More Mediterranean Diet Benefits

A new study that was just published in advances in Nutrition, explored biodiversity and analyzed food plant diversity between the Western diet and the Mediterranean diet. No surprise, the Mediterranean diet, which is primarily plant-based and has lower quantity of animal products in it, found that they have a lower environmental impact and biodiversity conservation. So yet there's another reason that we should be looking at the Mediterranean diet, not only for our health, but in order to save the planet. 

Sally: Yes, the Mediterranean diet has always been the winner when it comes to our health, and now it seems that it is, as far as our planet's help as well. In this study, Italy was observed as having the most biodiverse cuisine, which I loved reading that, particularly since we were talking about Italy last week, and about how they do not want lab grown meat coming into their country. They think that that it sacrifices the integrity of their traditional food. So, that was an interesting one to read. But yes, the idea here is that, being a biodiverse diet, that it is better for the environment. The study talks about how in these countries where they have these biodiverse diets that they find, now I'm not a farmer, so I'm gonna try and say it in in the best way I can, but they are better at crop utilization and better at taking that crop residue that is what is left in the fields after crops have been harvested, letting what is left in the fields go back into the soil to keep the soil healthy. 

Sally: And that's a big part of healthy agriculture and farming practices. From what we're hearing.