The Ultimate Guide To The Mediterranean Ketogenic Diet – What To Eat
Table of Contents
I’m sure you have probably heard of both the Mediterranean diet and Ketogenic Diet.
But, what’s the difference?
Over the past few months, fitness experts, health gurus, and even some scientists have all been talking less about how these two popular diets are different and more about what superfoods they have in common.
There’s a lot of evidence that combining both the Keto and Mediterranean diet is the key to long-lasting, sustained health and weight loss.
The Ultimate Guide To The Mediterranean Ketogenic Diet – What To Eat
What is the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean diet is more about the location it’s a heart-healthy eating pattern that includes the food staples of people who live in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, such as Greece, Croatia, and Italy.
These areas are widely recognized as supporting being the best lifestyle diets for sustainable weight loss, mental health, longevity, aging, and overall health.
It’s rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, seafood, nuts, and legumes, On this plan, you’ll limit red meat, sugary foods, and dairy (though small amounts like yogurt and cheese are included). It’s a diet known for being heart-healthy.
When compared to a typical western diet filled with processed foods and high sugary foods.
Both the Mediterranean diet and the ketogenic diet can be extremely useful lifestyles for moving away from the Standard American Diet although one might be too slow, and one might be too risky when following a Dirty Keto method.
Combining both a Mediterranean diet with a Ketogenic Diet into one diet, both of their downsides are left behind, leaving us with a way of eating that can significantly improve every aspect of health.
But before we take a closer look at the Mediterranean keto diet, let’s uncover the foundational principles of each diet first.
What is the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean diet has been talked about and had numerous studies and research done on it for over 50 years.
One study examined the health outcomes of nearly 13,000 middle-aged men in the United States, Japan, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Finland, and then-Yugoslavia.
This study found that men from Italy, Greece, and Crete (a large island in the Mediterranean sea) experienced lower heart disease rates.
The findings were that the Mediterranean area focused on eating more fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, and fish when it came to their diets.
Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
Since that first study in the 1950s, thousands of studies have been made.
These studies show that the Mediterranean Diet helps with:
increased life span
lower risks of certain cancers, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and type 2 diabetes
reduced mortality risk from stroke and heart attack
reduced incidence of stroke and heart attack
improved body composition
enhanced brain function
lower levels of blood pressure and LDL cholesterol
Mediterranean Macros
50%–60% of daily calories from carbohydrates mostly grains, vegetables, and starches. 25%–35% of calories from fat (with a heavy emphasis on natural unsaturated fats), and the remainder from protein.
Mediterranean Staples
Common staples of the Mediterranean diet are as follows:
They EAT PLENTY of:
Vegetables
Fruits
Nuts
Seeds
Legumes
Potatoes
Whole grains
Bread (this bread are high whole grain bread, not highly processed white bread)
Herbs & spices
Fish & seafood
Olive oil
Cheese, poultry, eggs, and yogurt, red meat are also a part of the diet but in moderation.
The main foods that are avoided are sugar-sweetened beverages, added sugars, processed meat, refined grains, refined oils, and other highly processed foods.
What is the Ketogenic Diet?
The ketogenic diet is most commonly described as being a high-fat, low-carb, low-to-moderate protein.
The Ketogenic diet was initially used as a treatment for some cases of epilepsy in the early 1900s.
Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body is consistently using and burning a highly efficient alternative fuel called ketones.
Simply put, if you restrict carbs to the point that you enter and sustain ketosis with your diet, you are on a ketogenic diet. In order to produce ketones and enter ketosis.
The healthiest way to do this is by limiting carb consumption to under 50g per day.
The current research data suggests that the keto diet can have a profound impact on our health including:
Remarkable decreases in insulin, blood sugar, and hbA1c levels
Significant reductions in triglyceride levels
Rapid and sustained weight loss.
Significant reductions in blood pressure
Reducing the severity of type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, PCOS, certain types of cancer, and neurological disorders including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease
Despite the proven upsides of the keto diet, there are some serious potential downsides, mainly that the body can not survive long-term on fat alone.
The increased saturated fat content and use of processed meats, cheap grain feed meat, and the high amounts of dairy that some people follow when doing the keto diet (Dirty Keto).
Keto Staples
And get most of your calories from these healthy high-fat foods:
Meats – fish, beef, lamb, poultry, eggs, etc.
Low-carb vegetables: spinach, kale, broccoli, and cabbage.
High-fat dairy: hard cheeses, high-fat cream, butter, etc.
Nuts and seeds: macadamias, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.
Avocado and berries: raspberries, blackberries, and other low glycemic impact berries
Other fats – coconut oil, high-fat salad dressing, saturated fats, etc.
Keto Macros
To follow a Keto Diet you are eating around 70% fats, 25% protein, and 5% carbohydrate.
When carb and/or protein consumption are too high, ketone production will be impaired.
Common Forms of Ketogenic Diets.
Dirty keto
Although dirty keto is still low in carbs and high in fat, its food sources are often not as nutritious.
While you can technically attain ketosis and garner some of the keto diet’s benefits using this approach, you may miss out on several key nutrients and increase your risk of disease.
Dirty Keto often contains processed foods, dirty keto is also called lazy keto, as it allows for highly processed and packaged foods.
It’s often high in sodium. High sodium intake is associated with high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart disease.
Processed foods also have far more additives, trans fats, that are linked to adverse conditions like cancer, obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes and less of the necessary micronutrients your body needs.
Clean keto
Clean keto focuses on whole, nutrient-dense foods and puts more emphasis on food quality than the diety keto diet method.
Clean keto consists of mainly whole foods from quality sources, such as grass-fed beef, free-range eggs, wild-caught seafood, olive oil, and non-starchy vegetables.
Clean keto also minimizes your intake of processed food, though it can still be eaten in moderation.
High-carb foods, including grains, rice, potatoes, pastries, bread, pasta, and most fruits, are severely restricted or banned in all forms of keto.
This is where things get interesting.
Similarities Between the Mediterranean and Ketogenic Diets.
Research indicates that combining keto with the Mediterranean diet can actually reduce LDL cholesterol levels.
Let’s take a look at this promising data.
The Similarities
The four similarities are:
Both diets, help us improve several important biomarkers for overall health, such as cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure levels.
Studies indicate that both diets achieve similar weight loss after 1-2 years.
Both keto and Mediterranean diets tend to avoid all heavily processed foods and derive most of their calories from minimally processed, high-quality whole foods. This simple shift in food quality is one of the critical factors responsible for the many health benefits these diets have in common.
The Differences
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes healthy fats and eliminates refined sugars, but it also includes a moderately high amount of carbohydrates — including fruits and whole-grain bread, and pasta.
In contrast, the ketogenic diet is always going to be very low in all carbohydrates.
The Mediterranean diet is higher in fat compared with standard low-fat diets, but it’s much lower in fat than keto.
The primary source of calories on the keto diet is fat, while the primary source of calories on the Mediterranean diet is usually carbs.
The type of fat typically consumed on both diets is also different.
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes natural unsaturated fats from plant-based oils and fish, while keto foods include copious amounts of saturated and unsaturated fats.
Mediterranean Keto Diet, Could It Be The Best of Both Worlds?
The drastic weight-loss benefits of Keto are tempting, but the tendency to overly rely on red meat, bacon, butter, and cheese can be hard to sustain for some people.
Personally, I couldn’t follow the high dairy in Dirty Keto because of my dairy intolerance and I don’t like bacon.
When we combine the ketogenic macros with the Mediterranean omega-3s, dark leafy greens, sardines, olives, cruciferous veggies, and antioxidant heavy berries.
And,
We get The Mediterranean Ketogenic Diet or the Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet.
Based on the following principles:
Little need for calorie counting.
Olive oil is the major source of added fat, with over 1/4 cup consumed per day.
Green vegetables and salads as the primary carbohydrate source.
Fish was the major source of protein.
And a moderate amount of daily red wine (200-400 ml/day).
The ketogenic Mediterranean diet resulted in changes you’d expected from a standard keto diet, including significant decreases in body fat, blood pressure, glucose, and triglycerides.
Excitingly The Mediterranean keto is an effective way to lose weight while taking care of your overall health.
The keto diet involves counting, numbers, and macros…often relying on special keto equipment, but the Mediterranean diet is more of a general guideline for eating, hence a lifestyle and not a diet.
The Mediterranean Ketogenic Diet
Based on the following principles:
Little need for calorie counting.
Olive oil is the major source of added fat, with over 1/4 cup consumed per day.
Green vegetables and salads as the primary carbohydrate source.
Fish was the major source of protein.
And a moderate amount of daily red wine (200-400 ml/day).
The ketogenic Mediterranean diet resulted in changes you’d expected from a standard keto diet, including significant decreases in body fat, blood pressure, glucose, and triglycerides.
Excitingly The Mediterranean keto is an effective way to lose weight while taking care of your overall health.
With one added advantage.
The Mediterranean Keto Diet is not an actual “diet,”
The keto diet involves counting, numbers, and macros…often relying on special keto equipment, but the Mediterranean diet is more of a general guideline for eating, hence a lifestyle and not a diet.
Here’s A Sample Mediterranean Keto Diet Meal Plan
Breakfast
Mediterannean keto Greek keto frittata. Loaded with healthy fat from eggs, plain full-fat yogurt, feta, and mozzarella cheese, and olive oil. Brought to the next level of Mediterranean flavor with pepper, fresh oregano, basil, zucchini, and a modest amount of diced tomatoes.
Lunch
Five-minute Mediterranian keto bacon lettuce wraps will keep you fueled when you’re on the go. Bacon, avocado, labneh (middle eastern cheese from strained full-fat yogurt), mayonnaise (olive oil-based), fresh basil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Dinner
Salmon with olive oil (lots), fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper. Or apply these dressings while making the most of your red meat night with decadent lamb chops.
The Mediterranean Keto Conclusion.
The Mediterranean Keto diet takes Mediterranean staples like fresh unprocessed seafood, low-carb veggies, olive oil, full-fat dairy, and red wine, and tailors them to a keto macronutrient ratio.
Most people are already familiar with the benefits of a Mediterranean diet that replaces processed foods with fresh whole foods.
A Mediterranean keto diet takes these benefits and adds the associated benefits of ketogenic diets.
These include protection against neurodegenerative diseases, many forms of cancer, metabolic disease, insulin resistance, and infertility.
“This Blog does not provide medical advice It is intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never ignore professional medical advice in seeking treatment because of something you have read. If you think you may have a medical emergency, immediately call your doctor or dial your emergency number.
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