Mediterranean diet helps the brain!
Italians have always thought it, but now many national and international studies on nutrition can confirm it: Mediterranean diet has positive effect and benefits on the people. Recent studies shows that it is useful not only to lessen the depression and defeat the degenerative stress; the news is that it is good also for the cognitive abilities and the memory… a great help for our brain!
Mediterranean diet has always been famous for its fresh and high quality ingredients, a diet that avoid industrial, synthetized and high in proteins foods, to focus instead on wide consumption of fruit, vegetable, cereals, fish, legumes, white meats and noble vegetable fats.
What do you eat in the Mediterranean diet?
This nutritional model, that has became UNESCO world heritage, characterises the cities that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea (Italy, Spain, Greek and Morocco). It prefers, unlike the food consumption in the USA, a simple cuisine focused on a wide variety and freshness of the ingredients (banishing industrial foods and hydrogenated fats). It has a predominance of grains, vegetables and light proteins, essential elements for the physical wellness.
Mediterranean diet pyramid
In the food pyramid, the main ingredients are pasta, pizza, bread and rice: this diet in fact foresees a great consumption of carbohydrates, together with legumes as lentils, beans and chickpeas. But also a high daily consumption of fruit and vegetables that give to the organism the nutritive principles and essential amino acids.
Climbing the pyramid there are fats: dairy products, olive oil and then the proteins: white meats and fish, a healthy and important food in our diet that bring essential acid fats Omega 3 and Omega 6.
Red meats and desserts stand in the last position; it is advised to consume them frugally.
Benefits of the Mediterranean diet
Mediterranean diet with its noble vegetable fats, few saturated fats and many fibers helps to fight the overweight, diabetes and hypertension. Moreover, it is a great help to keep cholesterol under control. The predominance of vegetable sugars, amid and not simple sugars, vitamins, mineral salts and antioxidants fight the ageing, cardiac diseases and satisfy the organism requirements.
The news? It is good for the mind
Recent studies shows that the Mediterranean diet is a valid help also for the mind and the cognitive properties. The Canadian McMaster University carried out a study where it analysed 28.000 people for 5 years, checking their mnemonic abilities and the cognitive functions keeping in mind their daily diet.
People who carried out a diet poor of saturated fats and rich in fibers and noble acid fats has fewer odds to develop dementia and the deterioration of the cognitive abilities. They observed, in addition, a fewer slow down of the mind and a fewer worsening of the attention abilities.
