|
|
 |
The Mediterranean Diet, a perfect balance
|
| The pleasure of good cuisine and the constant growth of interest for wine and food itineraries as well as fair-markets, connected to traditional products, clash with the health aspect and the warnings of the scientific community, which often insists on the importance of a balanced diet as the best prevention for many diseases. However, they would seem to be two irreconcilable trends. Can we associate the pleasure of eating with a healthy diet? The nutritionist's answer: Affirmative without a doubt. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A TRADITION ELECTED TO A MODEL |
|
|
Supported by results of scientific research, new important confirmations keep coming, as to the benefits deriving from food from the Italian food tradition. It is no accident that the Mediterranean diet is seen as an example of a perfect nutritional regime. Pasta, vegetables and oil, always present on Italian tables, as well as satisfying the palate and sparking off conviviality, are essentially ideal from a nutritional point of view. The nutritional tradition of countries such as Italy, Spain, Southern France, Greece and some areas of Northern Africa, is considered by nutritionists the most suitable type of diet, with the advantage of covering all ages groups without reserve.
Olive oil, for instance, turned out to be one of the most effective weapons against the effects of "bad" cholesterol. We just need to think of the Greek population, who, against a millenary consumption of olive oil, is coming out with the lowest cholesterol level in blood in the whole of Europe. Olive oil, being rich of mono-unsaturated fat acids, and of anti-oxidants like vitamin E and phenol compounds, actually performs a cleaning action for the arteries.
|
|
|
|
To prevent so-called "well-being" disorders (thrombosis, arteriosclerosis, heart attack, diabetes, hypertension, digestive ailments, and obesity) doctors and specialists nowadays agree in suggesting a diet that will optimally distribute the daily caloric contribution of the various types of nourishment. This, translated according to dictates of the Mediterranean philosophy, means that 55-60% must come from carbohydrates (cereals, pasta, bread), 25-30% from fats (olive oil, butter, lard) and only 10-15% from proteins (meats, fish, legumes such as beans, peas etc.). The above-mentioned proportions ensure a balanced diet: carbohydrates to supply energy; fats that, according to current medical-scientific knowledge, if unsaturated acid fats, reduce LDL cholesterol (the "bad one" to make it simple) and increase HDL (the "good" one); and finally, proteins, only in minimal part of animal type. Yes, because the Mediterranean tradition is also rich of pulses, and therefore vegetal proteins, which aid in reducing cholesterol. If the advantages of a diet full of fruits and vegetables, contributing vitamins, fibres and mineral salts are common knowledge by now, perhaps not everybody knows of the benefits of aromatic herbs, garlic and onion, elements that help greatly in the reduction of fats and, once again, of the notorious "bad" cholesterol LDL.
|
|
|
|
If adopted with a little shrewdness, the Mediterranean diet is also an excellent compromise between "good eating" and keeping one's shape. It is a question of a "diet non diet" absolutely positive and healthy, if followed through balancing its own wide-ranging elements and, if completed by a lifestyle with adequate energetic consumption. A habit, easy to take along with you, which offers many benefits even from a psychological view point, because it allows you to experience a peaceful relationship with food. An aspect that is not negligible in a society as ours, induced as we are by the media to live our relationship with eating in a growingly guilty way. With the result of seeing pathologies like anorexia and bulimia grow in an uncontrollable manner. The Mediterranean diet, on the other hand, represents the perfect compromise between our taste buds' satisfaction and our psyche. What more could you wish for?
|
|
|
|
Pasta is the Italian dish by excellence. The Italian dish by excellence is, deservedly, the main-stay of Mediterranean cuisine. The secret lies in combining its already good nutritional properties with its satiating capacity, without increasing the calories intake with excessively fat dressings. Pasta, actually, even though it is not a complete food by itself, needs very little to become one. To balance it, you just need to add a sauce that may be made of vegetables, proteins (without exaggerating) and fats. Furthermore, it shall have to be al dente and not only for taste reasons: to chew more means removing hunger and digesting better.
But what are the reasons behind this dish becoming almost the symbol of the Mediterranean diet? It is its capacity to release the starches very slowly, thus allowing to modulate their effect on the organism. In other words, the feeling of being full lasts for longer, whereas the sensation of hunger, after a dish of pasta, returns much later than with other cereal-based dishes such as pizza, bread or rice.
Another advantage of the slow assimilation of pasta concerns the sugars that are contained, which, if metabolised too rapidly, would cause dangerous repercussions on glycaemia. A factor to be kept in mind, and not only for diabetics.
Finally, a dish of spaghetti dressed with tomato, basil, extra virgin olive oil, and one sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano, is not only a typical product of Italian tradition, but a correct meal from a nutritional view point.
Even the tomato sauce, in fact, is a precious ally of health. It contains the lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, effective against free radicals, and dangerous by-products of the metabolic processes. It is freed with the cooking and is best absorbed with olive oil. Those who like to accompany their meal with a glass of red wine should do so with no guilty feelings, as even wine, in moderate quantities, is healthy, because it contains polyphenols, other antioxidants that improve the rate of "good" cholesterol.
|
|
|
|
|
