The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid
The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid is characterized by the relatively
low presence of fat. All fats included in the diet are mono-unsaturated
or poly-unsaturated fats, such as olive oil. You’ll notice that the
Mediterranean pyramid also includes generous portions of fruits,
vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and poultry. Surprising to some, the
pyramid recommends at least one glass of wine a day along with a satisfying meal!
Note that the base of all of these pyramids show physical activity
as the foundation, the core. For all of us who can recall those times,
people walked a lot, bicycled a lot and were always tending to the
garden, for food or for pleasure. The Mediterranean diet is rich in
vegetables and fruit and low in saturated fats. We can all be better
off embracing more of this traditional life philosophy/reality;
diabetic or not.
Additionally, it is important to note that while serving sizes are
not reflected in these pyramids, it is safe to assume that the servings
were quite small. Plates, bowls and teacups were all smaller than what
we typically use today in North America certainly. Food was also not in
the very great abundance we “enjoy” in most well-to-do countries. The
principle we get to embrace here is one of balance and some scarcity.
Our serving sizes have gotten ahead of us and affect all of the
nutritional balance we aim for.
For more on nutrition guidelines for diabetes, please visit our Diabetes Diet Plans or Diabetes Nutrition Information.
More tradtional food pyramids can also be found:
We do not currently have a pyramid for a traditional African diet.
The closest would be either the Vegetarian Pyramid or the Latin
American Pyramid.
