Health Tips from Greece
"ΝΟΥΣ ΗΓΙΗΣ ΕΝ ΣΩΜΑΤΙ ΥΓΙΕΙ"
«A healthy mind in a healthy body.»
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Harmony between mind and body - Think positive
The ancient Greeks believed that our mind and our body are directly linked, so, to maintain a healthy mind, it is essential to maintain a healthy body, and vice versa. Aristotle believed that sports and gymnastics were essential to the development of the human body to optimize functional capacity and harmony between mind and body, hence the famous phrase “healthy mind in a healthy body". Alcmaeon lived around 500 B.C.E. and worked at medical school in Cnidus. He appears to have been the first person to wonder about the possible internal causes of illness. He proposed that illness might result from environmental problems, nutritionand lifestyle.
The health benefits of positive thinking are many, and a few of them are:
- Lower rates of depression.
- Lower levels of distress and pain.
- Greater resistance to illnesses.
- Better psychological and physical wellbeing.
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Health is about logic and math - Keep track of your numbers
From the early days, Greek doctors used rational thinking when dealing with medicine and this approach continues to influence medicine and healthy living even today. The mathematician Pythagoras who lived in the 6th century BC brought his theory of numbers into the natural sciences. His followers believed that numbers had precise meanings, especially the numbers 4 and 7. They also believed that a baby that was born in the seventh month, rather than the eighth, would enjoy better health. The 40-day quarantine period to avoid disease contagion comes from the idea that the number 40 is sacred. Looking at modern models tracking your health, you can see that 7 is your highest level of happiness and 40 is the highest level of perceived stress.
A few models tracking your health & wellbeing with numbers
Ideal Body Weight,
Waist to Height Ratio & Body Mass Index
Amout of Calories a person need (BMR & TDEE)
Happiness, Wellbeing,
Fitness Age
Maximum Heart Rate, VO2 Max
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Dream - For creativity, resillince, and new perspectives
When Freud proposed his psychodynamic theory a century ago, he emphasized the importance of dreams. He believed that dreams are a doorway into the subconscious mind, revealing a person's thoughts, desires, and motivations. However, thousands of years before, Ancient Greeks had highlighted that dreams can indicate the overall state of one's health. Hippocrates analyzed dreams to help make diagnoses, while, according to Galen, dreams could reveal specific problems someone could be suffering from.
There are some proven health benefits of sleeping and dreaming:
- Dreaming helps reinforce memories.
- Dreaming aids in your brain's processing of new knowledge, and operate as a “rehearsal” for that new knowledge.
- Dreaming assists emotional healing, so stress and anxiety go down
- Dreaming offers a new perspective on methods of problem-solving
- Dreaming indicates overall health
- Dreaming might offer nightmares. This will keep you on guard for potential future event.
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Embrace a healthy diet - Eat lean and green
The Greek diet is regarded as one of the healthiest in the world because it’s based largely on fruit and vegetables, whole grains, fish, and a small amount of cheese and yogurt. traditional Greek diet is packed with greens, such as horta (wild greens) fasolakia (green string beans), bamies (okra), legumes including fakes (lentils), fasolada (beans), revithia (chickpeas), vegetable dishes, fish and small portions of meat. According to Hippocrates, he proposed ‘an apple a day to keep the doctor away’. The Father of Medicine famously wrote: “Let thy food be thy medicine", to emphasize the importance of nutrition to prevent or cure a disease. A healthy diet, as the Ancient Greeks perceived it, would include a variety of foods such as fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, legumes, and poultry, whole-grain products, and healthy fats from olive oil, nuts, and seeds.
The Seven Countries Study was the first to evaluate the links between diet, lifestyle and the risk of a heart attack. They found that countries with a varied diet based on monounsaturated fats, fruits, vegetables and legumes had a lower risk of heart disease than countries whose diets were based on wheat, meat and sugar.
Let’s look at Horta - a superfood-staple in Greek households
Horta vrasta (boiled leafy greens) is a staple in Greek households and is considered a superfood greekcitytimes.com. Greens are commonly consumed across the country, and a high intake of Horta is a key component of the Greek diet, as many people add greens to their pites (pies), rice, pasta dishes and so forth. Wild greens are extremely high in antioxidants, with a study indicating that they contain more antioxidants than blueberries.
And even though many argue that the antioxidant content may be lost during boiling, they actually retain antioxidants better than most foods when cooked. All these leafy greens are packed with vitamins and minerals as they are high in vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, and potassium, plus low in calories.
Recent studies have recorded that a diet rich in nitrates from Xorta can also lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of glaucoma. They are also very good for your heart. The health benefits of Horta really are second to none and they can be served as a side dish or as a meal with some protein. All you need to do is boil your greens, add a pinch of salt, drizzle with good Greek olive oil and lemon and you are ready to serve this simple, and ever-so-healthy dish.
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Olive oil - For the body and the brain
Olive oil is used as a moisturiser as part of the effort to enjoy healthy life and promote longevity, employing it as a cosmetic for the skin and hair Greek Olive oil is considered by most as the best in the world today. Many people eat a tablespoon of olive oil every morning on an empty stomach for body and brain.
The combination of olive oil and leafy salad or vegetables is what gives the Mediterranean diet its healthy edge because the formation of nitro fatty acids between the two food groups lowers blood pressure. If you’re more concerned about your brain than your body: well, olive oil helps with that, too.
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Meat in Moderation - Good for body, mind and planet
One of the main characteristics of ancient Greek life was the concept of ”metron,” what we would describe today as moderation. As far back as the ninth century BC, the Greek historical Hesiod cautioned, “Observe due measure, moderation is best in all things” in his treatise called Works and Days. In accordance with this precept, the diets of ancient Greeks did indeed include meat but not as much as we might think, and almost certainly not as much as we consume today.
The Greeks knew that the more meat one eats, the more prone he will be to obesity—and therefore, illness—in the long run. For this reason, their diets tended to be predominantly plant-based. Vegetables, fruits, and legumes formed the basis of every ancient Greek dish, setting the foundations of what we know today as healthy Mediterranean cuisine. A little-known fact is that the father of vegetarianism was actually Phythagoras.
Cutting back on meat has indeed been linked to improved health and a reduced risk of certain diseases. However, these benefits seem to depend on what other foods you eat and what types of meat you limit. Benefits of Meat Moderation.
A few of the befeits of meat moderation are:
Supports good overall health and weight management
May help reduce the risk of heart disease
Could improve gut health
May help protect against certain cancers
May be better for the environment
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Creatan Mountain tea - A cup of magical health benefits
The Greek weather provides one of the best conditions for the growth of herbs. Locals have known these beneficials plants for centuries, using them both in cooking for their flavours as well as medicine for healing properties. These are some of the most powerful greek herbs in the Creatan Mountain tea, drinking a cup of tea from this herb drank on a regular basis, helps keep the digestive system working and full of vitamin C. Fliskouni, mountain Mint tea, useful against asthma and a natural aphrodisiac. Tsoukonida has numerous health benefits due to its content os vitamins and minerals.
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Honey - Good for beauty and body
An ancient greek beauty secret. Honey has a long history of cosmetic usage, as women used it to make face masks or body scrubs. Honey has soothing properties and is even used today in wound care. We look at the many health benefits of honey - it is antiseptic, antibacterial, good for your blood and helps with digestion. Honey is also a home remedy and in traditional medicine.
Honey is the focus of much scientific research by the medical community, which has been investigating and confirming the many uses of honey our forefathers thought up. Let’s take a look at a few of these. Honey Health Benefits
Honey is safer than Sugar
Honey is Antibacterial and Antiseptic
Honey is an Energy Food
Honey helps with Digestion
Honey Combats Skin and Scalp Infections
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Drink wine
The ancient Greeks thought that wine was essential to good health, and they would accompany every meal with a glass of wine, often watered down to encourage moderation. Indeed, red wine is rich in phytonutrients that offer a variety of cardiovascular and cognitive benefits. According to studies, moderate wine consumption can reduce inflammation in the brain and help it clear away toxins, including those associated with various brain illnesses. Several reports in 2000 confirmed the glad tidings that wine -- in moderation, of course -- reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attacks
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Family and cultural values - A strong anchor for health
The Greek culture is centered around family; the family name, connection, and roles within the family are valued and upheld. A family is to provide emotional and economic support to an individual, and family relationships are close-knit. Social life for most Greeks includes their relatives, and extended family, also plays a strong role in a person's life. Religion is also a very influential part of the Greek culture. This is understandable as Greece has one specific religion, namely the Greek Orthodox faith. The Greek church is one of the elements holding the traditional culture together for Greeks. The church is a place where Greeks get together regularly and discuss their shared values and beliefs.
In addition to its intrinsic value, a strong culture, provides important social and economic benefits. With improved learning and health, increased tolerance, and opportunities to come together with others, culture enhances our quality of life and increases overall wellbeing for both individuals and communities.
Nugget: The olive tree continues to be a big part of Greek culture to this day. The country has over 120 million olive trees and produces 2.2 million metric tons of olives every year. That makes it the third-largest producer of olives in the world, after Spain and Italy. Greece also produces more varieties of olives than any other country. One of the most interesting facts about Greece and olives is that some of the country’s olive trees that were planted in the 13th century are still bearing fruit today.
