Many people talk about blue zones and the longevity diets. All of that has validity….however, unfortunately, in America we do not have access in general to the quality of fruits and vegetables, and even dairy products, that many blue zones have. Therefore, even if we wan to eat a mediterranean style diet (and I do promote that). our food is never going to be the same quality and health value as the food in the blue zones or even in countries like Italy, Spain etc. Those countries also have declined in certain quality over the years, but in general they have far superior fruits and vegetables and even flour products.
But i was thinking about what makes the mediterranean diet so healthy? One thing is that at every meal there are lots of salads and healthy dips which contribute to antioxidants and lots of vitamins and minerals. Fruits are the main snack, rather than cookies and cakes. Nuts are eaten in abundance. Meat and proteins are eaten but in proportion, not as the mainstay of the meal. For example, in Turkey, most meals begin with a hot vegetable or lentil soup along with bread and salads, a grain like bulgur or rice, and stuffed vine leaves etc. Meat is in smaller proportions. They do eat kabob but that is not the main food every day all day.
In America, the star of the plate is often a big steak with a salad on the side and possibly french fries or bread (both of low quality). So yes, steak can be good, but in a balanced meal, offset by vegetables and other things.
Drinks should not be coke or sodas or even fruit juices. Drinks should be water, tea, coffee, and sometimes vegetable juice or a healthy fruit juice such as pomegranate etc.
Snacks should be nuts, dried fruits, fresh fruits….not candies, cakes, cookies, pretzels etc.
So although in principle the mediterranean diet is one of the best and most balanced, in reality it is not as healthful in america nor is it even possible to do everything properly. I go to the super market and see wilted, old lettuce or greens…how much nutrition do they have? I see carrots that are wilted or taset bitter. Is see fruits not ripe at all. So i choose the best i can. But is it the variety i would like? No. And that is besides the exorbitant price of many vegetables and fruits these days. one bell pepper can cost a dollar and a half! Eggplants are a fortune.
So what is the solution? obviously if you can grow your own that is great. If you can move somewhere with access to better locally grown organic produce, that is good. Otherwise we just do our best and choose the healthiest, freshest looking products we can and eat more of them to make up for the lesser amount of vitamins. for example, whereas one carrot should offer lots of vitamins, nowadays you need three or five carrots to get that amount. But we do our best. And we pray for health.
Besides diet, health is influenced by good clean air, by enough sleep, by adequate exercise (and it does not have to be very tough exercise: just walking every day, swimming and gentle movements and stretches is also good, by family relationships, friends and a happy social life. There is a lot more to health than only diet. And at least these other things we have more control over than quality of food.