To live a long and healthy life, it is important not only to eat healthy foods but to combine them correctly. And the best type of food in this regard is the Mediterranean diet.

Mediterranean type of nutrition

Long-life has been a dream of people since time immemorial, but also important to live not just for a long time, but also in good physical and mental condition. Doctors are increasingly focusing not only on healthy food but also on the correct combination of it: the Mediterranean type of nutrition is recognized as the best in this regard. The results of a study by Italian scientists are published in the journal Nutrients.

Why Mediterranean diet so beneficial?

Doctors note that the Mediterranean diet is not a diet, but a model of a balanced, healthy diet. Nutritional research in recent decades has focused on food combination patterns rather than individual foods.

Various dietary patterns are associated with health benefits, but most of the evidence in the medical literature relates to traditional dietary habits and lifestyles in the Mediterranean region.

Scientists again analyzed the nutrition of residents (moreover, different groups of the population) of seven countries that adhere to the Mediterranean diet. And they noted that this type of nutrition is most useful in terms of prevention and treatment of age-related non-communicable diseases. Namely, diseases of the heart and blood vessels, metabolic disorders, that is, disorders in metabolic processes, age-related changes in the brain, depression, cancer, colds, and even fractures.

In addition, the Mediterranean diet is environmentally friendly: doctors call this type of nutrition an intangible world heritage of healthy living with respect for the environment.

What foods are included in the Mediterranean diet?

Most of the diet in such a diet is fruits, vegetables, vegetable fats, and proteins, and sweets and fatty meats are avoided.

Losing weight

With the Mediterranean diet, you can also lose weight, but slowly and without harm to health. The process of losing weight is slow, but without the feeling of hunger and stress: in addition, with this type of diet, it is also recommended to engage in feasible sports.

Menu of the inhabitants of the Mediterranean:

• seafood and non-fatty fish;
• chicken, turkey, lean beef, rabbit;
• dairy foods but only without additives (that is, unsweetened) and with a low percentage of fat;
• fast carbohydrates, that is, sugar, sweets, are replaced by slow ones: whole grain pasta, wholemeal bread;
• alcohol is also limited, except dry wine no more than a glass a day.

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When to reach for the source of magnesium?
The demand for magnesium in an adult woman is about 300 mg per day. It increases up to 400 mg a day in pregnant and breast-feeding women. Typically, only 20% of the magnesium contained in the food is absorbed in the intestine. The remaining 80% is excreted in faeces. That is why it is sometimes difficult to secure the right dose of this element. What are the effects of magnesium deficiency in the body? Here are the typical symptoms:

• cardiac arrhythmias, palpitations – sometimes hypomagnesaemia (low levels of magnesium in the body) can lead to serious and life-threatening cardiac disorders
• hypertension
• increased stress – magnesium is an element that calms the nervous system, its lack can cause anxiety attacks and stress
• depression, fatigue
• cramps in the calf muscles – this is one of the more troublesome symptoms of magnesium deficiency, painful and often waking cramps
• trembling of the limbs, eyelids and tongue
• constipation, anorexia
• creation of kidney stones

In addition, women are exposed to increased menstrual pain. The future mothers in the case of magnesium deficiency have an increased risk of hypertension in pregnancy and premature uterine contractile function.

In which situations should I focus on products containing magnesium?
It is also very important to know what may cause reduced delivery of magnesium ions to the body. Belong to them:

• alcohol consumption – inhibits the absorption of magnesium from the intestines
• unhealthy diet – Eating now popular fast foods can unfortunately lead to hypomagnesemia.
• diarrhea and vomiting
• intestinal diseases that reduce absorption (e.g. Lesniowski-Crohn’s disease)
• stress
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding – These are moments in a woman’s life when the demand for magnesium increases significantly. Remember to take special care to provide yourself with enough food during this time.
• physical stress – People who work hard are more exposed to magnesium deficiency. If you exercise a lot, use magnesium-rich products more often.
  period of growth and advanced age – Do not forget about your loved ones and enrich the diet of your children, parents and grandparents with foods containing a lot of magnesium.
• taking some medicines – for example, diuretics can increase the excretion of magnesium

Top 10 products rich in magnesium
After reading the introduction you are definitely wondering what products contain magnesium to include in your diet. First, get acquainted with the list of products containing especially a lot of magnesium.

Cocoa
Magnesium-rich products for gluttonous women – Fortunately, high on the list of magnesium sources there are dessert snacks that you definitely like. It is cocoa, dark chocolate and even milk chocolate. Remember, however, about simple sugars and supplement magnesium deficiency in the diet with various products.

Sunflower seeds
You do not know what to chew during work? Here’s the answer! Especially if you want to provide yourself the right amount of magnesium in your food.

Flax seeds
Also, flax is a product particularly rich in magnesium. Try to sprinkle some seeds for breakfast or snacks.

Almonds
To provide yourself with the right amount of this element important for the body, try to include magnesium products for every meal. Breakfast is the first and very important. Add them to yogurt or porridge and recharge with magnesium!

Grains of wheat
Start the day with a healthy and full magnesium breakfast sandwich. Graham bread is great for this. In addition, you can eat it with Gouda cheese – another good source of magnesium.

White beans
If you are looking for food in which there is a lot of magnesium, be sure to remember the beans of white beans. You can make a delicious salad from it and you already have a ready lunch box with the right dose of important minerals.

Oatmeal
The next idea for breakfast with magnesium-rich products. Eat porridge, which you can additionally diversify with bananas, seeds and nuts. Try to always start a day with this meal. Magnesium contained in food is very important for your health.

Pistachio and hazelnuts
You can add them to yogurt or porridge and protect yourself from the effects of hypomagnesaemia during your first meal of the day. They will also be a good idea for a snack during the day.

Buckwheat and brown rice
Lunch or dinner should also include magnesium products. Put on groats and rice, and you will not be afraid of magnesium deficiencies.

Parsley
Decorate your lunch with fresh parsley and enrich it with another product containing magnesium in large quantities.

In what other products is magnesium?
In addition to these products, which are great sources of magnesium, you can also reach:

• highly mineralized mineral water
• bananas
• fish
• cheese – gouda, emmental,  blue cheese
• turkey
• potatoes

What is magnesium – supplements?
In the case of troublesome symptoms of magnesium deficiency, such as calf cramps or susceptibility to stress, you can also opt for appropriate dietary supplements. The appropriate daily dose depends on the demand. It will be greater in pregnant and breastfeeding people as well as in people practicing sports. Ask your family doctor to help you choose the right preparation. Bet on well-absorbed forms of magnesium, e.g. magnesium citrate. Remember also to divide the amount of magnesium that you should take during the day for several doses and take them every few hours. In this way, you will provide yourself with the right amount of magnesium.

An interesting alternative to supplements, which in many cases have poor absorption, are magnesium flakes. The product is added to the bath in warm water or into a bowl and you soak your feet in it. Magnesium is then absorbed through the skin. For many people, this is the best form of supplementing the deficiencies of this element in the body.

Picture Credit: Turenza

Baked turkey

Image credit: RitaE

She is the most important dish for Thanksgiving. A dish for which any American will travel half the country, only to be in the parents’ house and try a turkey performed by his mother.

Recipes of baked turkey – a million. It is made as with a filling, and without. Bake with apples, giblets, dried fruits, oranges, spicy herbs …

Often a turkey is made without a filling or put it at all a lot: the thing is that a densely packed bird is badly baked. The filling is loved by everyone, so it is often cooked separately from the turkey itself – such a paradox.

•  1 turkey
• 1 sour apple
• 1 orange
• 0.5 L of white dry wine
• ½ a bunch of fresh rosemary
• ½ a bunch of fresh thyme
• Salt, white and black pepper, ground coriander
• 1 tbsp. flour
• Disposable syringe
• Baking bag

Step 1. Wash the turkey, gut it (leave the giblets for the filling).
Step 2. Grate the bird with spices and salt. Pour the wine and leave overnight.
Step 3. Collect the marinade in the syringe and chop the bird.
Step 4. Put inside the apple, peeled and sliced ​​slices, and the orange, sliced ​​into slices, as well as spicy herbs.
Step 5. Put the sleeve for baking inside the flour, put the bird in it, tie it and bake it in the oven for 4-6 hours at a temperature of 180 degrees.
Step 6. When the turkey is ready, open the sleeve, increase the temperature and brown the turkey for 15-20 minutes. Fill the stuffing and cut the bird into portions.

Cranberry Sauce

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Baked poultry is always served with cranberry sauce. By the way, on Thanksgiving Day Americans eat a fifth of the whole cranberry, which they use for a year.

• 2.2 LBS of cranberry
• Juice of 4 large oranges
• 1-2 cups of sugar (to taste)
• A little orange peel
• Pinch of pink pepper
• 100 ml of orange liqueur (optional)

Step 1. Cranberries washed and blended with a blender.
Step 2. Gradually add orange juice and sugar, as well as pepper.
Step 3. Bring to a low heat to a boil, add the zest and allow a little orange liqueur

Mashed potatoes with cheese

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Mashed potatoes are a traditional side dish for turkey. We suggest making it quite sharp and adding cheese.

• 2.2 LBS of potatoes
• 1 glass of cream
• 200 g of grated hard cheese
• 100 g of butter
• Red pepper ground
• A bit of ground chili
• Salt

Step 1. Peel potatoes, cut into large pieces and boil until tender. Salt
Step 2. Drain the water, mash the potatoes with a blender. Cream warm.
Step 3. Introduce cream and cheese in puree. Blend again with a blender. If necessary, you can additionally dilute the mashed potatoes with a potato broth.
Step 4. Add pepper and salt.