Grains on the Mediterranean Diet
The Benefits of Whole Grains in Your DietI want to take you back in time. While we talk about the Mediterranean diet not being a diet of culture but a pattern of eating – it still had its origins in the Mediterranean. The original Mediterranean diet was described as far back as 500 BC in the Ilead. The ancient Greeks ate whole grains, fruits, vegetables, pulses, and a bit of fish. Red meat was rare. While red meat may not have been a dietary staple for the Ancient Greeks, it was consumed during feasts, festivals, and special occasions. Cows were considered sacred gods, like Zeus, and their slaughter was for religious ceremonies and consumed during feasts The majority of the population received protein from fish, poultry, legumes, and whole grains. The First OlympicsThis was the diet of the first Olympians, as well as the Romans. Ancient Greeks worshiped the body, as you can see from the statues, as well as our language. We get the word gym from the Greek word “gymnasion," which translates to a place to exercise naked. But those gyms not only had a place to train but also schools, where literature, philosophy, math, and music were taught, as well as a social gathering place. We also get Diet from the Greeks, which originates from “diaita,” meaning the “way of life” or a manner of living. The Greeks had a balanced approach to health and well-being, emphasizing diet, exercise, and the mind. Gym bros and bro science were yet to be invented. Ancient GrainsCould those Olympians of old who ate diets filled with whole-grain cereals have been wrong? Or could it be that those grains of the past were different from today’s grains? If you’ve ever been on a “low carb” diet, one of the first food groups you eliminate are grains. As you dutifully got rid of the last bit of joy in your life, you feel it was the cost to have your weight drop. You might have thought – "Grains are evil." Low Carb Life Without GrainsEating burgers without the bun, breakfast without toast, no pastries, no bread, no pasta, no rice, and you were losing weight. Lots of confirmation bias. Oh those heady early days of a low carb diet, losing weight, feeling better, maybe even noticing cholesterol improved. Hard to sustain though, and did you ever get tired of steak? Finding Joy in the Mediterranean DietNow you come here and find the best diet is the Mediterranean diet. Lots of peer reviewed literature to support it. Then you wondered what in grains was evil. The first easy thought was that it all breaks down to glucose, and glucose is evil. Unless you know biochemistry and realize no, that’s not it. Your body runs on glucose. It's the GlutenAnd maybe you read about celiac disease and gluten as its trigger. Maybe some blogger convinced you that wheat in America is filled with gluten, and this is the problem. Unable to sustain a low-carb diet, you return to the joy of the morning pastry or dessert, all the while thinking grains are what caused the weight to return. Now you come to the Mediterranean Diet, and whole grains, not refined grains, are on the menu. Still, you are suspicious, and you think – maybe it was the gluten. Celiac DiseaseOr what happens if you come to the Mediterranean diet and have Celiac disease and gluten causes horrific issues? But should we all avoid gluten? And can we have a Mediterranean diet if we must be gluten-free? Should the ancient Greeks become Carnivores instead of those grizzly men who are on a diet now associated with the healthiest people on planet Earth? Clearly not. Eating too much red meat is associated with increasing heart disease and cancer, while the Mediterranean diet is associated with less heart disease and cancer. Carnivore's TakeCarnivores like pointing to the ancient...
