When In Greece…

Mona Liza Reyes's picture
Posted September 21st, 2007 by Mona Liza Reyes
in

The Greek diet and way of life help its citizens maintain a low mortality rate and healthy lifestyle. CNN recently ranked it as one of the healthiest countries in the world. What about Greece makes it such a healthy place to live?

There are a few key things Greeks do to keep their whole nation in tip-top shape.

  1. Emphasize whole grains and produce. In Greece, vegetables are main courses, rather than just side dishes. People who eat more fruits and vegetables have a 20% lower risk for heart disease.
  2. Greece actually has a ‘rule’ on its nutritional pyramid that says Greeks should eat slowly at regular intervals and that this should all take place “in a pleasant environment”
  3. Maximize food diversity: eat a variety of fresh, unprocessed foods.
  4. Core staple foods that are prevalent as well as healthy! Lemons, eggplants, grape leaves, spinach, olives, and garbanzo beans are all favorites in Greece that are nutritious as well as delicious!
  5. YOGURT! Did you know that yogurt has benefits for intestinal health, lactose intolerance, stronger bones, improves lactose intolerance, lowers blood pressure, and enhances immunity.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Average: 5 (1 vote)

Other articles you might like:

How Bout

Sunflower's picture
On September 24th, 2007 Sunflower says:

Does the olives that come in a Martini count?

"People who are down to earth...have a high place in heaven"

YES I Agree........

Seansgold's picture
On September 23rd, 2007 Seansgold says:

with Will i am. I also agree veggies need to be the main course. The more veggies I eat in my program the better I feel!!
Thank You, Mo..

Sean Forson ~ Aka "SUPERMAN"
Moving Forward Everyday in a Great Way, "FITNESS FOR LIFE"

wow

will_i_am's picture
On September 22nd, 2007 will_i_am says:

awesome points! well made ;)

im going to start eating a ton of veggies at every meal ;)

Diet and napping

Precision_Tie_Dye's picture
On September 21st, 2007 Precision_Tie_Dye says:

Yes this is right! you see many different diets that disagree but all know veggies are good stuff..... OK Time of my nap now Z-Z-Z... Michael T

Greece

admin's picture
On September 21st, 2007 admin says:

Also, I just wanted to add to this that Greece was where they conducted that study of thousands of men, and discovered that of those that regular nappers had a greatly reduced risk of heart attack and coronary disease. From the article on Healthy and Hot:

"A recent Harvard School of Public Health study found that participants taking an occasional nap had a 12 percent lower incidence of death related to coronary disease, and regular nappers lowered their risk by a whopping 37 percent!

The study (which lasted six years) followed over 23,000 volunteers that were pre-screened for certain health conditions and other factors that made them “inappropriate for the study”. The “regulars” napped three times a week for 30 or more minutes. The study participants were aged between 20 to 86. Apparently, heart disease rates are lower in Mediterranean and Latin American countries where napping is more common.

Heart Disease is North America's number one killer. The combination of an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and lack of sleep are most likely contributing to many unnecessary deaths every year across the US and Canada."