Gastrointestinal issues and gut-related problems like IBS aren’t unheard of. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently talked about it and presented a solution in his newsletter in the form of a diet. According to him, a wholesome Mediterranean diet was the answer to a troubled gut.
In one of his recent newsletters, he talked about how the Mediterranean diet could help relieve IBS symptoms and stomach pain. Rich in whole grains, healthy fat sources, seafood, and more, the plan helps ease the gut without holding back on the quantity of intake.
Researchers conducted a clinical trial on 60 people to test if a Mediterranean diet was feasible and improved GI and psychological symptoms in IBS. The results were quite favorable. Not only was the diet successful in relieving the symptoms, but it also offers many other health benefits upon consumption.
Something that also surprised researchers was that despite the diet change, there was no difference in FODMAP intake, which is often associated with digestive stress. The Mediterranean diet curbed the symptoms without restricting food intake, which helped reduce psychological stress.
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“And this isn’t the first time the Mediterranean diet has been connected to health benefits. Other studies suggest that it can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and brain degeneration.”
It wasn’t clear how a certain diet would compensate for nutrients and cause little to no trouble to the gut. Schwarzenegger suggests that it could also have some kind of placebo effect involved. Yet, there’s no denying that the Mediterranean plan did carry benefits. To ease the plan for those who want to get started, he even provided a shopping list for a week’s worth of groceries.
“It’s not a “perfect” list — and you can enjoy other food and options — but you can use this as a shopping list template to improve your eating.”
The list consisted of items like sourdough bread, extra virgin olive oil, various kinds of fish, beans, fresh vegetables, and more. All of this was enough for a fitness enthusiast to begin their wholesome diet journey.
Restricting carbs isn’t the key to fitness according to Arnold Schwarzenegger
Fitness enthusiasts would often cut down on carbs during their journey through weight loss. While it might seem like the most obvious move, Schwarzenegger suggests it could only lead to more harm than good.
In one of his newsletters, he discussed low-fat and low-carb diets. Surprisingly, he observed that while low-carb diets did induce weight loss, they led to a sour mood in individuals. This, in turn, made it hard to avoid overeating. Therefore, the key to this was to include healthy carbs such as whole grains, oats, and legumes and avoid the ultra-processed kind.
