Mediterranean Cuisine

As you know, many are now recommending moving toward a plant-based style of eating along the line of Mediterranean Cuisine and there are multiple studies validating this. I receiving emails asking if moving in this direction would help a person also move toward a more optimum weight range. The answer is likely ‘it depends.’ If you get serious about eating regular meals of high-quality food and managing portion control, some studies showed that pesco-vegetarians (plant-based foods plus sea food), semi-vegetarians (plant-based foods with infrequent meat and sea food), and meat eaters had about the same results. This changed rather dramatically if the individuals were vegan, however. Additional factors may be that vegans are less likely to consume alcohol (remember, 7 calories per gram) and are more likely to engage in regular physical activity and exercise than either other types of vegetarians or those who eat meat. So, it depends . . .