Adopting A Mediterranean Lifestyle

What does it mean when you say “adopting a Mediterranean lifestyle?” Why bother following it? Is it really that beneficial like most people claim? 

As you go through this life and grow to become a more conscious person, you’ll realize that the most precious commodity in this world is a person’s time – because we are limited to live within 100 years per lifetime. Some though get a rare chance to live beyond it, but they could no longer make any significant accomplishments in their twilight years, except just exist with the bonus of feeling alive if they still can.

Personal sustainability is the key to make the most of your time on this Earth; however, you have to be careful about your time and setting doable goals. You can ascertain this by checking on your overall lifestyle and how you spend your time on a day-to-day basis. If you really crave for success in personal sustainability, then I suggest you try adopting a Mediterranean lifestyle.

Some Things are not Worth your Time

I was once at a restaurant table where people were discussing how motivated they are to become more politically active, especially after what has transpired in America in the past few months and that they want to make a difference. Well, being in the food industry would want to make you diplomatic and neutral in just about any debates and I frequently don’t take sides no matter what kind of argument it is, except for when it comes to people’s health and wellness. I actually was thinking about telling them about the benefits of adopting a Mediterranean lifestyle, but changed my mind because they might find it offensive or something utterly trivial.

But the real question is, will you be able to include this political activism (or any other hobby, career, or volunteer work) in your already busy 21st century lifestyle?

Career coaches and other life gurus will tell you to give 2 hours of your time each week to volunteer work in order to feel “fulfilled.” That translates to 100 hours per year, which isn’t bad as far as contributing time and effort to a cause is concerned. I agree with them because it won’t just be you who will also volunteer in your quest for improvements in our politics and hope for a better government – obviously many people will join in this seemingly perpetual work. I know that we should be passionate about patriotism, but wouldn’t it be more profitable for you to focus on your health instead? Why not try adopting a Mediterranean lifestyle instead of venting your anger at politicians whose loyalty are with big corporations?

Note: when I say “profit” I don’t mean it from an economic standpoint or any monetary terms, but in terms of a better health, lifestyle, well-being and mental as well as emotional fulfillment.

No disrespect to our founding fathers, heroes and other people who gave their lives serving our country to ensure that our freedoms are protected and our rights upheld, but I personally believe that the individual American can choose how much time, effort and resources he or she should give to their country. Just by simply being alive, write letters to your governor, congressman, senator, or even the President himself and volunteer for any political cause or non-profit organization is enough to make you a good and caring person and a patriot. 

But of course, if you feel like you have a higher calling to serve our country, then by all means, follow your heart.

The Link Between Adopting a Mediterranean Lifestyle and Nutritional Psychology

A new research was conducted by scientists at Harvard Medical School shows the link between your diet and mental health has been clearly established. There are specific nutrients in the food you eat that play a significant role in reducing depression and anxiety. This means external factors like environmental influences, and internal factors such as inflammation and healthy bacteria in your gut are not the only players in altering your mood anymore, because nutrients can have a strong impact on your mental health too! 

They even did a comprehensive comparison between people who eat “Western” diet and the Mediterranean and Japanese diet, which showed that the chances of developing depression in the latter 2 diets are 25% – 35% lower compared to the Western diet. Nutrients also help in the emotional development in infants meaning that if the mother is careless in her diet, then she could give birth to a problematic child.

From Mediterranean Diet to Adopting a Mediterranean Lifestyle

More and more data suggests that it’s not the Mediterranean diet that makes a huge improvement in a person’s life, but the entire Mediterranean lifestyle. What is a Mediterranean lifestyle? Well, first off it’s eating plenty of vegetables, fish and whole grains, along with foods high in good cholesterol like olive oil, which is good for your overall health and well-being. But more than that, it’s also about enjoying strong and frequent social connections, and engaging in regular outdoor activities and exercise. 

Now are you starting to see why adopting a Mediterranean lifestyle is essential to your health and well-being?

The New York Times published a 2015 study on the Mediterranean diet and according to the article, researchers were stunned to find that people not only enjoyed and savored their food, but were also very enthusiastic to turn every meal into a fun social occasion effectively bonding with family and friends. The people who enjoyed this kind of diet seem to want to spend more time outdoors and get fresh air. They do not pressure themselves to religiously do specific workout routines in order to “get fit” and hope to live a healthy long life. 

No, instead they prefer to burn calories the “fun way” like walking and riding bicycles, which surprisingly burns more calories. This also reduces any chronic stress they have and sometimes even completely eradicates it as a result. The scientists assert that it should not be called just the Mediterranean diet, but Mediterranean lifestyle.