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Massachusetts, USA
In its simplest form, the Mediterranean lifestyle is a life centered around five concepts:
- Eating well
- Being physically active
- Family, friends, and community
- Reducing stress
- Living simply
When done together, help people live longer, healthier, happier lives.
Eating Well
Most people are familiar with the Mediterranean diet, as it’s one of the healthiest diets in the world. This has been demonstrated through research, done by many groups and institutions, over the course of many years. However, the simplest form of this diet was based on what we have come to know as the “Mediterranean triad.” As one might guess, this diet is based on three core foods:
- Olives – eaten whole and pressed for their oil.
- Grains – for breads, pasta, and rice.
- Grapes – for wine and fruit.
Over time the Mediterranean diet has expanded from these original foods to include other whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts and legumes, herbs and spices, and diary. Eating well is more than just an arbitrary diet though, it encompasses the joy of preparing good food, taking care of yourself, and enjoying your meals.
Being Physically Active
People often attribute being physically active to exercising and working out at places such as the gym or fitness center. When life was simpler, and these places dedicated to physical activity weren’t around, people got exercise driven by two basic ways:
- Environment – many villages and towns in the mediterranean basin were built on hills or cliffs out of necessity for one reason or another, this required more of people when moving about their lives.
- Work – to live, people in this area worked physical jobs or farmed their own food, which also required more of people when living their everyday lives.
Today, many people still work physical jobs, whether on a farm or in industry, and live and work in areas that require more physical exertion than in other parts of the world. Incorporating movement, at the gym or as a regular part of the day, helps people live healthier lives.
Family and Friends and Community
We are social beings and have been for quite some time. This has been an important aspect of a culture’s/civilization’s ability to grow over time. Throughout the Mediterranean, the idea of family and community, is an important aspect to the cultures that live there. Whether sharing meals, celebrations, or building connections with your community is integral to the Mediterranean way of life. An idea that comes to mind here is called Philotimo. This is a Greek concept that refers to energy which doesn’t come from outside of you and it isn’t something you get from others; it’s a way of living your life as a greater part of a whole. This is an untranslatable word which means doing the right thing, caring for your fellow man, honor and integrity in your interactions, with empathy and generosity. Not everyone has a large extended family or a healthy family system, but other things such as volunteering, being of service, meetups, and hiking groups can fill this need.
Reducing Stress
The five areas of the Mediterranean an lifestyle all work together to mitigate stress but equally important, there is a different outlook on life and a centering of values that is not based on instant gratification or externally focused. Life is hard, many time things are not easy, and no matter what you accomplish someone else will always have more or better. Today, we hear a lot about mindfulness, staying present in the moment, practicing gratitude, these are old concepts, spanning far beyond the Mediterranean, with new names. One of our favorite examples is the Greek word κεφι (kefi). There is no English translation to this, but think: the full and complete joy of being in the moment; you know it when you’re in it and you experience it for yourself- it doesn’t come from outside of you. Kefi is not something that happens every day, or only when things are good but the ability to find joy in yourself in moments no matter what is going on in your life will temper life’s stressors. “You make yourself happy,” sit in that thought and fight the urge to rail against it. Appropriately managing expectations and having command over your internal thoughts and emotions lends its hand strongly to resilience and to mitigating stress.
Living Simply
This component of the Mediterranean lifestyle encompasses such things as appreciating beauty, pleasure, and avoiding the more complicated and often unnecessary aspects of life. From spending time in nature, to avoiding overconsumption, living a life free of complex and unwanted challenges takes up less space in your mind and therefor takes less of a toll or your body. A favorite saying in our family is “One plus one is two.” This is something we would refer to if we were struggling to make a decision or agonizing over something. It’s not something we appreciated until well into adulthood. How many times have you tried to change a situation or person to fit your own expectations? One plus one is two, you can’t make it five no matter how much you try. Accept the truth of “two” and make your decisions accordingly. Things in life are most often simple, not easy, but simple.
Today, many countries in the Mediterranean themselves have struggled to maintain this way of living. Whether it’s been due to economic, political, social or any combination of these factors, many components of the Mediterranean lifestyle have been difficult to maintain. Our hope is that by creating awareness around the benefits of living such a lifestyle, we can help people live longer, healthier, and happier lives.
Doheny, K. (2025, January 6). Best Diets 2025: Mediterranean Diet Still Tops the Rankings. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20250106/best-diets-2025-mediterranean-still-tops-rankings
Pratt, C. (2023, January). Oil, Wine, and People: A Mediterranean Triad. American Society of Overseas Research. Vol. 11.1. https://anetoday.org/pratt-oil-wine-people/
Stone, A. (2025, January 15) The Mediterranean Diet Has Ranked #1 For Seven Years In a Row—What Makes It So Effective? GQ. https://www.gq.com/story/what-is-mediterranean-diet-1
Image: Mediterranean Diet Pyramid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Diet_Pyramid
