Green Mediterranean Diet — Here's What You Need to Know

 

• New research suggests a "green" Mediterranean diet plan may help boost your cardiovascular health, and weight loss goals, more effectively.
• A study found that those who made four tweaks to the classic diet plan lost more weight and improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels while also curtailing their calorie intake.
• A nutrition expert explains why any form of the Mediterranean diet can help you improve your health, and how to get started.

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There's a reason why Mediterranean diet plans are consistently ranked the healthiest for people wishing to not only lose weight, but revolutionize their health entirely. At the Good Housekeeping Institute, our registered dietitian crowned the Mediterranean diet this year's best as the diet's staples — lean proteins, seafood, crunchy vegetables, and plenty of healthy fats — lead to immense cardiovascular benefits and fights inflammation. Plus, it promotes sustainable weight loss for people who aren't willing to sacrifice entire food groups (ahem, keto)! So imagine our delight when a new study, published this month in BMJ's Heart, claimed that a few small tweaks to the diet may accelerate its effects on heart health.

Researchers behind the study call it the "green" Mediterranean diet, a refined version of the diet plan that supercharges your daily meals by asking you to reach for more fiber and less red meat. What is the diet, exactly? The updated version requires people to cut red meat almost entirely out of their diet for best results, making more room for fiber and healthy fats sourced from lean protein. To make up for any deficiency, dieters are asked to consume what's known as Wolffia globosa, or a byproduct of duckweed, an aquatic plant. Plus, you'll need to incorporate 28g of walnuts per day into your snacking, and consume at least 3 cups of green tea (if not more).

Scientists arrived at this conclusion after splitting nearly 300 men and women into three groups, asking them to follow different diets over the course of 18 months. The first group simply received advice for upping their fitness and eating a healthier diet; the second group, however, was instructed to follow a regular Mediterranean diet and were placed on a calorie-based plan, as well as the same fitness advice. But the third group followed the "green" Mediterranean diet, eating the same amount of calories as the other Med group, albeit with the duckweed protein shake served at dinnertime, green tea throughout the day, added walnuts, and advice to avoid red meat entirely.

Those on the green version of the diet saw the best, most substantial changes to their health six months later; they had the biggest drop in cholesterol and blood pressure. Plus, this group lost roughly 14 pounds in just six months.

Here's the catch, though — all of the groups saw beneficial results, explains Brierley Horton, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and nutritionist who has reviewed Mediterranean diet plans for years. All groups lost weight, including those on the regular Mediterranean diet (around 12 pounds!), and waist sizes slimmed down amid all participants. The same trend was true for cholesterol levels. "Yes, the 'green' Med diet group had better results — but the Mediterranean diet still provided improvement for the other group in the study," she explains.

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Below, Horton walks us through what you need to know about the study's updated guidelines for Mediterranean diets, plus how you can incorporate a Med-diet-friendly protein shake into your routine.

What is duckweed?

If you haven't heard of it, you're not alone. Horton says research published in 2017 put this edible plant-protein, also known as Asian watermeal, on the map for most. A MentalFloss report claims duckweed, which has a flavor profile similar to watercress, is the smallest fruit in the world, but Horton explains that it manages to pack in a lot of protein nonetheless. Researchers have previously found that the protein counts in duckweed can be equal to "40% of [its] dry weight" in some conditions. "It's water-based, which is probably the reason why duckweed also manages to be a significant source of omega-3 fatty acids," Horton adds. source:- goodhousekeeping.com