A well balanced diet, the best choice

Absurdity and stupidity are conquering the world of diets and food. Examples of these absurd diets, is the so-called “newborn” diet of Reese Witherspoon to the even more absurd and prohibitive “$200 diet” of Gwtneth Paltrow which includes an infusion with moon powder. Absurdity and fallacies that are penetrating the population and that can make us abandon one of the healthiest diets in the world, the Mediterranean diet and its extra virgin olive oil.

If you are a lover of the Mediterranean diet and are looking for a good extra virgin olive oil, look no further, here you can buy the best extra virgin olive oils in Spain: Baena, Jaén, Sierra Magina, Sierra de Cazorla, Priego de Córdoba oil etc in our shop in Las Rozas de Madrid or online shop. You may also be interested in: Benefits of olive oil

A balanced and healthy diet, the Mediterranean diet

Science is finding more and more evidence demonstrating the virtues of plant-based diets and the incorporation of whole grains and lean proteins. Diets that help us maintain our ideal weight, stay slim and maintain an agile mind.

Diets based on vegetable foods are beneficial for the environment, the heart, body weight and health as a whole, as was explained in the report of the US News and World in the United States, which dealt with the topic of the best diets.

There are many diets, but a new study highlights two as the best of all; the Mediterranean diet and a new modality of the latter, the “MIND” diet (a diet focused on the health of the brain and on foods with greater beneficial properties for the brain), both are balanced and healthy, and those that most protect the brain and prevent cognitive degeneration diseases.

The Mediterranean diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, and fish; it is low in red meat, processed foods, farmyard animals, and dairy products. The MIND diet emphasizes green leafy vegetables, nuts, berries, whole grains, seafood, poultry, extra virgin olive oil and wine. In addition, those who follow this regimen limit or eliminate red meat, butter and margarine, cheese, cakes, sweets, and fried foods.

Mediterranean Diet, and MIND for the brain

In this new study published in the July 25, 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers analyzed data from nearly 6,000 older adults who participated in a large study of health and retirement. First, they asked the participants about their diet and the type of food they ate or didn’t eat. The researchers then performed different word-list tests and various exercises to measure their patients’ memory and attention span.

The researchers’ job was to compare the participants’ diet with their cognitive tests. Patients who ate diets based on plant-based foods and along the lines of the Mediterranean diet or MINDS carried out brain exercise more quickly and efficiently than those who followed other types of diets.

In addition, the patients who most closely followed the Mediterranean diet lines with their olive oil were those who showed the least risk of getting a lower grade in brain tests.

“These new discoveries reiterate that convincing people to follow good consumption habits and follow the Mediterranean diet with their olive oil is an important strategy for public health, to protect against neurodegenerative processes and delay aging,” according to Claire McEvoy, author, who directed the article and nutritionist at the University of California, San Francisco in the United States.

Researchers still can’t say why these types of diets are the most beneficial for brain health, but they show us some clues.

Both diets are rich in antioxidants and two types of healthy, monounsaturated fat from olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids from fish. Previous studies have already shown a relationship between these ingredients and a lower risk of dementia or other major cognitive illnesses. In addition, green leafy vegetables and berries emphasized in the “MIND” diet have been shown to protect against progressive degeneration of the structure or function of brain cells, known as neurodegeneration. A key feature that leads to the development of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

Vegetable-based diets are not only good for the brain, they also give us key benefits for the proper functioning of the rest of the body and protect us against many diseases.

Characteristics of a balanced diet

A balanced diet, like the balanced diet is based on carbohydrates, legumes, fruits and vegetables with some fish and meat, avoiding any processed product and industry and uses as fundamental fat extra virgin olive oil.

Next we show you the nutritional pyramid of a balanced diet.

Photo: pyramid of a Mediterranean diet

Recommendations from nutritionists

Cara Anselmo, a nutritionist and dietitian at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, told the Business Insider that she advises her patients to continually follow a balanced diet, increase their intake of vegetable foods and decrease their consumption of red meats and carbohydrates such as refined bread.

Anselmo also recommends its patients, if they wish to increase their energy levels and feel healthier, to enrich their diet instead of satiating their stomachs. The diet should be rich in nutrients to satiate muscles, which crave protein; the digestive system works best with fiber; and your tissues and bones work best when they are given vitamins.

A diet should be rich in nutrients, fiber, and vitamins. A diet based on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, protein and extra virgin olive oil. With this type of diet we will be able to keep our stomachs satiated for after meals and our bodies with enough energy throughout the day not to feel the need to snack between meals and overfeed, as Nichola Whitehead, a registered dietitian with private practices in the United Kingdom, commented to the Business Insider media.

Nichola added: “Our body needs a balanced diet, we must always include in our diet whole grains, foods with fiber, vegetables and fruits, this way we will have controlled our blood sugar level. What we must avoid are so-called empty calories, foods that only provide us with calories but no nutrients, such as refined olive oils, white rice and white or refined bread.

Diets based on vegetables, fruits and olive oil tend to reduce many common chronic diseases, including many heart diseases, diabetes and many types of cancer.

Anselmo also added that when you look at dietary patterns as a whole, it’s diets based on whole foods, vegetables and fruits that are the healthiest in terms of the least chance of developing disease. In addition, people tend to think about specific dietary things, such as the amount of iron or vitamins they eat, and not look at the whole thing. What one should be clear about is that by following the Mediterranean diet and eating wholemeal foods, one adds high levels of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and the rest that the human body needs to its intake.

Balanced diet to lose weight

A balanced diet with all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that our body needs, produces that the body does not ask for more food than necessary to meet all their needs. If our body does not ask for more food than we need, we will be able to lose weight and maintain our ideal weight.

The balanced diet is a necessary requirement to lose weight and maintain a body weight. This is clear to all nutritionists and you can see it when you are in a market, only there to look at people who are overweight and the contents of their shopping cart and thin people. Thin people and their weight almost always fill their shopping basket with vegetables, fruits, legumes, extra virgin olive oil and raw honey.

Losing weight over the years is an increasingly difficult task. When we were younger, we were always on the move and did not gain a single kilo, but with age, the extra kilos have accompanied us and we did not manage to be abandoned. To lose kilo, in a consumer society, the balanced diet is not the only requirement to lose weight, it is necessary that we do other things: do moderate exercise, avoid snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon, avoid stress and eat relaxed and without burden.

Source:

El periódico inglés “The Independent”. There’s even more evidence that one type of diet is the best for your body and brain. (Hay todavía más evidencias que un tipo de dieta es la mejor para nuestro cuerpo y cerebro). http://www.independent.co.uk/life . 5 de Agosto del 2017