Hello! I am writing my undergraduate thesis and I need sources with Exact guidelines for the Mediterranean diet as how many servings of vegetables, nuts, and poultry is recommended. Thanks a ton for the help in advance!
Although there are undoubtedly people out there who have attempted to quantify and capitalize on it, the Mediterranean diet is a set of cuisines, not a regimented x cups of this and y cups of that. That kind of seems like the antithesis of the Mediterranean diet.
If you want something regimented to research, look at DASH or Mayo Clinic diets.
There are no exact guidelines. Mediterranean diet is a general description of a diet with plenty of fruit & veg, and not a massive amount of processed grains - similar to how people eat in Spain, Italy, Greece etc.
Exactly what you need depends on you - your size, metabolic rate, activity levels, training goals & insulin sensitivity.
The Mediterranean diet is based on types of food. Quantities/servings largely depend on calorie needs. I use these handouts with my patients:
https://www.nutrition.va.gov/docs/UpdatedPatientEd/Mediterraneandiet.pdf
https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTH/veteran-handouts/docs/MedDiet-508Final-9-4-2018.pdf
My quick google search shows “The term Mediterranean diet was coined in 1960 by the American physiologist Ancel Keys and his wife Margaret in their book How to Eat Well and Stay Well the Mediterranean Way.” You may want to start there.
It’s not about foods, it’s about principles.
As a Greek raised on Mediterranean diet the best you can do is search for Mediterranean diet Pyramid. Most of the Mediterranean countries use the pyramid to provide a visual on the diet. You can’t see quantities there but you can get an idea on the analogies.
The original Mediterranean diet is explained here. The Mediterranean diet refers to specific regions during a specific time, not the Mediterranean diet of the area today
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7754995/
I’m not sure what types of sources you’re looking for specifically, but you could take a look at Mayo Clinic’s website for a general overview of the Mediterranean diet. They give a basic guideline of what types of foods to eat and the approximate proportions for each. Additionally, Harvard University’s T.H Chan School of Public Health offers more specific information on each food group and the quantities recommended per day. Hopefully this helps!