Typical foods of the Mediterranean diet improve the quality of life
Mediterranean Diet: For Iron-Strong Health!
Foods rich in Omega 3 such as fish and other typical Mediterranean diet foods help improve quality of life on two levels: physical and mental. This is the result of a study by researchers from the Spanish universities of Las Palmas and Navarra, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition1. The research confirms the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and emphasizes the importance of its effects on the population, whose life expectancy is continuously increasing.
Healthful Foods: Fish, Fruit, and Vegetables
The advantages of a diet based on the Mediterranean diet pyramid have been known for some time. Several studies have shown that this eating pattern helps to:
- promote longevity;
- improve fertility;
- increase sleep quality;
- protect cardiovascular health.
The main foods of the Mediterranean diet are cereals, fruit, vegetables, dairy, and olive oil. Other important foundations include:
- limited consumption of products high in sugars;
- choice of animal proteins from lean meat, eggs, and fish.
Fish provides the body with an adequate supply of Omega-3, the fatty acids essential to our health. The fish richest in Omega-3 are salmon, trout, tuna, mackerel, and anchovies.
Mediterranean Diet, Physical Well-being, and Mental Health
The new Spanish research analyzed the effect of the Mediterranean diet on the quality of life of more than 11,000 university students:
- at the beginning of the study, researchers recorded the eating habits of the participants;
- 4 years later, they measured their quality of life through a self-assessment carried out by the students themselves.
The diet based on vegetables, legumes, fruit, cereals, nuts, and fish was considered consistent with the Mediterranean diet. Diets rich in meat derivatives and alcohol were instead considered distant from the principles of this nutritional model. The data analysis revealed that students who followed these principles felt better physically and mentally. The lead author of the study, Patricia Henríquez Sánchez, commented on the results by emphasizing how the increase in life expectancy is an important factor to improve the health of citizens, especially those in industrialized countries.
Omega-3: Benefits for the Heart and Nervous System
Years of studies have demonstrated the benefits of Omega-3 for cardiovascular health and the nervous system. These fatty acids also play a protective role against the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Remember that Omega-3 can be optimally introduced through the following foods:
- fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, and tuna;
- shellfish;
- walnuts.
Source
1. Henríquez Sánchez P, Ruano C, de Irala J, Ruiz-Canela M, Martínez-González MA, Sánchez-Villegas A, “Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and quality of life in the SUN Project”, Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 Mar;66(3):360-8. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2011.146. Epub 2011 Aug 17
