Is the Scandinavian Diet Healthy?

Diet plans have been made for centuries based on fitness goals. However, recently diets based on specific eating habits of a specific area have been gaining momentum. One such diet plan is the Scandinavian diet, which focuses on healthy eating and has been derived from the eating patterns of Scandinavian people. However, how do you know if the Scandinavian diet is healthy for you? Or is it not? Let’s dig deeper.

What is the Scandinavian diet?

The Scandinavian diet which is also known as the Nordic diet originated in the Scandinavian countries including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. This diet requires you to incorporate food habits followed by people of these countries.

These food habits include eating whole foods rather than processed ones. Seasonal foods, plant-based foods, and seafood are the top choices in this diet. These foods provide a high amount of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats that account for a healthy diet.

Why is it called the Scandinavian diet? Or the Nordic diet?

So the concept of this diet came from the Scandinavian people’s eating habits. The winter is too long in the Scandinavian countries, thus their people used to store food to be consumed during winters. They kept whole grain foods rather than processed ones to stay full on nutrition. Later on, this deliberation towards their diet made it a Scandinavian or Nordic diet.

What does the Scandinavian diet include?

The Scandinavian countries have access to some major sea regions, that’s why seafood has been an integral part of their diet. Other than that, people of Scandinavian countries prefer to eat seasonal fruits and vegetables which allow a variety of foods to be incorporated into their diet and eventually fulfill their nutritional needs. Following foods are a must to have in the Scandinavian diet.

• Whole grains foods like rye, oats, and others
• Fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables (mostly berries)
• Dairy products full of healthy fats
• Seafood including low-fat fishes like salmon and mackerel
• Poultry including chicken meat, turkey, and lamb (lean cuts only)

What are its potential health benefits?

The Scandinavian diet, if followed rightly, can reap the health benefits which can improve your life. Let’s take a look at those healthy health benefits:

• It reduces the risk of strokes by lowering the blood pressure
• It improves your overall health
• It regulates the healthy amount of cholesterol in our blood
• It reduces the chronic inflammation
• It is a flexible and sustainable diet
• It is cost-effective
• It fulfills all the nutritional requirements

Is the Scandinavian diet healthy?

Every diet works differently for everyone, so there is no certain answer if a certain diet is healthy or not. However, based on the nutritional values and minimal to no side effects of the Scandinavian diet, it would be safe to say that Yes, the Scandinavian diet is healthy.

The Scandinavian diet includes the consumption of seafood which is a rich source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids which have been proven beneficial for heart and brain health. Plant-based proteins can also be consumed to fulfill the essential requirement of proteins for the body and to add variety to the food options.

The replacement of meat with seafood and poultry options in the Scandinavian diet reduces the risk of certain cancers like colorectal cancer and other life-threatening diseases like coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

Any harmful aspects?

There aren’t any known harmful aspects of this diet, but some speculations that have no evidence. People claim that it causes unnecessary weight loss and reduction in blood pressure, but both these things eventually pay off in good physical health.

Conclusion

The Scandinavian or Nordic diet is a healthy option in a sea of diet plans. If you commit yourself to healthy eating via balanced meals, you’ll most probably never run into any major health problems. Also, even if you don’t aim for it, it’ll still let you lose a few pounds as well. That’s not a bad deal. Then what’s the wait for? You don’t need a flight to Nordic countries to try out this diet, you can do it from your home.