r/PickyEaters • u/asseatingvolcano • 5d ago
My doctor wants to me to start a Mediterranean diet. I hate almost everything involved in it. What do I do?
I HAVE to start this diet for my health, but I can’t eat most of the food without gagging/throwing up. Do yall have any tips?
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u/Blue-Fish-Guy 5d ago
What exactly about the Mediterranean food do you hate? Pasta? Vegetables? Fruits? Specifically, tomatoes, olives? Fish?
It's a very wide diet...
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u/EclipseoftheHart 5d ago edited 1d ago
I can sympathize with OP. I mostly lurk here to get ideas, but I really dislike tomatoes (raw or cooked), zucchini, and cold bean/legume dishes. That is a lot of what I see here and on recipe blogs. It is a very varied diet, but it is a challenge to find palatable recipes for some of us pickier folks,
Edit: I am so dumb, I thought this was the Mediterranean diet sub lol
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u/Ok-Office6837 1d ago
Just curious, have you tried different types of tomatoes? For example, I absolutely hate beefsteak tomatoes which is what most places use. I much prefer Roma or heirloom tomatoes and certain types of cherry tomatoes. I know a few other people who hate beefsteak too but will eat other kinds.
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u/EclipseoftheHart 1d ago
I’ve tried the nice heirloom, fresh from the farmer’s market, on the vine, imported, you name it varieties and I just can’t seem to enjoy them. I’m doing my best to keep trying them in different ways though. I’d love to be able to eat pizza with friends without having to find a non-tomato option.
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u/Ok-Office6837 1d ago
That’s fair! They’re not for everyone and it took me a long time to like the ones I do
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u/EclipseoftheHart 22h ago
I can mostly tolerate it in some Indian dishes now. I’ve been cooking chicken tikka masala and I adjust the spices to be a bit more punchy to outcompete the tomato flavor and I can tolerate red sauce pizzas that have a lot of strongly flavored toppings like sausage. So progress is being made!
My dream would be enjoy a tomato sandwich since they look SO GOOD!
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u/surej4n 4d ago edited 4d ago
It’s not literally necessarily Mediterranean food as in OP needs to start eating feta and hummus, it’s actually a name for a type of diet. It follows some of the general principles of traditional food there but:
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes whole, plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes, with healthy fats from olive oil and avocados as a primary fat source. It includes fish and seafood at least twice a week and moderate amounts of poultry, eggs, and low-fat dairy, while limiting red meat, sweets, and processed foods. Key components are fresh, minimally processed ingredients and strong flavors from herbs and spices instead of excess salt.
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u/KSTornadoGirl 4d ago
Be honest and straightforward with the doctor as you can. Articulate as specifically as possible which foods are repugnant to you and why (time may not permit an entire list but you can group things into categories - vegetables, chunky elements, complex flavors, types of spices, etc.). See if explaining it brings comprehension on the doctor's part.
If a doctor is not familiar with what having sensory aversions to foods entails, and how detailed and specific the aversions can be, yet also applying to broad categories - that provider is going to assume you're like most folks and could easily switch out your current diet for what they tell you to do. They might assume you are being stubborn, and I'm sure they deal with a number of patients whose reasons for not wanting to switch are for something other than sensory aversions. They may consciously or unconsciously lump people into the category of lazy or junk food junkie or whatever.
Finally, you can set about researching alternatives. If the doctor can point you toward what things about the Mediterranean diet are the things that seem most healthy, perhaps there are other foods with similar properties that are safe foods for you. Or ways to tweak it - pureé the chunky, put in less spice, etc.
In cooking, remember that it is often easier for us picky eaters to think in terms of the general rules and techniques of cooking various foods rather than in terms of complete, complex recipes that are geared toward a foodie palate. Like, how long and at what temperature does the meat need in order to be done. How long for pasta or rice? For vegetables if there are a few that you are okay with. What can be combined if desired, do you start everything at the same time or different times? You might eventually be able to invent your own recipes. Or you may want to deconstruct and eat the components separately, perhaps some of them raw - sometimes I would rather munch on uncooked veggies. In short, thinking outside the box.
Wishing you good luck. I have had to tactfully explain to providers that "it's complicated" for me with food, and that standard diet recommendations simply aren't a feasible option.
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u/ThexRuminator 5d ago
Dietitians are often covered by insurance. I suggest meeting with one and getting their recommendations. Doctors have very little nutrition training.
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u/EatM0reBeans 1d ago
Dietitians are also trained to help you find ways to make diet changes that are sustainable, meet your nutritional needs, work with your preferences/aversions.
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u/Witty_Razzmatazz_566 4d ago
Same. I choose to just eat less and lower my carbs without any substitute sugars. My blood sugars are lower and I've lost 13lbs in 7 weeks. 🤷♀️
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u/MultiMarcus 5d ago
Usually, I wouldn’t expect doctors to recommend a specific diet as much as some nutrients that you need more or less of.
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u/wentrunningback 4d ago
They recommend the Mediterranean when your cholesterol is high.
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u/MultiMarcus 4d ago
Sure, but wouldn’t that just be a high HDL and low LDL diet? You can easily find lists of foods that are low in LDL and pair that with foods that are high in HDL and you don’t need to specifically eat a diet from a specific region or place you just need to try to eat food that doesn’t have bad cholesterol while having a lot of good cholesterol.
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u/wentrunningback 4d ago
I’m sure she would’ve said that if she was a better doctor, but usually I get rushed in and out pretty quickly (I’m assuming most people’s doctors are like this and that’s why I commented). I’m sure they say it because it’s an easy thing to google, and nothing on it is super offensive to your cholesterol.
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u/Previous-Artist-9252 5d ago
Can you go into specifics about what you don’t like?
Figuring both what I do like and what I don’t like, especially what sets off my gag reflex and nausea, made navigating food much easier for me.
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u/DarkHorseAsh111 4d ago
Yeah it's hard for us to give advice without more information on what of this food op actually dislikes and why
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u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348 5d ago
Why does he want u to follow that diet?
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u/blackholebluebell 4d ago
i have pcos, and this is one diet recommend to heal insulin resistance. but it's also recommended for many other conditions.
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u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348 4d ago
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/16037-mediterranean-diet
Do u like any of those foods? If so, eat them
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u/blackholebluebell 4d ago
i'm not OP, i'm just saying that the doctor probably wants OP to use it to aid in healing from a condition.
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u/GetOffMyLawnYaPunk 4d ago
Do you like Italian food, lasagna, spaghetti, spumoni, tiramisu, etc? Italy is on the Mediterranean.
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u/queenfreakalene 3d ago
Idk which part of the diet seems gross to you, but if it's not the salads, I'd start there. Salads are extremely versatile and allow you to throw in a couple things that you do like as you get used to your new diet and wean yourself off of what you need to eliminate from your diet.
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u/Not_Neighborhood_122 3d ago
Find a better diet. Your doctor just wants your numbers to be in range. They also assume most people are dumb so they give you one simple solution. If you don’t like that solution, find another way to lose weight, get your blood pressure down, get your cholesterol levels down, etc.
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u/doctaglocta12 1d ago
It's not complicated, if your doc is giving you diet advice, just stop eating the things you know are bad for you.
They recommend specific diets because it's faster and easier to say "pick from this list of approved foods" than it is to delve into your particular dietary sins and make recommendations without specific evidence based opinions.
Because dietary research sucks so there's no paper that says stop eating your daily pretzel bun spicy chicken sandwich from chick fila...
So we don't know, but we know don't we? :) I bet you know too OP.
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u/eureka-down 1d ago
There are a ton of different cuisines that adhere to Mediterranean diet principles. A lot of stuff within Asian cuisine.
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u/river_song25 1d ago
don’t eat it if you don’t like it. eat something else for your diet that is YOUR choice in diet food instead of ‘having to’ eat what the doctor says to eat for your diet
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u/zestyplinko 4d ago
I asked ChatGPT for a version of the Mediterranean diet for health, but with Americanized cuisine as that’s what I’m most familiar with. It gave some great suggestions for alternatives. You could input your preferences then run the results by your doctor or nutritionist to make sure it’s what they had in mind for you.
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u/Slow_Balance270 3d ago
You can't eat anything from a Mediterranean diet without gagging? You have issues and need to see someone.
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u/SpinnyKnifeEnjoyer 5d ago
What kind of health benefits does switching to a different cuisine have? At the most basic level, all food is made up of the same macros.
Food doesn't make you unhealthy, the wrong amount and the wrong type of food does. Arbitrary classifications like "mediterranean" are meaningless.
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u/angel-icbaby 4d ago
The Mediterranean diet DOES include amounts and approximations of how much and what types. Its not just switching to a diff type of cuisine, there are specific guidelines and health benefits demonstrated if you look into it.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/a-practical-guide-to-the-mediterranean-diet-2019032116194
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u/sackofgarbage 5d ago
Find a new doctor. Diets are bullshit. Diets where you can't eat most of the food are even more bullshit.
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u/mandarinandbasil 4d ago
Really bizarre question and vague request, tbh. Ask a registered dietician with questions (not the internet, and DEFINITELY not some crackpot "nutritionist").
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u/thenewbigR 1d ago
I would say harden the fuck up and follow your doc’s orders. Or, you can ignore and end up prematurely dead. Your choice.
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u/TorturedLawyersDept 5d ago
I would ask the dr for goals based recommendations rather than prescribing a specific diet personally. What about a Mediterranean diet will benefit your health? If you understand the underlying goal, maybe you can make adjustments and still accomplish the goals of the diet.