The Healthy Greek Mediterranean Diet

The health benefits of the Greek Mediterranean diet are well known.

Hardly any people in the world live longer than the Greeks - and not only that, most of their lives they live in good health..

Today, the longevity expectancy for both Greek men and woman is over 80 years. It´s especially interesting when at the same time 35 percent of the Greeks smoke cigarettes on a daily basis - Greece holds the European record in cigarette consumption.

Greece has less deaths from heart disease, respiratory diseases, stomach cancer and breast cancer than most other countries.

The health and longevity of the Greek population has been under study of scientists since the 1940s and the conclusion is:

It´s the food!

The traditional Greek kitchen uses loads of vegetables, pulses, yogurt, and of course - the long life elixir itself - olive oil.

My father-in-law is a typical example of the benefits of the healthy Greek diet - he died at the age of 83 and was fit and up going almost until the end.

He´d eat meat or fish once a week. The rest of the week the main meal would be some kind of pulses - for instance fasoulada or lentil soup with some kind of salad and feta cheese.

Breakfast and supper would be bread and feta, or maybe some yogurt. Or pita - Greek pie usually filled with feta cheese, green leaves, leek or spinach. Or sometimes breakfast would be a soup. All meals were of course cooked from scratch.

He smoked most of his adult life, but quit in his 50s. He didn´t have a driving license and walked everywhere.

Like the Greeks know, fruits and vegetables are an essential part of any healthy diet. Juicing is a great way get more of the essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants they contain and will take your health to a whole new level.

Maintaining health and fitness is important as we age. Increase your quality of life. Visit Fitness-for-fifty-plus

Do you need more ideas on healthy eating? Check out:

All about the Glycemic Index. Eating foods that help stabilize your blood sugar and insulin levels is the key to your long term health, and lower GI foods do just that.

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