The greatest threat is cardiovascular disease
The World Health Organization released the Global Health Assessment report in September 2020, which included global health data from 2000 to 2019. The survey shows that non-communicable diseases account for 7 of the top 10 global causes of death. Among them, cardiovascular disease has been the "number one killer" in the past 20 years, and the number of people who die from it currently accounts for 16% of all deaths. Since 2000, the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease has increased by more than 2 million, more than half of which occurred in the Western Pacific region of the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, the incidence of cardiovascular disease in the European region has relatively declined.
Compared with 2000, nearly 100 million people lost healthy life years in 2019 due to diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The World Health Organization report clearly states the need to strengthen prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases worldwide, and to strengthen prevention and diagnosis of non-communicable diseases.
Meanwhile, according to United Nations data, residents in Mediterranean regions have relatively high life expectancies, such as 80.9 years in Spain, 80.7 years in France, 80.5 years in Italy, and 79.5 years in Greece. Studies have also found that residents in Mediterranean regions have lower incidence rates of cardiovascular disease than residents in other regions. A recent study conducted by Italian scientists involving 1.5 million participants showed that adopting a Mediterranean diet can significantly improve health, reducing overall mortality by 9%, cardiovascular mortality by 9%, cancer mortality by 6%, and reducing the incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases by 13%.
It is recommended to eat more vegetables and fish
French doctor and dietitian Jacques Fricker, in his new book "Protect Your Heart with Your Heart", points out that after decades of research and clinical experience, the most important way to reduce heart and cardiovascular-related diseases is to pay attention to diet. He emphasizes increasing the portion of fruits and fish, simple cooking methods, reducing the amount of salt and sugar, and eating less processed food, which will further improve physical health. In this book, he recommends the Mediterranean diet.
The Mediterranean diet was included in the UNESCO Intangible
Cultural Heritage in 2010. Dietitian Jacques Fricker believes that the
Mediterranean diet is more similar to the daily habits of the French, and
therefore easier to adopt.
So what is the Mediterranean diet? It refers to the residents along the Mediterranean coast, such as France, Italy, Greece, and Spain, who primarily consume vegetables, fruits, fish, and olive oil, as well as grains and legumes. Every meal includes appetizers with vegetables, main dishes with vegetables and salads. Nutritionists have discovered that residents living along the Mediterranean coast, such as in Italy, Spain, Greece, and Morocco, have a lower incidence of heart disease, longer life expectancies, and are less likely to suffer from modern diseases such as diabetes and high cholesterol. After extensive investigation and analysis, it was discovered that this is related to the dietary structure of the region. Doctor Jacques Fricker explains that the reason why fruits and vegetables can protect the heart and brain is mainly due to their ability to lower blood pressure. Vegetables contain rich vitamins, minerals and polyphenols, which have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-thrombotic effects. This nutritionist recommends eating five kinds of fruits and vegetables every day, with each serving being about 100 grams, cooked or raw, as long as they are not over-chopped. When fruits or salads are over-chopped, the absorption of vitamins and carbohydrates is too fast, which is not good for the heart or diabetes patients and can lead to excessive absorption of nutrients in the digestive organs.
In addition, olive oil is also an essential food in the Mediterranean diet because it contains rich polyphenols, which are good for the heart. If necessary, we can use rapeseed oil or walnut oil to increase omega-3, and it has been found that fish contains a large amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which can reduce the risk of heart disease.
What are polyphenols in vegetables?
Jacques Fricker, this diet expert, talked about the health effects of the Mediterranean diet, which are mainly due to the abundant polyphenols (polyphenols) found in fruits and vegetables. Cooking with olive oil and pairing with red wine can aid digestion. So what are polyphenols? How do they work when we consume them?
Polyphenols are protective substances produced by plants during photosynthesis after being exposed to sunlight. They are widely present in plants, second only to cellulose, semi-cellulose, and lignin. Over 8,000 types of polyphenolic compounds have been discovered, which provide plants with color and scent while protecting them from UV rays, insects, bacteria, and viruses. This is why plants can be exposed to sunlight for long periods of time without being sunburned.
Polyphenols have many benefits, and their effects are
synergistic with the antioxidant action of vitamin C. Therefore, polyphenols
are called the "seventh type of nutrient," just like vitamin C and E.
They can help reduce the burden on the body,
