Hi Hazel. My question is, it's very well known that the Mediterranean diet is one of the most healthy.

Could you provide some ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner items? And can you confirm what kind of

proteins and foods are included in the Mediterranean diet and sort of what are the misconceptions around it and items that are not included

in the ideal healthy Mediterranean diet. Thank you. Thanks for your question. As you've mentioned

time and time again, the one diet that is scientifically backed in terms of offering us the

greatest health benefits and also longevity

seems to be the Mediterranean diet. But a lot of people ask me, what does that actually mean?

What is a Mediterranean diet? So this dietary pattern is rich in colorful fruits and vegetables,

legumes such as beans, peas and lentils, whole grains, olive oil, nuts and seeds,

with low to moderate amounts of dairy, eggs, fish and poultry, and minimal amounts of red and processed

meat, alcohol and sugar. The Mediterranean diet also places emphasis on cultural and lifestyle

elements, such as cooking, physical activity and also

traditional, local and environmentally friendly products, as well as biodiversity and seasonality.

So it's not just about the food that we eat, it's also how we eat and where we're sourcing our

foods from. In terms of meal ideas, I don't want you to

approach this as a strict diet or a meal plan per se because the benefits of the Mediterranean diet

are related to this eating pattern as a whole and not from the single foods or nutrients. But because you asked, and to start

you off, thinking about breakfast, perhaps Greek yogurt with fruit, nuts or perhaps musli, you could

have whole meal or whole grain toasts with eggs or with cheese and tomato and some olive oil, or porridge oats

with fruit and honey. Lunch, maybe in the warmer months, you might be thinking about a salad

with tomato, dark leafy green, such as spinach, maybe some pulses or chickpeas, beans,

perhaps some feta with extra virgin olive oil as a dressing.

...