On Mondays, Equinox leaves its columns to a French-speaking personality from Barcelona, an expert in his field.
Today, Delphine Dolynny, nutritional coach in Barcelona.
Potatoes, croquettes, squid in Roman … The tapas are far from being light!
And yet, the obesity rate in Spain at 16% is just below the European average (16.5% according to Eurostat 2019) – while it stands at 19% in Germany and Poland, and over 19% for 12 European countries. So how do the Spanish do it?
The hidden part of the iceberg is the famous Mediterranean diet! Because if the Spanish love to “tapear” with friends or family, the rest of the time, most of them still follow the famous Mediterranean diet. This diet has the particularity of giving pride of place to fruits and vegetables, legumes (chickpeas, lentils, dried beans, etc.), fish, oilseeds (almonds, hazelnuts, etc.) and olive oil. With a little meat, eggs, dairy products and whole grains.
It therefore contains more foods of plant origin than of animal origin and mainly includes raw products and very few processed products, which gives it an undeniable nutritional quality.
This is why it is considered the best “diet” in the world and a dietary model to follow. When I arrived in Barcelona, I was surprised to discover shops specializing in legumes of all kinds, raw or cooked… and to see an endless queue in front of their stalls.
I must admit, however, that the average age was not young, young… Because unfortunately, the Mediterranean diet is less and less popular among young people, whose diet tends to become Americanized. The alert on this subject was also launched last March by the International Congress on the Mediterranean Diet.
However, the health benefits of this diet are indisputable.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the Mediterranean diet is correlated with a reduction in mortality and morbidity (onset of diseases), from all causes, and has been associated with numerous health benefits. , including a reduced risk of cancers, cognitive and cardiovascular diseases, as well as obesity metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (The World Health Organization – WHO, 2018). It is also effective when you want to monitor your weight. Legumes are, for example, an excellent “slimming” ally, because they are rich in proteins, very low in fats (unlike animal proteins) and rich in fibers which provide satiety.
To prevent this diet from being neglected, it therefore seems important to me to take into account new eating habits, such as finger food and the internationalization of cuisines, while thinking about new ways of integrating the key foods of the diet. Mediterranean in our daily lives.
For example, hummus accompanied by raw vegetable sticks allows you to eat legumes (chickpeas), oilseeds (sesame cream), olive oil and vegetables. Four key foods of the Mediterranean diet.
Here is something healthy and delicious to “tapear”!
