Dear reader, how is it going?
If you haven’t met me yet, hi! I’m Breno, lead copywriter here at Alti Wine Exchange.
As I write this post, a new week begins! Well, under lockdown or not, Mondays often mean the making of new plans – such as starting healthier habits.
A while ago, I mentioned to you and all wine lovers who have been reading us just how it is perfectly possible to maintain a good balance between a healthy lifestyle and sipping your favorite wines. Fitness goes well with wine, I promise!
So why not write to you today about how wine can be a part of a balanced, healthy diet? I’ll give you a nice example based on the ever-famous Mediterranean diet.
Wine in a healthy diet? It is possible
Back when I wrote the abovementioned post, I had been trying to keep as fit as possible to maintain my physical preparation to be ready when I went back to the tennis court.
Sadly, the limited space and all the work it took to comply with the safety measures going out for jogging in the middle of the pandemic were too much. Yes, I gained my fair share of kilograms.
But life goes on: I enjoyed many readings during the harsher period of quarantine and got even more into the Mediterranean diet after reading about inherently healthy habits of Italians, Greeks and other Mediterranean peoples.
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By now, you may know that the Mediterranean diet focuses on the daily intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, whole grains, olive oil and seafood (omega-3, anyone?), recommending wine consumption (moderately!) while also limiting the consumption of dairy products and red meat.
Combined with an active lifestyle, this diet has been long associated with decreased risks of heart disease, cancer, depression and neurological diseases, and also leading to longer life expectancy.
Even though there is no single definition of what the Mediterranean diet is, its principles are also recognized by the World Health Organization as a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern, whilst the diet has its cultural importance too: it is regarded an intangible cultural asset by UNESCO.
Follow this pyramid and you will be good – but make sure to avoid industrialized food as much as possible here.
What’s even more interesting is that, according to a new study by a team of European researchers published on a journal edited by the British Society of Gastroenterology, this diet may also be linked with a healthier aging process, cognitive performance scores, decreased inflammation and a lower risk of frailty.
Long story short: it proves even more how beneficial it is to have this sane lifestyle as years go by.
No deprivations, prohibited foods: simply balance. You can have a healthy share of poultry, eggs, and even (fewer) red meats too!