What is the Nordic diet and what are its benefits?

Eating a healthy diet can become one of the simplest tasks in the world, especially if you know the problems or diseases derived from eating a poor diet.

Now, what is a healthy diet? What types are there? We can define it as one based on a variety of foods capable of offering you the necessary nutrients to keep you healthy, feel good and energetic. And, fortunately, there are numerous diets classified as healthy, one of them, the Nordic diet, which we will see below.

What is the Nordic diet?

Similar to the Mediterranean diet, although including more fish and less olive oil, also favors the reduction of the risk of contracting non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes or cardiovascular problems, diseases closely linked to obesity.

The Nordic diet is based on these 4 basic pillars:

1. Health
2. The gastronomic potential
3. The sustainability
4. Nordic identity, of course

And as this last pillar points out, it is based on foods originating from northern European countries, such as Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland.

And as we have already pointed out, This diet is promoted as a nutritional model beneficial to health with the necessary supply of nutrients that an adult body needs for a correct diet.

Characteristic foods of the Nordic diet

The characteristic foods of the Nordic diet are the following:

• Leafy and root vegetables
• Fish (including fatty ones) such as salmon, mackerel, or herring
• Vegetables
• Fruit, berries or berries
• Cereals such as oats, barley, or rye
• Low-fat dairy

As you can see, it is not far from the foods typical of the Mediterranean diet, with the difference that fish is valued more and olive oil less, as we have already pointed out. In the case of the Nordic diet, rapeseed oil is used as an alternative to the latter.

Benefits of the Nordic diet

Of course, this is not your “typical” passing diet. On the contrary, and like the Mediterranean diet, consists of opting for a healthy eating style, whose main benefits are:

• Lowers cholesterol levels and has a positive effect on low-grade inflammation, according to the study published by the Journal of Internal Medicine.
• Reduction of blood pressure levels. We remember that hypertension is one of the main reasons that cause a heart attack, kidney failure or stroke.
• Maintain an appropriate weight or lose it when the person is above their ideal weight. In the Nordic countries, the obesity rate is lower than in others like the United States. For example, in the latter it is around 33%, while in Norway it is only 10%.
• Has anti-inflammatory properties, thus reducing the chances of suffering from diseases such as cancer, arthritis or heart problems.

Therefore, there are many benefits resulting from following this diet, although of course it is not the only one recommended, as is the case with the Mediterranean.

And, by way of conclusion, we point out that, regardless of the diet you decide to choose, it is essential to eat based on different types of food that provide your body with the necessary nutrients, and always accompanying it with physical exercise.