Webinar: The Mediterranean Diet
Dementia Australia webinars are free videos where subject experts discuss topics relating to dementia for a general audience.
The Mediterranean diet is one of the world’s most well-researched dietary patterns. The majority of research shows the Mediterranean diet is associated with improved cognitive function, a decreased risk of cognitive impairment and a decreased risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
In this webinar, dietitian Emma Butler describes how you can incorporate aspects of the Mediterranean diet into your daily food habits.
You will learn about:
- the Mediterranean diet
- the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet
- practical ideas for healthy meals and snack options.
Transcript
[Beginning of recorded material]
Emma: Hello and welcome to the Dementia Australia Webinar on the Mediterranean Diet. My name is Emma Butler, and I've been at Dementia Australia for the last 18 months working as a Dementia Support Specialist. Prior to coming to Dementia Australia, I was an accredited practising dietitian for 25 years. I worked in a variety of settings from hospitals to community health, private practice, and aged care and I've many years’ experience working in aged care and particularly working with people living with dementia, their carers, and also their family. My passion and goal as a dietitian has always been to provide lots of practical tips, and tricks, to support people implementing healthy eating guidelines. I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today. Today, I'm coming to you from the lands of the Awabakal and Worimi people, and I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and to our shared futures.
This webinar is focused on the Mediterranean diet and it's likely you've opened this webinar as you have an interest in learning more about the Mediterranean diet. So, throughout the session, we'll be discussing:
• What is the Mediterranean diet?
• The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.
• How you can incorporate this into your daily activities and food habits.
And of course, lastly, giving some practical examples of what your meals and snacks could look like on a daily meal pattern. So, what is the Mediterranean diet? The Mediterranean diet refers to eating food that is traditionally eaten by people living around the Mediterranean such as Greece, Italy, and Spain. It's the traditional diet originating in the olive growing areas of this region. It is regarded as one of the world's healthiest dietary patterns and has long been considered the 'benchmark' of a healthy diet. It's even recognised by the World Health Organisation as a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern. It is this style of eating, began back in the 1960s, after observations that people in this Mediterranean region were healthier and had a lower risk of chronic conditions. It's a style of eating, rather than a single fixed diet and it values eating with family and friends, and enjoyment at mealtimes. So, it's really not one fit for all, but a person can look at the Mediterranean diet as a guide to help make positive choices for eating healthier.
So, what are the foods that are included in the Mediterranean diet? So, this slide highlights all of the good food choices that can sit under a Mediterranean style diet. It includes an abundance of fruits and vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, used throughout our food and preparation. Whole grain breads and cereals, legumes, which can include chickpeas, kidney beans, and lentils, to name just a few. Nuts and seeds, fish and seafood, herbs, spices, onion, and garlic. And as you can see from that list, the foods on this highlight an abundance of those whole foods and includes very few processed foods. Another way of looking at the Mediterranean diet which I find really helpful and really useful is this pyramid style. So, this was developed back in 2009, and it's a picture representing how the Mediterranean diet can look. Basically, looking at the base of the pyramid, which is the foods that we eat the most, and then you can see at the top of the pyramid are the foods to eat in smaller amounts or less often. The bottom section also highlights that people can be getting enjoyment from food and also incorporates physical activity. It's important to note that dairy foods such as the yoghurt, milk, and cheese and lean proteins such as eggs, are also eaten in the Mediterranean diet and they sit in the middle, in the moderate amounts. So now that we've got a little more of an understanding of all the things that the Mediterranean diet might look like in terms of the foods that we can utilize. Why do we like to talk about the Mediterranean diet?
So, I want to highlight some of the health benefits. As I said earlier, it is a very well researched diet and almost all of this research concludes favourable health benefits. Several scientific studies have reviewed and concluded there is convincing or highly suggestive health benefits in relation to longevity, cardiovascular or heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, depression and anxiety, and some cancers. In regard to cognitive function, a scientific review which has collated over 32 studies from unique cohorts, has concluded that the majority of studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet is associated with improved cognitive function, a decreased risk of cognitive impairment, and a decreased risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. It's important to note, that the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, may also be linked to broader socio-cultural factors such as a relaxed pace of life and sociable mealtimes. Supporting the well-documented links between increased social contact and reduced risk of cognitive decline. So that's a great take home message.
So, why do we think the Mediterranean diet is so healthy? It's actually not fully understood. What is the actual part or parts of the Mediterranean diet that may explain its many health benefits? But we do know, it's likely the combination of healthy foods rather than a single standout food. And likely, the foods it does not include, such as the sugary foods and the highly processed foods. And of course, we do know that the Mediterranean diet is promoting a good balance of healthy fats, which we know is then good for promoting good cardiovascular health. It's high in whole fresh foods, it has lower levels of highly processed and refined foods. It's high in fibre. This is a great example of a healthy diet to help fill us up, without providing excess calories and it's high in antioxidants which can help reduce inflammation in the body. So, lots of ticks for the diet to keep us nice and healthy.
Now putting it all into practice. And I've tried to keep some really good examples of just a couple of ways we can incorporate it into our eating pattern. So, let's imagine that we might start to utilise more fresh fruit and vegetables every day. We might like to replace a meal each week with a legume-based meal, such as some chickpeas in some soups or some lentils into some casseroles, and beans into some kidney bean mixes and mince dishes. We could maybe swap some unhealthy fats for some extra virgin olive oil in our cooking and in dressing salads. We could start to eat a little more oily fish such as salmon or tuna, and aiming for something like twice a week is seen to be beneficial. We can try to share meals with family and friends more often, and of course, we can eat meals without distractions. Some really good breakfast ideas which I always like to reinforce, examples such as muesli with natural yoghurts, fruits and nuts. Porridge, which is a great staple and quite economical breakfast choice. It can be made with milk or water and adding some extra berries and seeds. Whole grain toast is always a great option with some avocado, feta cheese and tomato and some whole grain toast with baked beans or poached eggs is another great breakfast example. Moving on to lunch. There're so many good things we can incorporate in our lunch ideas that can be really simple and it's nice to think 'salad bowls.' So, into salad bowls, we can be adding lots of colour, with green leafy vegetables, spinach, lettuce, and so on. Adding canned fish, can be salmon or tuna, even with a variety of flavours from the salmon and tuna range. We can incorporate the beans at this time and add in our chickpeas or other examples of beans there, and we can use the olive oil in the dressings with the lemon and herbs. Bring back whole grain breads because they're easy to add additions such as hummus, salad greens, tomato. There's that avocado again, and grilled chicken. And another one I like to always think about is adding to our soups, lots of veggies, lentils, beans and tomato and of course, those things can be made in bulk and then we can always be having those as quick easy lunches moving forward.
Okay, so some nice dinner options, might include the salmon that we've mentioned before. Bringing in brown rice, steamed vegetables, and again, lots of colour and making sure we've got all of those vegetable options with the green leafy options. Stir-fries with chicken or beef are always great. And again, adding in the vegetables with a rice base. Homemade pizzas, they can be, again with a variety of toppings, vegetables, mushrooms, eggplant, tomato, garlic and olives. And again, incorporating the tuna with things like pasta bake and again, using tomato, spinach and feta cheese as needed. Then finally, we've got some really good snack ideas. Nuts are a great one for snacks, easy to take with us if we're out for the day, to work or have at home. Always thinking fruit. And of course, we can have the fresh options, dried or canned. Hummus dip is readily available in the supermarkets, and we can always add some sticks, such as carrot sticks and whole grain crackers to those. Avocado and tomatoes, another great one to have as a snack on your little whole grain crackers and bringing in natural yoghurts and berries for a sweet taste, of course, is a good one. And the boiled egg is always a great way to fill us up in between meals.
So, in summary, hopefully you've been able to take home the idea that there's many health benefits, including the lower risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and diabetes with the added benefit of improved mental health and longevity. Hopefully you've been able to take home that there's a great way to incorporate lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grain, whole grains and legumes. Aiming to eat oily fish twice a week, including healthy fats such as olive oil and nuts daily. Making mealtimes enjoyable with family and friends and hopefully that's just a few practical tips so you can introduce aspects of the Mediterranean diet. And maybe you are already following a lot of these types of food options, and hopefully it's given you some reassurance and reassured you that it is a healthy option and it is providing a great benefit to your long-term health and longevity.
And lastly, I think we have the last slide to recognise all of the information that I've been able to collate today is from a variety of sources. Particularly, Dietitians Australia, a great resource I utilize from the nutrition education materials online, along with healthdirect.gov.au. A couple of the review articles that I referred to are mentioned at the end here, and the Mediterranean resources there's a website for the two of those. The old way is the pyramid that we spoke of in one of the slides earlier. So, thank you for listening. Always remember that you can talk to your doctor and you can always ask to see a dietitian if you do think you would benefit from a more individualised plan and hopefully that would be of assistance. For any further information or support, please reach out to the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. That's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Thank you for listening.
[END OF RECORDED MATERIAL]
More for you
- Nutrition
Eat well for a healthier heart, body and mind and reduce your chance of developing dementia.
https://www.dementia.org.au/brain-health/reducing-your-risk-dementia/nutrition - Nutrition and dementia
A good diet is essential to good health. Learn what to eat, what to avoid and what to expect when you’re living with dementia.
https://www.dementia.org.au/living-dementia/staying-healthy/nutrition-and-dementia - Eating and dementia
Dementia can affect your ability to enjoy food or eat. Learn why this happens and what you can do to eat well.
https://www.dementia.org.au/living-dementia/home-life/eating-and-dementia
- Dietitians Australia
- Nutrition education material online
- Ageing and Dementia Research Centre
- National institute on Ageing
- Alzheimer’s Association
- Healthdirect
- Oldways cultural food traditions
- Mediterranean Living
Academic papers:
- Siervo. M et al (2021). Mediterranean diet and cognitive function: from methodology to mechanisms of action. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 176 (20), 105-117.
- Petersson, S et al (2016) Mediterranean Diet, Cognitive Function, and Dementia: a Systemic Review of the Evidence. Advances in Nutrition, 7(5), 889-904.
The National Dementia Helpline
Free and confidential, the National Dementia Helpline, 1800 100 500, provides expert information, advice and support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. No issue too big, no question too small.