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Secrets of The Mediterranean
Diet
One of the biggest problems EU leaders have to find ways to
overcome is the fact that the "old" continent is in fact
becoming old. As the European birth rate has been dropping at a
rapid rate over the last couple of decades, the European
continent will become soon a continent inhabited by a
increasing majority of seniors. Since this demographic trend
develops, EU reforms and retirement policies try to address the
issue and give Europe its chance to maintain its productivity
levels high and its overall outcome on surplus. Thus,
contemporary ethnographic studies support that keeping
Europeans health at high levels, especially for those over the
age of sixty, is not only a social policy act governments
should focus on providing, but also a wise economic policy that
will keep Europeans able to continue being productive members
of society and thus, lowering the negative outcomes of an
alarming EU reality. One method to keep older people healthier
is to focus on their dietary habits and introducing new
nutritional practices that can increase life expectancy levels.
According to researchers, one of the choices an aging person
has to keep being healthy and active is to follow the
Mediterranean diet.
In fact, the Mediterranean diet is associated with longer life
expectancy among the elderly, because it is characterized by a
high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals.
Furthermore, one of the basic nutritional elements shared
across all Mediterranean cultures is the high intake of fish
and the low consumption levels of saturated fats. On the other
hand, olive oil, which belongs to the unsaturated fats
category, helps the human organism function and provides all
the necessary ingredients for the aged part of the EU's
population to continue being healthy and thrive. Furthermore,
the low intake of dairy products and meat and the modest
consumption of alcohol have helped the elderly in countries
like Spain and Greece to live longer and healthier lives and
maintain their productivity levels high close to the end of
their lives.
As current evidence suggests, such a diet is beneficial to the
health of all individuals regardless of their age group or
residence location. Scientists, after examining a variety of
factors like diet, lifestyle, medical history, physical
activity levels, and smoking have recognized the importance of
the Mediterranean diet in keeping the body fit and the mind
working properly. In fact, a higher dietary score was
associated with a lower overall death rate and evidence
suggests that people who follow such a dietary plan are
expected to live longer and suffer less from illnesses.
What is alarming though is that the younger generation of
Europe that has began following the Western type of diet-larger
portions, fewer meals, less vegetable and fruit intake-have
experienced problems associated with weight gain and are now
battling against disfiguring their body types. Modern way of
living, stress, less available time to prepare a proper meal
and other problems, have led parents to neglect the nutrition
of their children and has led them to fight problems such that
of youth obesity and low self-esteem. Educating seniors should
be a combined effort with educating youth as both age groups
are considered currently to be the future of the "aging"
European continent.
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