Contents:
- Medical Video: Study suggests healthy Nordic diet may reduce dementia risk
- What is the Nordic diet?
- Advice and dietary restrictions during the Nordic diet
- What are the benefits of the Nordic diet?
- 1. Lose weight
- 2. Lower blood pressure
- 3. Reducing the risk of heart disease
Medical Video: Study suggests healthy Nordic diet may reduce dementia risk
More and more new diet trends are emerging to help you have an ideal weight. One of the most talked about lately is the Nordic diet. The Nordic diet is inspired by the eating habits of Northern Europeans. What is the Nordic diet like, and what are the benefits? Come on, find out more here.
What is the Nordic diet?
Nordic diet is low sugar and fat diet designed by a group of international nutritionists, scientists and chefs after being inspired by the diet of North Europeans (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland) who eat lots of fish. So besides reducing sugar and fat, this diet also requires you to multiply eating fish and seafood (seafood) more than doubled.
Another uniqueness of the Nordic diet is that you also have to eat more berries (buni) - like grapes, black currants, acai berries, persimmon, goji berries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, bananas, watermelons, and pumpkins.
Advice and dietary restrictions during the Nordic diet
Broadly speaking, the Nordic diet guide is actually similar to the Mediterranean diet. Both of them prioritize the menu of vegetable protein foods that are rich in complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Both are also equally limiting the intake of sugar and saturated fat aka trans fat.
Preferred fat intake in both diets is a type of unsaturated fat which is actually good for heart health. The difference is that the Mediterranean diet prioritizes olive oil as the main source of unsaturated fats, while the Nordic diet uses canola oil (rapia oil).
Then, what can and should not be eaten during the Nordic diet?
- Which must be reproduced: Berries, vegetables, peas, potatoes, seeds, nuts, whole wheat bread, fish and seafood, low-fat milk, natural spices, and canola oil.
- Which may be consumed in moderation: ground meat, eggs, cheese and yogurt
- Which can be eaten just a little: red meat, and food containing other animal fats
- Which should not be eaten at all: sweet drinks, added sugar, processed meat, packaged food and beverages, and fast food
What are the benefits of the Nordic diet?
In addition to losing weight, the Nordic diet is useful for reducing the risk of various chronic diseases and keeping blood pressure stable.
1. Lose weight
One study found that undergoing the Nordic diet for 6 months regularly can reduce weight by 23 kilograms, while other diets only dropped 7.2 kg in the same time frame.
This finding was echoed by a study in the 2011 issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine, which reported that 6 weeks of the Nordic diet were able to lose 4% more weight than the standard diet.
2. Lower blood pressure
In the 2013 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a study showed that the Nordic diet lowers blood pressure quite drasticallyin obese people within 6 months.
Some other studies also report that this diet can help reduce triglycerides. High triglycerides in the blood are often a sign of obesity and metabolic syndrome. High triglycerides also increase the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and acute pancreatitis.
3. Reducing the risk of heart disease
Reporting from the Harvard Medical School page, increasing consumption of berries can help maintain weight and reduce the risk of heart disease if you don't eat it at all. Because the berries include high anthocyanin content.
Anthocyanin acts as an antioxidant to fight free radicals that cause various chronic diseases. Anthocyanin is also useful for lowering blood pressure because it makes blood vessels become more elastic.
Furthermore, anthocyanin plays a role in the anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and suspected potential as an anticancer agent.
