If ever there was a time for Mediterranean diet to be re-adopted into our lifestyles it is now in this time of isolation and social distancing. For Melbourne dietitian Jordan Psomopoulas the importance of adopting this diet of less meat and more vegetables and fruit is particularly important.
In some ways the limitations on our lifestyle that COVID-19 has imposed also provide opportunity and the time to return to basics that have worked for us in the past.
Mr Psomopoulos said we should be looking at reducing the number of animal products in our diets – we should, for example, be taking in just 30 grams of processed meat a day. We should be looking at incorporating more vegetables and fruit into our diets as a way of building up our immunity, preventing inflammation around joints, slowing down the ageing process and even promoting a sense of wellbeing.
It is important to remember legumes in the diet such as beans, broad beans, lentils, chick peas and Greek cuisine is rich in recipes that offer infinite variety and a range of flavours in soups and savoury dishes.
“These days you have to explain what legumes are to young people,” said Mr Psomopoulos.
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He cited a 2011 study of the eating habits of 5,000 Greek teenagers and the findings were shocking. Just 4 per cent adhered to a traditional diet which is a very different to picture to just 40 years ago when the Mediterranean diet predominated. Obesity is now a factor in the adult population of Greece.
“It is all linked to convenience and cost,” Mr Psomopoulos said regarding the reasons for the switch from a typically Greek diet to the more lethal modern one.
What we can now buy at any time of day might be be cheaper and easily available but it will not be particularly healthy.
But all the changes in lifestyle that the measures to counter COVID-19 have brought about may not be all bad.
“During isolation it has been easier to follow a better lifestyle,” said Mr Psomopoulos. “Some people are trying different recipes and are exercising more than they used to.”
But it is too early to say whether they have permanently adopted a new lifestyle, he said.
“People are now spending more time with family and they are going into open spaces more. Even if they are just walking it is a form of exercise. Some people are exercising out in the open air and there are many phone apps to help people to work out more,” he said.
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The other benefit of being outside more is to take in the sun which helps us to build up our reserves of Vitamin D which are important for strengthening our bone structure by helping the body to absorb calcium and counter the effects of osteoporosis.
The jury is still out on whether, as some studies suggest, Vitamin D plays any role in countering the effects of the COVID-19 virus. A recent study using data from 20 European countries found that there appeared a strong correlation between vitamin D deficiency and victims of COVID-19.
Mr Psomopoulos said another study this time from Oxford Univerisity found that Vitamin D deficiency was not linked to any predisposition towards COVID-19.
However, it is important to have a healthy level of the vitamin in our body.
The cheapest and easiest source of Vitamin D is the sun. Mr Psomopoulos said that depending on certain factors, such weight, skin tone, use of sun screens, a minimum of three 15 minute sessions in the sun may be sufficient for the body to produce the vitamin for a person of normal weight.
If you are overweight then it is important to get Vitamin D through supplements. There were links between to Vitamin D deficiency and people who were 30 per cent overweight, he said.
“It is more important if you are over 30 to meet your vitamin D needs rather than go for Calcium supplements,” he said.
Ironically overweight people who were low on Vitamin D had a better chance of preserving their bones as they produced more oestrogen to help preserve the bones than people of the same age who had less body fat who were more susceptible to osteoporosis. And exercise is very important for health.
There are no signs for falling levels for Vitamin D and the way to be certain is to go for a blood test, he said.
Fish liver oils such as cod liver oil contain high levels of Vitamin D as do fish such as pink salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines canned in oil. Beef liver, egg yolk are other sources but they were not sufficient on their own and Vitamin D supplements are a must.
“We have the knowledge to act more wisely. ‘Diet’ is a Greek word that means ‘lifestyle’ – not just food,” he said.
♦ To find out more about a balanced diet visit Jordan Psomopoulos website on www.ediet.net.au
