Calculate Daily Calorie Needs | Free Diet Plans Sitemap   | Master Sitemaps

Preparing for Your Diet Plan

The Mediterranean Food Pyramid

When the Mediterranean Food Pyramid is compared to the standard USDA food pyramid there are visible differences.  

The most popular health note is that the Mediterranean Food Pyramid makes use of wine with meat.  

Here are a few more differences:

The preferred oil in the diet is olive oil and is recommended to be used sparingly.

Red meat consumption is downplayed and poultry and fish take precedence.   The Mediterranean Food Pyramid recommends that meats be consumed a few times per week.

The use of dairy in the diet is advised less frequently.   Although we feel that decreasing meat intake may offer huge health benefits, we cannot agree with the Mediterranean Food Pyramid's recommendation regarding moderate amounts of dairy product consumption.  

This is due to recent studies which clearly indicate that incorporating milk (and certain types of dairy products) in the diet not only promotes weight loss at a quicker pace, milk consumption also helps maintain weight.

Beans, legumes, nuts, fruits, vegetables, grains, pasta, rice and potatoes  are recommended on a daily basis.

Desserts are recommended to be enjoyed a few times per month.

Diet Bites Three Day Diet, An Example of the Food Pyramid Diet