Mediterranean diet

What is the Mediterranean diet?

This meal pattern emphasizes intake of fish or seafood at least twice weekly. A serving size of cooked seafood is 6 ounces. Other protein sources on the menu include poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt.

An average day’s meal plan following a Mediterranean diet could look like this:

• Breakfast: Vegetable frittata with onions, garlic, basil, spinach, artichoke hearts and tomato. Baked sweet potato wedges. Herbal tea.

• Lunch: Lentil vegetable soup and a green salad with arugula, purple cabbage, red onion, cucumber, carrot, walnuts and mustard vinaigrette. Whole grain bread or crackers. Iced black tea with lemon.

• Dinner: Lemon dill baked fish over brown rice with garlic sautéed kale and a glass of red wine.

• Dessert: Dark chocolate with cherries.

Here are some of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet:

• Reduced risk of (or help managing) chronic disease, particularly heart disease

• Less inflammation

• Slower cognitive decline with age