The best way to lose pounds: A change in diet towards healthy food. Mediterranean foods are particularly recommended.
But the Viking diet can also score points.
The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the healthiest forms of nutrition.
The traditional Mediterranean diet, for example, as a diet rich in fruit, vegetables and whole grains with little meat, salt and sugar, has been shown to reduce the risk of developing various diseases.
“Studies have indicated that a plant-based diet improves several risk factors for CKD (chronic kidney disease) progression, including hypertension, uremic toxins, inflammation, oxidative stress and blood phosphate levels.
In this respect, we think that a healthy diet not only protects the heart and blood vessels, but also the kidneys," the
medical journal quoted
Professor Jan C. Galle from Lüdenscheid, spokesman for the German Society for Nephrology.
The Mediterranean diet is even credited with preventing cancer.
What the Mediterranean and Viking diets have in common: Plant-based foods make up the majority of the diet.
In addition, in both cases regional, unprocessed products are used - as in the "Clean Eating" nutritional concept.
The Nordic Viking diet is not as well researched as the Mediterranean diet, but there are positive health effects here too.
For example, meat is rarely on the menu in the Nordic diet, which is “positive from a health perspective,” says Carolin Groth, a consultant in the food and nutrition department of the Hamburg consumer center, according to the
German press agency dpa
.
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Root vegetables are an important part of the Viking diet.
© Natalia Deriabina/Imago
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Regional products and lots of vegetables as part of the Nordic diet
The Viking diet, also known as the Nordic diet, includes foods that are mainly found in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.
These are usually available in German supermarkets all year round and are often harvested or produced in Germany.
This also makes the diet interesting for people who care about environmental awareness.
The Nordic diet includes whole grains, especially rye, barley and oats.
According to the dpa
, root vegetables such as beetroot and carrots also
play an important role , as well as berries and regional fruit such as apples and pears.
“Nuts, mushrooms and legumes are also part of the menu,” says nutrition expert Carolin Groth.
Meat is rarely served, usually only once a week according to Groth.
For this, fatty fish such as salmon or mackerel are recommended three times a week as part of the Viking diet.
Low-fat dairy products are also allowed.
Viking diet: the following foods are on the menu
cabbage
Local berries and fruits
root and tuber vegetables
whole grains
Canola, sunflower and linseed oil
legumes
Fresh herbs and wild herbs
Mushrooms
nuts
Shellfish
algae
Butter, high-fat dairy products such as quark, alcohol, sugar and salt, on the other hand, should be consumed rarely.
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Is the Viking Diet healthy?
The effects of the Nordic diet on health have not been scientifically well researched.
Accordingly, nutrition experts speak cautiously about their effects on the body.
"I can't take a stand for the Nordic diet because there is no reliable knowledge about it" - This is how nutritionist Prof. Johannes Wechsler, President of the Federal Association of German Nutritionists (BDEM), puts it, according to the
dpa
.
Wechsler sees the following disadvantages in the Viking diet:
Few vitamins
Not enough fiber
To much fat
Wechsler rates the intake of omega-3 fatty acids as positive: “So you eat a lot of fish.
And you eat little meat.” The latter also has a positive effect on health and life expectancy.
The health insurance company AOK
informs
that vegetarians have a lower risk of obesity, cardiovascular problems and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Another positive side effect of the Viking diet: high-calorie alcohol and sugar are rarely consumed, which stabilizes blood sugar levels.
As a result, the risk of food cravings that boycott a slimming diet decreases.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.
List of rubrics: © Natalia Deriabina/Imago