The green Mediterranean diet builds on the traditional Mediterranean diet that focuses on fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods. The diet also includes unique additions, apart from what we already know being part of the Mediterranean diet. In the green Mediterranean diet, things like green tea, Mankai duckweed, and walnuts, all of this offers enhanced heart health benefits as compared to the Mediterranean of standard version.

This diet was created in 2020, this diet also encouraged a more sustainable and health-focused way of eating.

How does it work - the Green Diet?

The researchers for the first time introduced the green Mediterranean diet in 2020 which enhances cardiometabolic benefits of the traditional Mediterranean approach. It emphasizes plant-based foods and limits animal products to promote heart health and reduce inflammation. This diet can also help with weight management, lower the risk of chronic conditions like diabetes, and support environmental sustainability.

What one needs to follow?

Similar to the traditional version, the Green Mediterranean diet also follows the same dietary guidelines:

Women: 1,200–1,400 calories per day

Men: 1,500–1,800 calories per day

Physical activity is also encouraged to maximize benefits. While any plant-focused Mediterranean diet could be considered "green," the official version includes specific foods:

• Green tea: 3–4 cups per day
• Mankai duckweed: 100 grams, providing protein and antioxidants
• Walnuts: 28 grams daily

What foods can you include?

In the green diet, the importance is to on more plant-based foods, which includes:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Nuts and legumes
• Olive oil, herbs, and spices
• Whole grains

However while this diet too retains animal-based proteins from the traditional Mediterranean diet, the foods like meat, fish or eggs are limited, More attention is given towards the alternatives like tofu, beans, nuts and quinoa.

What foods should you avoid?

The diet minimizes or eliminates:

• Butter and high-fat dairy products
• Foods high in added sugars
• Processed and red meats

How can you follow a meal plan on this diet?

Start with half a cup of oatmeal with fresh fruit and cinnamon and a cup of green tea as your breakfast.

Moving on to lunch, get a smooth of Mankai duckweed, one cup of fruits or vegetables, and unsweetened plant-based milk.

In between, you can also munch on a handful of walnuts, and another cup of green tea.

Lastly, end your day with grilled salmon with cooked spinach, brown rice and a cup of green tea for your dinner.

What are the benefits?

Heart Health

Studies show that following the green Mediterranean diet for six months can lower blood pressure and "bad" LDL cholesterol—two key risk factors for heart disease.

Visceral Fat Reduction

Visceral fat, which accumulates around the abdomen, is linked to various health issues. Research found that the green Mediterranean diet led to double the visceral fat loss compared to the standard version over 18 months.

Environmental Benefits

Reducing meat consumption can significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. Switching to a green Mediterranean diet can be a meaningful step toward protecting the planet.

Asthma is usually associated with children. However, a large number of adults are diagnosed with asthma later in life, known as adult, onset asthma. A sharp contrast to childhood asthma, adult cases can be more long, lasting, difficult to control and very much influenced by environmental and lifestyle factors.

Smoking, air pollution, and workplaces are three known risk factors, but experts in the field are opening up the research to include diet as a possible factor that can be changed. New research indicates our diets may play a big role in asthma development and following a Mediterranean diet may significantly lower overall risk by nearly 50 percent.

The World Health Organization estimates that over 260 million individuals globally suffer from asthma.

What Is the Mediterranean Diet?

The Mediterranean diet is inspired by traditional eating patterns in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in places like Spain, Greece and Italy. It recommends eating:

• Fruits and vegetables
• Whole grains
• Legumes and nuts
• Olive oil as the primary fat source
• Moderate fish consumption
• Limited red and processed meats

This diet is well known for its cardiovascular benefits and its strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties have prompted scientists to explore its impact on respiratory health.

The Study That Sparked Attention

A large, scale prospective study through the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) Project aimed at finding out if a Mediterranean diet could lower asthma in adults. The project, done by the team at Universidad de Navarra, included data from more than 17,000 university graduates who were tracked for almost 13 years in Spain.

The study participants did not have asthma at the time of registration. Their food intake was assessed through a validated Mediterranean Diet Score (scale of 0 to 9), and incidences of asthma were recorded with the help of follow, up questionnaires.

The study showed that people sticking to the Mediterranean diet the most became adults with asthma 42 percent less than those who followed the diet the least. Additionally, after changing for confounders like age, smoking, physical activity and BMI, this protective effect was still significant from the statistical viewpoint.

The study results were covered by EMJ Reviews and appeared among respiratory research publications, thus attracting the attention of the makers of the next major public health policy measure.

Why Does Diet Affect Asthma?

• Omega-3 fatty acids from fish, which help regulate inflammatory pathways
• Polyphenols and antioxidants from fruits and vegetables, which reduce oxidative stress
• Healthy monounsaturated fats from olive oil, which may support immune balance

What To Remember

Some previous cohort studies have yielded inconsistent results, and experts concur that randomized controlled trials would produce more reliable evidence.

The Bigger Picture

Though additional research is necessary to be sure, the main idea is increasingly conspicuous: our diet today might determine our respiratory health over the next several years.

FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) has recently shared how one can spot ‘vegetables gone wrong’ before you bring them to your home.

When it comes to health, eating right plays a huge role, and that starts with bringing the right ingredients home. Even though fruits and vegetables are healthy, spotting the signs of spoiled items can be difficult. You could easily bring home bacteria and even dangerous germs like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, according to the US Food Safety department.

Food safety is simple if you keep these key things in mind, according to FSSAI.

How To Buy Fresh Fruits & Vegetables?

Start with the "touch test"

Always choose fruits that are firm and solid. If you feel soft spots, it usually means the fruit is starting to rot or was bruised during transport, which invites bacteria. Check the skin for deep cracks or holes, as these are open doors for pests.

For citrus fruits like lemons and oranges, weight is the best secret. If it feels heavy for its size, it is full of juice; if it feels light and "puffy," it is likely dry inside. Finally, don't worry about green spots on the skin; they are often just natural color marks and don't change the sweet taste inside.

How To Spot Good Root And Tuber Vegetables?

Vegetables that grow underground, like carrots, beets, turnips, and sweet potatoes, should feel as strong as the earth they came from. When you pick them up, they should feel heavy and very firm to the touch.

If a carrot feels "bendy" or rubbery like a piece of plastic, it has lost its internal moisture and will be tough and tasteless rather than crunchy.

While it is tempting to grab the biggest vegetable in the pile, the "size secret" is that smaller roots are actually better. Smaller ones are usually younger, which makes them naturally sweeter, more tender, and less "woody" or fibrous when you cook them.

Can You Spot Good Grapes?

Grapes are very delicate because they stop ripening the moment they are clipped from the vine. To find the freshest bunch, use the "attachment rule": give the bunch a very gentle shake.

The grapes should stay firmly attached to their stems. If they fall off easily, it is a sign the fruit is old and losing its flavor. Next, look closely at the "skeleton" or the stems of the bunch.

You want to see stems that are green and flexible, which proves they were harvested recently. If the stems look brown, dry, or brittle, the grapes will likely be sour, mushy, or lacking that fresh pop.

How To Spot High Quality Onions?

Since onions are the base for almost every meal, picking a bad one can ruin your entire dinner. A high-quality onion should feel heavy and rock-solid all the way around, especially near the "neck" at the top.

When you give it a gentle squeeze, it should not give way or feel "hollow." If an onion feels soft or squishy, it is likely rotting on the inside where you can’t see it. Also, check for any green sprouts growing out of the top.

Sprouting means the onion is aging and using up its energy, which makes the layers inside lose their crispness and punchy flavor.

Jaggery or, also commonly known as Gurr, is considered the best alternative to white sugar however, more than often, headlines such as "adulterated jaggery has been seized" dominates our daily new.

Despite its popularity and varying uses, it is one of the most commonly adulterated foods mixed with components like baking soda, washing soda or chalk powder. But now the food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) shares how we can do a test at home to determine jaggery adulteration with baking soda.

How To Do A Home Test?

1. Take one 1/4th of a teaspoon of crushed jaggery in a glass container or test tube.

2. Now, add 3 ml of HCL acid, also known as hydrochloric acid, in a container or test tube.

3. If you see bubbles are formed, your jaggery

According to the agency, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) reacts with acid in the natural sweetener and releases carbon dioxide in the form of bubbles.

FSSAI advises that while home tests can help identify basic forms of adulteration, they are not a substitute for laboratory testing. Only certified labs can conclusively determine the purity of jaggery and detect multiple adulterants at once.

What Are The Side Effects Of Consuming Adulterated Jaggery?

1. Chemical burns in the mouth, throat, and stomach lining.

2. Severe acidity

3. Vomiting

Long-term health risks may involve:

1. Organ failure: Chronic ingestion of industrial dyes and soda puts extreme oxidative stress on the liver and kidneys, which are responsible for filtering these toxins. This can lead to permanent scarring (fibrosis).

2. Hormonal imbalance: Reports from the FDA in 2025 noted that jaggery packaged in low-grade heated plastic releases phthalates and dioxins, which act as endocrine disruptors, affecting reproductive health.

3. Hidden sugar spike: Since white sugar is a common adulterant, individuals with diabetes who consume jaggery as a "safe" alternative may experience life-threatening spikes in blood glucose levels.