In light of the recent malnutrition health warning, I decided to look at the World’s Best Diets and see how we can incorporate aspects of various diets around the world into our own diets here in Britain.
In light of the recent malnutrition health warning, I decided to look at the World’s Best Diets and see how we can incorporate aspects of various diets around the world into our own diets here in Britain.
Traditional Diets are usually the best, as they use basic locally source ingredients, which are home-cooked without additives or preservatives. Therefore, I shall be looking at each country’s traditional diet and picking out the best aspects of those diets.
Italy
The Italian Diet mainly consists of vegetables, fruits, meat and seafood with lots of olive oil. Its quality dried meats and cheese are not only famous around the world, but also simply prepared.
For example, Prosciutto is a thinly sliced dry cured ham, which when traditionally prepared, has nothing added to it. It is traditionally prepared raw which means it doesn’t need to be heated, and like most of the Italian diet, it can be served with just Olive oil. However make sure to add the Olive oil after cooking or the molecular structure will be damaged.
Japan
The Japanese diet mainly consists of fresh fish, cruciferous vegetables and soy complex carbohydrates like Buckwheat noodles. The main thing to take away from the Japanese diet is to avoid ready made sauces and instead try healthy seasonings and sauces.
In Britain we often start off with a healthy meal of meat and veg, but destroy this by dumping ready made sauces all over it, which are high in salt, sugar additives, preservatives and fats.
In Japan however they use healthy seasonings:
Tamari is made from fermented soya beans and is a gluten free soya sauce, with a less intense flavour than typical soy sauces.
Ume plumb seasoning aids your digestive system
Japanese pickled plums help to neutralise fatigue, stimulate digestion, and aid the excretion of toxins.
Miso is traditionally used for digestive ailments, radiation sickness and intestinal infections , whilst creating a healthy pH balance in the digestive system. Easy to add to dishes but don’t add to boiling hot, or some of the goodness will be destroyed.
Iceland
Icelanders are considered to be the healthiest people on the planet. This is probably due to there separation from the rest of the world as they have less pollution, meaning less food is contaminated.
On top of this they still hunt, fish and forage for some of their food, whilst relying more on family farms than industrial ones. This means that their diet mainly consists of fresh fish, high-quality fresh meat (like Lamb), and dairy products from healthy free roaming animals.
Icelanders show us the importance of knowing where your food had come from, as the conditions animals are kept under are not only important for their health, but ours too. The keys factors I would take away from the Icelandic diet, is to make sure you’re getting enough oily fish, and to avoid processed foods.
Sweden
Sweden is often praised for it’s diary products. Unlike in Britain, they eat fermented dairy products, like filmjolk, which is like yoghurt, but uses different beneficial bacteria. They also avoid simple carbohydrates, instead eating complex unrefined carbohydrates in the form of dark breads like rye and pumpernickel. This combined with copious amounts of berries, and you can see why the Swedish diet, although simple, is a lot healthier than our own.
Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Diet is made up of healthy grains like Teff; a grain which is high in fibre, iron, protein and calcium. As well as Lentils which not only have a balancing effect on hormones for both for men and women, but are also high in fibre and therefore aid digestive health.
South Korea
Traditionally high in Omega 3 fats, the South Korean diet is made up of fish and also tofu. Tofu has a balancing effect on hormones, whilst soya has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer. However,when choosing soya products make sure to choose it in its traditional form and not as soya isolate.
Fermented vegetables known as Kimchi, help your immune system to function, whilst also being high in fibre and Vitamins A, B1, B2, Calcium and Iron.
On top of this it is low in calories and made with garlic, which according to Dr Marilyn Glenville, the UK’s leading nutritionist and author of Fat Around The Middle: “has anti-bacterial and anti-viral benefits.”
Overall if you wish to improve you diet it doesn’t mean travelling to the ends of the earth searching for expensive ‘health’ products:
Simplify your meals by going back to basics and avoiding processed foods and sauces, instead use natural herbs and flavourings.
Get plenty of locally sourced fresh meat and fish.
Pile up your plate with as much fresh fruit and veg as possible.
Swap simple carbohydrates with complex ones like buckwheat noodles and whole wheat pasta.
Incorporate healthy (and cheap!) grains and lentils into your diet.
Try fermented diary products or Natural yoghurt to get your diary fix, instead of typical flavoured yoghurts which are often full of additives and naughty extras.
Most importantly, be consciously aware of what you are putting into your body. Cheap processed foods may taste amazing, but often have virtually no nutritious value.
Do you have any healthy tips or recipes to share? Found a healthy alternative to your favourite processed snack? Let us know in the comments below.
