very big impact on overall health. Family dinners can help you clear your head from work and provide enjoyment through good food and conversation. If you’re go, go, go all day at work, prioritizing family mealtime can be priceless for your daily stress management.
Many principles of the Mediterranean lifestyle revolve around family, community, and fun. It’s so easy to get caught up in a busy, hectic life and put these small experiences on the back burner because they don’t appear to be that important. However, these little rituals throughout the day add up for a big impact on stress management. Stress impacts your health in so many ways, from increasing your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease to promoting weight gain, so managing it is key. Here are two examples of daily routines that illustrate how little experiences sprinkled throughout the day can provide more stress relief:
1. Using Mediterranean lifestyle strategies
• Wake up and have a light breakfast
• Workday begins (stress inducer)
• Lunch break with a light walk (stress reliever)
• End workday
• Home for sit-down dinner with family (stress reliever)
• Clean-up and evening tasks, such as kids’ homework
• Reading or journaling (stress reliever)
• Bedtime (stress reliever)
In this example, the person has opportunities to let go of a little stress multiple times during the day. Now take a look at an example far too many people get trapped in:
2. Using fast-paced lifestyle strategies
• Wake up and skip breakfast (stress inducer)
• Workday begins (stress inducer)
• Lunch break, eating quickly in ten minutes at the desk (neutral – doesn’t induce stress or reduce it)
• Work late (stress inducer)
• Rush through the drive-through to pick up a meal for family, eating in five minutes at the countertop (neutral)
• Clean-up and evening tasks, such as kids’ homework
• Television (may be a stress inducer or reliever)
• Bedtime (stress reliever)
The first example has one big stress inducer (work) and four stress relievers sprinkled throughout the day. The second example has three to four stress inducers and only one or two stress relievers. That stress builds up in your body, setting you up for an increased risk of disease and possible weight gain. Taking the time for those small experiences during the day, such as a family dinner or a walk, make a big difference. And remember that the activities here are just examples. You can find stress relievers that work for you, such as knitting, yoga, teatime, painting, meditation, exercise, or conversation with a dear friend. Refer to Chapter 3 for more help.
Enjoying time with friends and family
Community spirit is a large part of the Mediterranean culture and is something that’s disappearing in American culture. Getting together on a regular basis with friends and family is an important priority for providing a sense of strong community and fun. The fun and laughter that come with friendly get-togethers are vital for stress management. Without these little joyful experiences, stress can tip to an unhealthy balance.
To put this strategy into practice, invite some of your close family and friends over each week, perhaps for dinner. It can be as casual as you like. The important thing is to add this type of fun and enjoyment to your life more often.
Having a strong passion for life
The Mediterranean coast is full of sunshine, good food, and beautiful surroundings, so the people who live there naturally tend to have a strong passion for life, family, friends, nature, and food. Choosing to have a strong passion and love of life is associated with more happiness and fulfillment and less stress.
What are you passionate about? Perhaps you love the arts, or maybe nature is your thing. Whatever your passions are, make sure to find a way to make them a part of your life.
Chapter 2
Discovering the Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
IN THIS CHAPTER
❯❯ Taking a close look at the powerful nutrients found in simple foods and functional foods
❯❯ Toasting to the health benefits of red wine
❯❯ Highlighting heart health research
❯❯ Looking and feeling your best with anti-aging tips
❯❯ Dealing with diabetes and cancer through a Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet has long been touted for providing health benefits, such as reducing coronary artery disease and decreasing the risk of some cancers. Including fresh vegetables and fruits, legumes, and healthy fats into your diet can help improve your health in many ways. And in addition to the health benefits, you’re eating foods with full flavor. Thinking of bland or boring Greek or Italian food isn’t easy.
This chapter highlights why this diet is full of health benefits (focusing on heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and anti-aging) by looking at some of the main nutrients found in Mediterranean eating.
A plant-based diet such as the Mediterranean diet offers a plethora of nutrients that can help your body stay healthy. These plant foods are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and healthy fats. The following sections highlight some of these key nutrients found in the foods associated with the Mediterranean coast.
Fighting free radicals with antioxidants
Antioxidants are a key component of many plant foods that help slow down the process of oxidation (when your body’s cells burn oxygen). This slowing decreases the amount of free radicals, or unstable molecules, that cause damage to your cells, tissues, and DNA. Antioxidants are a crucial part of your diet because you can’t avoid oxidation all together. Consider the many contaminants, such as car exhaust, sunlight, unhealthy foods, and air pollution, that you’re exposed to during a typical day. These types of exposures can cause free radicals to gain speed in your body, damaging
