Dear Kosterina Family,
If your thought Taylor Swift was doing well with her fourth-time Album of the Year award, check this out:
For the seventh year in a row, the Mediterranean Diet has been crowned champion of diets for overall health by the U.S. News & World Report. The gold awards just keep rolling in. Is it rude to say ‘we told you so?’
As we revel in this acknowledgment, let's take a moment to delve into the enduring allure and scientifically proven benefits of this time-honored culinary tradition.
At the heart of the Mediterranean Diet lies a tapestry of flavors, textures, and traditions passed down through generations. Picture that sun-drenched landscape where olive groves meet the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean sea and where meals are not just sustenance, but a celebration of life itself.
But what sets the Mediterranean Diet apart? Here’s what we know:
Variety: Research has consistently shown that the Med Diet, which features a wide array of nutrient-rich fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, provides a treasure trove of essential nutrients vital for optimal health. From vitamins and minerals to fiber and antioxidants, every bite nourishes the body and nurtures vitality.
Healthy Fats: Not all fats are created equal! By emphasizing healthy fats from foods like extra virgin olive oil, fatty fish, and nuts, this dietary pattern supports cardiovascular health, lowers cholesterol levels, and reduces the risk of heart disease.
Holistic Wellness: This lifestyle has been associated with mitigating depressive symptoms and preserving cognitive acuity, underscoring its critical impact on holistic health. You can read more about this “mind-gut axis” in our blog post here.
Gut Health: Embracing tons of fiber-rich foods like whole grains, beans, and fresh produce, the Med lifestyle fosters optimal digestive health, regulates blood sugar, and cultivates a flourishing microbiome. We wrote about the importance of high-quality fiber in a previous weekly wellness.
Culinary Creativity and Joy: But the most alluring aspects of the Med Diet are that there are so many delicious combinations of these foods and it tastes amazing. It’s sustainable because you won’t feel like you’re on a diet. The Med lifestyle is all about lingering over long meals with family and friends to truly enjoy food.
The Kosterina brand stands for health and joy and we feel that the Mediterranean lifestyle is the perfect vehicle to help deliver both. The people of the Mediterranean who stay out late, eat good food, drink good wine and dance on tables, can teach us all something about the connection between health and happiness.
In their book, The Joy of Well-Being, Jason and Colleen Wachob of mindbodygreen write, “Researchers from the Wharton School of Business looked closely at articles that went viral and found that the most common factors were anxiety, awe and anger. So it’s easy to see how many food influencers are rewarded for polarizing points of view. How many famous influencers do you see out there scooping up billions of likes and clicks because they are talking about the Mediterranean diet? Not many. Why? Because unlike other food trends, that diet is incredibly well balanced and uncontroversial.”
At Kosterina, we are proudly uncontroversial. 😊
Peace, Love, and EVOO
Katina & The Kosterina Team
