Why the Mediterranean Diet is Important Right Now

Why am I choosing to eat less processed, whole foods? A few years ago I was traveling a lot: 30+ flights a year, back to back trips, countless train and bus rides around Japan – and while it was all amazing, I was also eating really unhealthily, grabbing convenience store sandwiches, onigiris, bowls, snacks and drinking three cups of coffee a day – on-the-go food.

It was a wake-up call several years ago now when I started getting stomachaches, headaches, nausea and skin problems. I had a cough that wouldn’t go away for four months. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest every time I had coffee. I would catch a cold almost every other month, and thought that was normal. I even blacked out mid-project once.

I’ve known people who had food reactions but never thought it would happen to me. While I’m thankful that my reactions weren’t as severe or debilitating, I still realized I needed to make a quick change ASAP before things worsened! I was around 25 or 26 at this point.

While Japanese convenience store food is a little healthier than McDonalds or other junk food, they’re also filled with preservatives, processed ingredients and heavy amounts of sodium. I started by cutting the obvious: soft drinks, sugary snacks, coffee, convenience store white bread and meals pumped with preservatives, and basically had to rewire my brain to stop craving all those things that were bad for me. I cooked more at home, increased my intake of vegetables and fruits and started researching what people in Blue Zones eat – including Japan!

Following the Mediterranean Diet sometimes seems like a no-brainer – it’s essentially using common sense and eating balanced, delicious whole ingredients. It’s not difficult, complicated cooking at all – but our society has deviated so far from it!

Today the leading health-related causes of death around the world are the following: heart disease is in the lead, followed by cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke (cerebrovascular diseases), Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, nephritis (inflammation which causes kidney failure), influenza and pneumonia.

Together with exercise, a healthy intake of water and adequate sleep, the traditional Mediterranean Diet (NOT pizza and pasta) consists of a large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, fish, lean meats and olive oil which reduces risk of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes and inflammatory disease.

There have been several studies which have linked a correlation between the Mediterranean diet and a healthy lifestyle with lower risk of COVID-19 (there has also been negative association but I think the study was too generalized as it tried to associate countries’ diets as a whole using the Mediterranean Adequacy Index rather than researching individual lifestyles and diet). This is not to say that the Mediterranean Diet is an absolute cure, as there are other factors including lifestyle, exercise and pre-existing health conditions. 

Below are some additional links if you want to learn more about the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet. Always do your research, think about where the money is coming from (look at who sponsors the studies / articles) and have common sense. 

Helpful Resources: