Up Close And Personal With The Mediterranean Diet.

I just returned from an international trip where I visited Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Turkey. I had several reasons for visiting those particular countries but one was definitely not to evaluate the Mediterranean Diet. However, I couldn’t help but observe some commonalities between each country I visited (even though technically I was first in the Baltic region). Europe often gets lumped into the “Mediterranean Diet” culture so I thought I would share some of my experiences with the food I tasted, from my three week escapade. Here are seven things that stuck out to me as I explored the different cuisines of Eastern Europe.

Number one—each meal was often served with bread or potatoes (cabbage too).

Number two—Pork was a very common item on the menu (not so much in Turkey—lamb was #1).

Number three—I smelled cigarette smoke much more often than I do when I am in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York or Chicago.

Number four—people seemed to have coffee, tea or beer at any time of the day (including a casual beer at 10am at the farmer’s market).

Number five—dinner was often eaten later, after 7pm or 8pm.

Number six—people gathered socially in the afternoon as well as the evening and took their time to enjoy their time (this could have appeared to be a larger custom than normal due to peak tourist season).

Number seven— treats, or sweet things, were very much treasured as a post-meal experience or a snack.

I am not going to go through this list one by one or in order because much of my observations overlap in multiple categories. What is most important for me to deliberate on is this question: Is the Mediterranean Diet actually quantifiable? People are up in arms across the U.S. about many a ting, but especially about the “solution” to our health problems. Mainstream media is either touting “Go Plant-Based!” or “Go Mediterranean!” But what is this Mediterranean diet anyway? And how do we even measure what it is across cultures and countries? As a food-first personal trainer and metabolic health coach (and a former vegan), I do NOT subscribe to or suggest one dietary lifestyle or eating regimen for myself or anyone else. If anything, I generally say increase animal protein and fat while decreasing refined carbs like flours, grains and sugars. But ultimately, your body (and mental state) tells YOU what works and doesn’t. When we are talking about food habits and food culture, I always consider other factors that impact our health like lifestyle, family dynamics, cultural traditions and economics. So even if the Mediterranean Diet turns out to be the best for your body, I wonder what else is going on in your life that is also contributing to your “best self.” All I can conclude is that one, singular dietary pattern is not the best answer for all humans everywhere. And by the end of this piece, you might think differently about the viral health food trends that are occupying your feed and maybe, you will also feel okay about questioning the Mediterranean diet…

While in the Mediterranean region, the customs I observed and tasted definitely had some similarities to U.S. food culture. One glaringly obvious difference however was portion size. Food was generally served in smaller portions, as well as beverages. However, when I was in Turkey, one man admitted to me that on average, he drank ten cups of black tea per day. I happened to have the same exact glass at home that was used for tea in Istanbul so I measured it: four ounces (or 30 ml). So in total, that is 40 ounces of black tea a day for this man. Although each portion is smaller, in total, is that amount of tea actually more than you drink in coffee?! Depending on your level of addiction…it can vary right?

So the question still burns: Are Americans’ food and beverage patterns (and ingredients) really that different than those of Mediterranean patterns? If you want to know about sweets, one thing is for sure—ice cream and gelato were very popular in all four of the countries I visited. There was an impressive amount of shops that offered frozen treats, for example, in Lithuania, single serve ice cream products were placed in large quantities in a chest freezer, right in front of the check out line in grocery stores. My friend observed that the Lithuanian ice cream habit was as rampant as the American soda habit. As far as main courses, there was generally a vegetable or starch, an animal protein and a dairy product. I also noticed sunflower oil was the main oil used in restaurants, which was an unfortunate realization (learn more about seed oils here).

Each European country situated near the Mediterranean that eats the ambiguously defined “Mediterranean Diet,” varies in its longevity stats. I found this chart online from 2023 data collection, that breaks down chronic disease per country, from highest ranking to lowest:

Although five of the countries listed are non-European (the list is actually much longer if you click on the link), you can clearly see the trends. Ultimately, 15 out of 44 countries in Europe lead the top 20 chronically ill countries, globally (if you look at the next 20 countries following those, you’ll see that 12 of the those 20 are also European so, that’s 27 out of 44 European countries that have the most chronic disease). AND YET, we are still proudly and at times recklessly concluding that Mediterranean dietary lifestyles are superior to all else. Hmm…and this chart doesn’t even mention obesity (more on that later).

As you interpret the chart, I would like to add four things that I observed and learned about while abroad: One, smoking rates are significantly higher in Europe than in the U.S (currently the WHO South-East Asian Region has the highest percentage of population using tobacco at 26.5% with the European Region not far behind at 25.3%). So we must factor that in as relative to chronic disease numbers. As for alcohol consumption, I did notice there were a substantial number of people drinking beer in restaurants at 10am (this could have appeared more prominent due to the high tourist season). Two, I wholeheartedly admit that I enjoyed my diverse set of “Mediterranean” meals during my travels and in general, I felt good after I ate. No bloating or digestion issues for the most part. And three, I ate many more sweets than normal because I wanted to try things I had never tried before. And please take note: it was NEVER hard to find a sweet. I actually turned away many sweets because my mental health does not thrive on excessive amounts of refined sugar. Four, I did eat smaller portions overall, except for the lunch of lamb ribs I had in Istanbul where I literally cried while I ate them because the flavor was well, divine.

Overall, my food lifestyle abroad, for those three weeks (except for the addition of more refined more carbs), didn’t drastically change. I never ate McDonald’s or that much fried food or ice cream (which I noticed is a common daily indulgence in the places I visited). So what was the outcome of all this? Did I gain weight? No. Did I lose weight? No (but I probably lost a little muscle since my workouts were just long walks through the city). How is my mental health? Well, vacation may be the perfect placebo for many of us…so yes, I feel great! Plus —important to mention—I am on hour 27 of a 36 hour fast, to help me reset after all of my Mediterranean food adventures. I chose to do this fast in order to get my sugary-carby palette wiped clean so-to-speak, as I definitely developed more of a taste for sweets the more I ate them. And now that I am home, I am getting back into my habits of cooking for myself, not eating out as much and getting off all refined sugars again.

Why did I write this piece anyway? Well, while in Istanbul, I had a brief conversation with a Turkish man. He told me that they are the most obese country in all of Europe. When I fact checked that, I found that Romania is actually first and Turkey is second (35.04% vs 34.4%). Despite this information, you may still protest—”but all the olives and olive oil! And the tomatoes and salads and fruit—they eat so much healthier than us and and—that show, Secrets of the Blue Zones, they have the proof! The proof is in pudding!!” Well…I actually ate Turkish pudding, and it was loaded with sugar (one was chicken breast pudding called Tavukgöğsü and the other Asure). And there were many other puddings and desserts widely available and commonly consumed. So—why IS Turkey so obese if they are eating the Mediterranean diet? Is it the smoking? The drinking? I can’t prove anything but my guess is— excessive refined carbs and added sugars.

I could dive deeper into statistics but this blog piece is more about my observational data (which admittedly, is quite weak…and is similar to almost ALL of those Mediterranean diet “studies” that, surprise, prioritized Caucasian men’s memories of what they ate, BTW). The moral of my travel story may not be surprising to you: every culture and every dietary lifestyle has its nuances. Some may have more beneficial, metabolically ideal foods and others may not. The bottom line is this: you have to figure out what works for your body and your mind. Don’t let the headlines or shoddy studies fool you!! If anything, consider cutting back on refined sugar and ultra-processed carbohydrates. This doesn’t mean we can’t or shan’t ever consume a sweet food again (I hope no one falls into the trap of any dietary pattern that is so restrictive that you constantly feel deprived or experience FOMO). So until you try changing your own eating habits, the “proof is in the pudding” saying will only prove true once you complete your N-of-1 experiment. As a recovering vegan (I will elaborate on that in another blog post), as long as you feel good, think good, sleep good, poop good and your blood panels are good, then you are onto something great! Keep eating what you’re eating! But if there are consistent problems you are tolerating, think again, and try eating something different. Oh, and a quick note about behavior change: if you struggle with just the idea of making a change for good, remember to be gentle with yourself, wherever you may roam or dine. The world is a giant place and sometimes, “when in Rome” is just what you do. Since I love to travel, I do try things that are out of my normal home eating routine. A taste for me, is often good enough. I can “reset” my tastebuds pretty easily and quickly to avoid spiraling into a binge of sweets for months on end. But you may be different; you have to know your own triggers to better understand the best boundaries for yourself, when consuming certain foods.

I’ll close this piece with one question for you: when you do indulge or venture into a food territory that challenges your “ideal” habits, what do you do to reset afterwards? And how do you know when it is time to reset? What sort of symptoms does your body tell you (or scream at you), when its had enough? And what is your mental body telling you? Are you feeling guilt? Shame? Dread? Hopelessness? These signs are way more important than the title of your diet. I can’t repeat this enough: your body is the one thing that you can’t escape. Positive change is always possible, just remember that you are your best expert when making a choice. What matters the most is whether or not you listen to that expert…