Mediterranean Keto Diet: Ingredients To Buy & Benefits

Both the Mediterranean diet and the keto diet have a long list of potential health benefits. But if you test both of them and neither seems correct to you, there is a possible solution: the ketogenic diet in the Mediterranean. This diet plan combines both worlds by focusing on a diet that is high in healthy fats and protein and has a low total carbohydrate intake.

What is the Mediterranean Ketogenic Diet?

Before diving into the details of the Mediterranean ketogenic diet, it is helpful to dive into the basics of each of the individual plans.

Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet consists of foods commonly eaten by people living near the Mediterranean in countries such as Italy, Spain, and Greece. The diet emphasizes whole grains, beans, nuts, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and olive oil, leaving room for fish and seafood a couple of times a week. Eggs, cheese, and yogurt are reasonably recommended, but lean meats and sweets are limited. Key nutrients are less emphasized (that is, you need to count the number of grams of fat, protein, and carbohydrates), but usually 50% carbohydrates (including grains and vegetables), about 15% protein, and 35%. You can eat the fat. (Learn more about the key nutrients in the Mediterranean diet).

Keto diet

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. Unlike the Mediterranean diet, the success of the ketogenic diet depends heavily on the number of major nutrients. Normally, carbohydrates make up 5-10% of calories, and 75% of calories should come from fat. Protein makes up the rest of the plan, which is 10-20% of calories.

“The downside of the ketogenic diet is that you need to keep your carbohydrate intake at 20-50 grams per day to achieve and maintain ketosis, a condition that burns fat. Vincent M. Pedre, MD, a certified therapist and member of the mbg team, says (for reference, a small apple contains 20 grams of carbohydrates).

This usually means cutting most high-carb foods, as the ketogenic diet has very limited carbs, which means that your dish should be filled with meat and cheese. plug. What most of us don’t realize is that we can omit the keto.”- Dr. Ethan Weiss, Ph.D., Preventive Cardiac Specialist, and Co-Founder. Key Eats talked to mbg earlier.

Eliminate many high-carb foods such as beans, fruits, legumes, starchy vegetables, grains, and low-fat dairy products, while consuming a variety of low-carb foods such as meat, chicken, seafood, and eggs. can do. , Cheese, avocado, nuts, oils, butter, and some full-fat dairy products.

Mediterranean keto diet

The Mediterranean Ketogenic Diet combines aspects of both dietary plans to provide a unique hybrid solution for those who do not fully agree with either. Stores Mediterranean diet foods that are high in protein and healthy fats and contain starch-free vegetables, but not high-carbohydrate foods such as legumes, fruits, beans, and whole grains.

What to expect

There is no shortage of research to support a Mediterranean diet. It offers many potential health benefits, such as improved glycemic control and improved cardiovascular health (such as lowering blood pressure and cholesterol), and may help support a healthy inflammatory response. But adding a keto angle can make things even better.

In a 2021 study, 33 researchers compared the results of a ketogenic and Mediterranean diet for 12 weeks. Both plans yielded similar levels of adherence, but participants in the ketogenic diet showed better glycemic control and a significant reduction in triglycerides and LDL.

In another 2021 study published in Nutrients, researchers set out to compare a Mediterranean diet with a low-carb diet. They divided the 36 participants into two groups. One group followed a traditional Mediterranean diet and the other followed a low-carb (but not completely ketogenic) diet with the same calorie count.

Both groups had health benefits such as improved insulin sensitivity, but the low-carb group lost about 60% more weight on average. A few years ago, researchers looked at a particularly calorie-restricted Mediterranean keto diet.   It can also increase HDL or “good” cholesterol levels.

Mediterranean Keto Diet: Ingredients To Buy & Benefits

Similar results were obtained in the 2011 study, but participants in the study extracted herbal plants to increase the overall intake of phytonutrients and utilize the bioactive substances of functional plants. It is also worth noting that daily intake of things (mint, galanga, ginseng, etc.).

Although both the Mediterranean diet and the ketogenic diet have potential benefits, few studies have been conducted on the combined effects of this diet, and all the studies mentioned above were conducted on a small number of people only in a short period.

In addition to physical health benefits, the Mediterranean ketogenic diet is slightly more flexible than traditional ketogenic diets. Many people find it easier to stick to a long-term diet than a traditional ketogenic diet, as there is no emphasis on strict key nutrient counting. It also adapts to other dietary preferences such as vegetarian and vegan plans. However, as with any new diet plan, there may be an adjustment period initially. If you are really on a high-carb diet, you may experience some signs of cutting carbs.

The most common signs of carbohydrate withdrawal are headache, indigestion, bad breath, muscle cramps, weakness, and dizziness. These problems usually resolve spontaneously within two weeks of starting a low-carb diet. In the meantime, you may notice a reduction in bloating and a thirst for sugar. However, if these unpleasant side effects persist, consult a medical professional.

The main ingredient of Med-Keto.

Olive oil and oily fish are the basis of the Mediterranean ketogenic diet. These foods contain large amounts of unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids that promote heart and brain health and have anti-inflammatory properties. *

Weiss explains that there is a hierarchy of both animal fats and proteins. He mainly removes fat from olive oil, avocados, and nuts and recommends eating plenty of oily fish. “If you’re an animal eater, fish is the best,” he said, adding that he’s trying to eat salmon five to seven times a week. And if that sounds impractical to you (face it: it’s a lot of fish!), Adding a high-quality omega-3 supplement like omega-3 potency + mbg is for you A more convenient and fun way to increase the ocean levels of Omega 3, EPA, and DHA. *