The heart will only rejoice at this healthy Scandinavian diet

The heart and the Scandinavian diet are inseparable. The Scandinavian diet is similar to the famous Mediterranean diet. True, there are several important points.

As a xrust girl, Cecily Kiro spent her summers with her grandparents on the Danish islands of Langeland and Oro. Since then, she remembered their usual breakfast — cold oatmeal. For lunch she ate a sandwich — thick rye bread with pickled herring. For dinner, there were often root vegetables with fish, and less often and in smaller portions — meat.

Kiro currently works as an epidemiologist at the Danish Cancer Institute and studies how this dietary pattern, recently called the «Nordic diet», affects the risk of disease.

Like the famous Mediterranean diet, the Scandinavian diet is rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats. Although it has not been studied as extensively as the Mediterranean diet, preliminary research suggests that the Nordic diet may be very beneficial, especially for the heart.

Instead of olive oil, the Scandinavian diet uses rapeseed oil. Rapeseed grows well in lower temperatures. Root vegetables such as turnips, carrots and parsnips, as well as cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and cauliflower, are staple foods. Blueberries, strawberries, lingonberries (small, tart berries similar to cranberries) and other berries also play an important role, as do fruits such as apples and pears.

The Scandinavian diet favors unprocessed foods and whole grains such as oats, barley and rye, which are often used to make crispy flatbreads called bread.

It is low in saturated fat, focusing on low-fat dairy products, especially yogurt, and fish high in healthy unsaturated fats, such as salmon, mackerel, sardines and herring. Eggs and poultry are consumed in moderation. Red and processed meats are rarely consumed.

People following this diet tend to limit or even eliminate alcohol consumption, as well as foods high in added sugar and sodium.