MEDITERRANEAN DIET IN PRAGUE

Mediterranean diet is just too good to be food!

Thanks to its uncountable benefits, from 2010 it belongs to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

First of all it helps to prevent from cancers, thanks to its multiple kind of food rich in antioxidants. It is also good for our health and for our skin.

It is mostly based on products from the land, such as legumes, cereals, fruit and vegetables, which are all rich of fibres, iron, vitamins, carbohydrates and antioxidants.

This, together with fish, meat and eggs, a correct amount of milk, is also necessary to complete the diet..

What is extremely important, but unfortunately undervalued, is the regular use of extra virgin olive oil used, not only raw, but for cooking as well (Keep following us to know more).

Thanks to its huge amount of antioxidants and vitamin E, it prevents the oxidation during the cooking process. Do not forget, that its delicate flavour, gives a healthy taste to everything we cook, protecting our health and giving us the quantity of “good”, healthy fats our body needs.

Of course a glass of good wine during meals is also healthy!

Sweets are also needed to give the quantity of sugars our body needs to transform in energy to face the day. With “sweets” I do not mean cakes or muffins, of course!

I mean a yoghurt with muesli, bread with jams, or some brown sugar in your coffee or some fruit.

All these together give our bodies and minds a balanced quantity of nutritional values.

Following a balanced diet helps us to live longer and better with less risk of getting serious illnesses.

Protection for our health

As we said before, the antioxidants are very important to prevent cancer, so eating food with extra virgin olive oil gives us a natural protection.

Vegetable, cereals and legumes have a lot of fibre, that help to keep the intestine “clean” from the substances that our body needs to expel because might be dangerous when in contact with the intestine. That is the reason why we should pay attention to what we eat and how we cook our meals.

Yes... but we are not in the Mediterranean area

In cold countries the culinary tradition is mostly based on the use of animal fats, meat and only few kind of vegetables. This because the climate does not help some fruits and vegetables to grow up.

What can we do then, since we live in a cold country?

We can choose what to eat, how to cook and where to buy. We just need to check what we put in our basket at the supermarket.

Especially for imported products like extra virgin olive oil. This is very important, otherwise it brings more damages than benefits.

Choose it pure, ask to taste it, ask where it comes from, whether it is organic or not, since we now know that chemical pesticides are not healthy, especially when we have to cook. Pure extra virgin olive oil keeps the veins clean from obstructions that may cause strokes or other problems like hypertension or obesity. Unfortunately you will not get answers when shopping in supermarkets.

Choosing the right ingredients, you can vary your dishes and getting always healthy benefits and... a great taste!

Few questions that may be helpful to take away some doubts:

– Is this diet good for elder people?

Of course it is, because it is balanced and easy to digest. Of course it has to be adapted to the person's clinical situation.

– Is it safe to feed children with extra virgin olive oil in their vegetable soup?

Yes! It is protecting their intestine, heart, giving them antioxidants and vitamin E.

– Is the Mediterranean diet good for pregnant women?

Of course, it prevents from getting too much weight and from the risk of gestational diabetes.

– Why should I change my diet or eating habits?

You do not have to, of course! But this will help you to feel better. You can try for a couple of months and, if you do not like it, you can always go back to the old one. I guess if you are here, you might want to give it a try!

How to get our Mediterranean diet benefits in the Czech Republic?

In a country like the one we live in, there is a huge choice of international food shops where you can find good quality food for all tastes. Farmer markets are giving a good offer of vegetables.

Breakfast is the most important meal, so it is always good to have it rich enough and containing carbohydrates to give us the necessary quantity of sugar and fats our body needs for the first part of the day to transform to energy.

If you like sweet food, it would be better to have it in the morning, so our body has the time to transform it in energy and you will have time to burn it!

Anyway cakes and similar, better leave them for special occasions or not more than once a week.

Eating carbohydrates for lunch gives our body another quantity of “sugar” needed daily, but less fats. So we have enough energy for the rest of the day.

Having meat or fish in the evening, with vegetables, give us proteins, omega 3 and all the fibres needed without being hard to digest.

To sum up:

– Breakfast: it is better to eat what is more difficult to digest and what can give us more energy for the day

– Lunch: we still need some energy till the end of the day, so better eat something rich, but lighter than in the morning

– Dinner: it is recommended to eat food which give us important nutriments but in the same time will be easy to digest

As you can see, even living in a different country, you can get all the benefits of the sunny Mediterranean area without resigning from the taste.

Follow our next articles, we will give you more information about the Mediterranean Lifestyle!

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