when looking at the foods or nutrients included in the Mediterranean diet individually, so it is important not only to add olive oil or nuts to a person’s current diet, but to adopt The entire plan, which may be difficult and unavailable in some cases.

It is important not to limit yourself to adding olive oil or nuts to the diet, but rather to adopt the entire plan (Shutterstock)

Retract a study supporting the benefits

Despite the aforementioned benefits, Newsweek notes that the New England Journal of Medicine has retracted a study on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, which was published in 2013. The study had claimed that people who ate a version of this diet were less likely to 30% more likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack, compared to those who ate another diet.

But the study authors later admitted that the diets assigned to study participants were not properly randomized in some cases. Dr. Miguel Angel, from the University of Navarra's School of Medicine, the lead author of the study, explained to Newsweek that there were what he described as "minor" flaws in the randomization, affecting about 14% at most of the participants. Ángel points out that this decline does not mean that the study results should be completely rejected, or that the Mediterranean diet is not beneficial.

Adding that following the Mediterranean diet is the best way to prevent heart disease. This is consistent with a very wide range of published research. But the regression here may indicate that this mentioned percentage may decrease if random distribution is controlled.

Source: Al Jazeera + websites