- The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the healthiest ways to eat.
- Spanish dietitian Alba Santaliestra shared her tips for following it with Insider.
- Cooking with olive oil and sharing meals with friends and family are key.
To follow the Mediterranean diet like the Spanish, how you eat is as important as what you eat. Much like many Blue Zone cultures, building social connections over meals is a key part of the Mediterranean diet in Spain, dietitian nutritionist Alba Santaliestra told Insider.
The Mediterranean diet — which focuses on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, olive oil, fish, and legumes, as well as wine and dairy in moderation — is considered the "gold standard" for healthy eating. It has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease, as well as helping weight loss and mental health.
Santaliestra, who lives in Zaragoza, a city in between Madrid and Barcelona, said that not everyone in Spain follows the country's traditional diet anymore and processed foods have become more commonplace. Highly processed and fried foods as well as red meat, refined grains, sugar, and saturated fat should be eaten in moderation on the plan.
Despite the changing times, she encourages her clients to follow a traditionally Spanish, Mediterranean diet in order to reap the health benefits.
The Mediterranean diet should be considered as part of a lifestyle, Santaliestra said: "It's a combination of nutrition, physical activity levels, and also a social environment." Research suggests that people anywhere in the world can benefit from adopting the Mediterranean lifestyle.
Santaliestra shared six tips for anyone who wants to follow the Mediterranean diet like a Spaniard.
1. Vary your protein sources
Balancing your protein sources between meat, fish, eggs, and legumes (such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas) is important, Santaliestra said.
By trying to eat each protein source a quarter of the time, you can consume protein at every meal while also reaping the benefits of a varied diet and minimize any negative consequences of eating too much of one food type, she said.
2. Use olive oil
Olive oil is a key part of the Mediterranean diet, Santaliestra said, and it's frequently combined with vegetables for delicious flavor and health benefits.
It's the main fat source in the Spanish diet, alongside oily fish and nuts, she said.
Insider previously reported that healthy fats such as olive oil can help the body to absorb certain nutrients from other foods, such as salad leaves.
3. Eat lots of vegetables
Vegetables are a cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet, providing fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Santaliestra recommends everyone eat more of them.
4. Cook from scratch
If you can, Santaliestra recommends cooking from scratch for at least one meal of the day. By doing so, you're likely to increase your consumption of unprocessed, fresh, whole foods.
By cooking in bulk you can save yourself time (and money) down the road too.
5. Snack on plain nuts
Santaliestra recommends eating a handful of nuts as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. It doesn't matter what type of nuts, but choose ones that are plain or roasted without any coatings or salt.
Nuts are high in nutrients including good quality fat, Santaliestra said.
6. Build relationships over meals
If you can, try to share your meals with other people, whether family, friends, or colleagues, Santaliestra said.
"The social environments in the Mediterranean countries are really, really important," Santaliestra said. "We have a really good experience around the table."
Research suggests positive relationships can be beneficial for our health.
