An ancient Greek doctor back in 460 BC created the principles of a healthy diet, which is still relevant today.
Every day, new diets appear that will help you lose weight by several tens of kilograms in a matter of weeks. However, many nutritionists argue that not all food systems are safe for health, and some can even lead to complications of the liver, kidneys and stomach. One of the healthy diets is the Hippocratic diet, which is not a refusal to eat and a switch to exclusively protein foods, but a complete balanced diet.
Endocrinologist and nutritionist, geneticist of the Atlas Medical Center
– Hippocrates is an ancient Greek physician and philosopher. He is famous for describing the types of temperaments of people that are used in modern sociology to designate the types of higher nervous activity (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholic). Hippocrates also wrote several works in which he laid the foundations of dietetics. In the treatise “On Diet in Acute Illnesses,” he told how exactly a person should eat, depending on the nature of the disease. The treatise “On Regime” is devoted to preventive medicine, from which one can learn how to restore health after an illness and how to preserve it with the help of the correct regimen (Greek “diet”).
In the modern sense, a diet is the observance of certain rules for eating food, however, Hippocrates meant by this term the regime as a whole, the way of life of a person. Another idea of the ancient Greek doctor, which is relevant today and which must be kept in mind by supporters of different types of diets, is the following: what is good for one person may turn out to be harmful for another.
Hippocrates gave recommendations in accordance with the false idea of four fluids (bile, mucus, blood, black bile) in the human body. Depending on the predominance of one of the liquids over the others, he advised the use of different products. The recommendations that are part of the modern understanding of the Hippocratic diet have a very indirect relationship to the great physician of the ancient world. Perhaps the main purpose of his name in the name of the diet is to attract attention.
The main thing in a diet is the right choice of foods. According to the Hippocratic diet the diet should include bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals, fish, olive oil.
It is recommended to follow a few tips:
eat more vegetables and fruits: at least 400 g of fresh vegetables per day;
try to control body weight;
replace fatty meats with lean ones;
include dairy products in the diet, including whey, yogurt, kefir. They are rich in vitamins, microelements and have a beneficial effect on the intestines;
exclude refined sugar and sweets from the diet;
do not consume more than 5 grams of salt per day;
limit your alcohol intake.
“Gymnastics, physical exercises, walking should firmly enter the everyday life of everyone who wants to maintain efficiency, health, full and joyful life,” – these words belong to Hippocrates. Indeed, only a diet is not able to change the quality of a person’s life if he does not lead a healthy lifestyle, that is, not only eat balanced and healthy, but also play sports, observe the regime.
In general, the principles of this diet correspond to a balanced diet, but if you want to improve the quality of life, it is better to consult a doctor who can choose a diet and exercise regimen individually.
In addition, there is general recommendations for proper nutritionwhich are not that hard to follow:
follow the principle of a “healthy plate” (half of the plate is occupied by vegetables and fruits, a quarter – complete proteins, a quarter – complete carbohydrates);
be attentive to your eating habits;
read food labels carefully;
Limit foods high in phosphate, sugar, and saturated fat.
do not fall for the hype of food companies.