The Nordic diet from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark or Ireland could therefore have the same virtues as the Mediterranean diet.
A scientific study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine included 166 obese patients from Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. The patients followed the Nordic diet or a classic diet composed of the same number of calories.
A diet rich in good fats
The Nordic diet favors good fats. The patients in the “Nordic diet group” consumed rapeseed oil with a high content of monounsaturated fats, omega-3 and omega-6, fatty fish (smoked salmon, herring, sardines) which also contain high levels of omega-3. And game, such as reindeer, rabbit. Lean and high in protein. Indeed, wild meat is supposed to be healthier than farmed meat.
And vegetables, grains and berries
This diet is also made up of vegetables, especially cabbage, rich in antioxidants, vitamin K and omega-3, which can reduce the risk of certain cancers, cereals such as barley, oats or rye and berries such as blackberries, rich in vitamin C, B vitamins and antioxidants.
A drop in cholesterol
After 24 weeks, the level of bad cholesterol of the patients who followed a normal diet had not changed, whereas it had fallen by 4% for the others and their good cholesterol had increased.
On the other hand, doctors have also found a drop in the level of chemicals responsible for inflammation of blood vessels, linked to heart disease and type II diabetes. The diet could therefore be an alternative to mediterranean diet which would reduce cholesterol by 6 to 9%.
