Posted on 07/08/2024 11:45:49 AM PDT by nickcarraway
The Greek diet is regarded as one of the healthiest in the world because it’s based largely on fruit and vegetables, whole grains, fish, and a small amount of cheese and yogurt.
When many people think of Greek food, pastitso, moussaka, souvlaki and baklava come to mind.
However, a traditional Greek diet is packed with greens, such as horta (wild greens) fasolakia (green string beans), bamies (okra), legumes including fakes (lentils), fasolada (beans), revithia (chickpeas), vegetable dishes, fish and small portions of meat.
This array of foods looks a lot like what is regarded as a healthy, balanced diet.
Greeks are also famous for their love of olive oil, which is lower in saturated fat than butter, and therefore a good choice for cooking.
Greek diet and the Seven Countries Study
The Seven Countries Study was the first to evaluate the links between diet, lifestyle and the risk of a heart attack.
From 1958 to 1970, the study observed men living in countries as diverse as Finland, Japan, Greece and America.
Dr. Ancel Keys and his team found that countries with a varied diet based on monounsaturated fats, fruits, vegetables and legumes had a lower risk of heart disease than countries whose diets were based on wheat, meat and sugar.
And the best of the bunch? Crete, where 40 percent of the diet came from healthy fats.
Recent evidence published by the PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) journal shows that the combination of olive oil and leafy salad or vegetables is what gives the Mediterranean diet its healthy edge because the formation of nitro fatty acids between the two food groups lowers blood pressure.
If you’re more concerned about your brain than your body: well, olive oil helps with that, too.
A study by Columbia University, published in 2015 in the journal Neurology, demonstrated that those living on a Mediterranean diet have more active and alert brains. In fact, the diet reduces the amount the brain usually shrinks over time by five years.
Celebrity chef Cat Cora said of the Greek diet: “You don’t have to take a lot of supplements, you don’t have to be on any yo-yo diets and things; you just eat a lifestyle that promotes health naturally.”
Greek diet has anti-aging properties
British nutritionist and author Tonia Buxton suggests that the Greek diet could have anti-aging properties too. In an interview, she claimed following the Greek diet for just seven days can have a visible effect on your skin.
“Nutrition is the best place to start when you want to look more youthful,” says Tonia. She would spend three months each year in Greece eating mainly seasonal vegetables, fruit, pulses and lashings of olive oil.
“Each time I went I noticed how great I felt and how much my skin glowed. So with my mum’s help I began to cook my own Greek-inspired meals,” Buxton, author of the book Eat Greek For A Week said.
According to several studies, the Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases, including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
With a Windex chaser…
Unfortunately, the Greek diet is being replaced by the fast food American diet and, as a result, Greeks are becoming fat people, like us.
When I lived in Seattle, a neighbor 2 doors down was an old Greek dude. Nice guy, but pretty sure he subsisted off cigars and Ouzo. He did have some kind of lamb and pork sausage he’s grill up that was pretty tasty.
I like some Greek food, but it seems to be loaded with carbs (pita, hummus, rice, etc.) so it does not seem a good idea for a diabetic to have very much of.
So why are the street vendor food carts 5-deep if it’s selling souvlaki or kebabs??? Personal observation only and on the island of Crete - no science involved.
My doctor wanted me to eat a Mediterranean diet. I asked, “You mean like Italian?”. He said, “That’s not Mediterranean.” I said, “What do you mean? The whole country is surrounded by the Mediterranean.”
I spent a week traveling around Greece and could hardly eat anything because of the huge amount of salt in it. Restaurant food, of course. Maybe they do better at home, but cheese is loaded with saturated fat. Horrible for your heart, as is salt.
On my trip, I stopped at little grocery stores and bought green veggies, which were in short supply in restaurant food. Washed them in bathtub in my hotels.
Aside from the food, the trip was great, especially a stop at Crete to see the ruins of Heraklion there. Fabulous old palace and a small museum with artifacts.
That diet is anti-Aegean.
Hummus is chick peas and you can make your own. Substitute pita for those keto small street tacos—a little expensive but gives a bread product or use lettuce leaf 🥬 for bread. We diabetics face this problem constantly
Yuk, no taste.
FUGEDDABOUDDITT...
“The Seven Countries Study was the first to evaluate the links between diet, lifestyle and the risk of a heart attack.”
It was also fraud.
“demonstrated that those living on a Mediterranean diet”
Can someone define “a Mediterranean diet” and show it is the same as what other people say?
😆
“This array of foods looks a lot like what is regarded as a healthy, balanced diet.”
Tastes like crap.
We’ve had family trips to over ten cities in Europe. Athens and Santorini had the best restaurants for us. They generally pushed tables together for the 20 of us. The food was tasty. They always provided something gratis at the end, such as wine or a tasty dessert. Even though it waxes late November we could often eat outside.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.