Mediterranean Diet , generally refers to Greece , Spain, France and Italy, and other southern European countries along the Mediterranean coast. is based on plant food and mainly uses a large number of vegetables, fruits, fish, grains, beans and olive oil. It is famous for its beneficial effects on health.
Previous studies have found that Mediterranean diet can prevent diseases related to modern lifestyles such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes , and other diseases related to modern lifestyles .
"British Medical Journal " published a study report of 1.5 million people by Italian scholars: Adhering to Mediterranean diet can significantly improve residents' health, reduce the average mortality rate by 9%, cardiovascular mortality rate by 9%, cancer mortality rate by 6%, and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease incidence by 13%.
In fact, as early as the 1970s, Nutrition found that the incidence of heart disease and cancer among residents of Mediterranean coastal countries was lower than that of other regions, and the reason was related to their eating habits.
So, what are the characteristics of Mediterranean diet?
1Eat more fish and eat less meat, replace red meat with white meat
Residents of Mediterranean coastal countries intake protein mainly come from fish, such as sardine , tuna , herring , salmon, etc., followed by chicken and nuts, rarely eat poultry, and eat no more than 4 eggs per week.
Because the fat content of fish is lower than that of poultry meat, the cholesterol content is generally lower. Especially sardines are rich in Ω-3 series unsaturated fatty acids. can reduce blood viscosity and increase high-density lipoprotein levels, helping to protect normal heart rhythm .
2Eat more vegetables and fruits
There are a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits in the Mediterranean diet. Vegetables are mostly rhizomes, such as onions, potatoes, , radish, , garlic, etc. These foods are rich in phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals and cellulose, and have antioxidant, anti-tumor and other health care effects .
There is also a kind of wild vegetable of purslane , which is a common food on the table of local residents. It has the effect of increasing prostaglandin synthesis and can reduce blood viscosity. Residents along the Mediterranean coast not only consume a large amount of vegetables, but also are used to eating them raw, such as making vegetable salad .
3eat whole wheat products
bread and macaroni eaten by Mediterranean residents are made of whole wheat flour . Whole wheat products are rich in vitamins and dietary fiber. bread does not add trans fatty acid , which is unfavorable to health, which not only helps reduce blood lipids, stools, prevents obesity, but also reduces the risk of various cancers and chronic diseases such as colorectal cancer.
4 Olive oil is used as edible oil
The edible oil of residents along the Mediterranean coast is mainly olive oil. If the diet contains too much saturated fatty acid, blood lipids in the body will easily accumulate; if excessive polyunsaturated fatty acid is consumed, the oil will be unstable and there is a risk of carcinogenicity. Only monounsaturated fatty acid is truly beneficial to cardiovascular health and can reduce the probability of heart disease.
Olive oil is a fat rich in unit unsaturated fatty acids. It contains a large amount of linoleic acid, squalene , polyphenol , fat-soluble vitamin , carotene and α-linolenic acid , and α-linolenic acid , , fat-soluble vitamin , carotene and α-linolenic acid , and α-linolenic acid , which are not good for health, and the content of saturated fatty acids is very low.
can increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol , reduce LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol and triacylglycerol, prevent hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis, help reduce the risk of hypertension and effectively protect the heart.
5Drinking a small amount of wine every day
Mediterranean residents must drink 1-2 cups of red wine almost every meal, and are also used to cooking food with wine. Red wine is rich in antioxidant resveratrol and other ingredients. Drinking it in moderation has the effects of anti-cancer and anti-platelet aggregation, which can reduce the risk of arteriosclerosis and vascular thrombosis, as well as anti-aging and anti-radiation .
These characteristics of Mediterranean diet are worth learning from by our residents!
