Fresh Food for Thought

When it comes to healthy lifestyle, the chatter seems to have shifted from diet to drugs. Instead of “you are what you eat” you could say, “you are… the product of whatever prescription you can afford”.  A regimen of Ozempic, the trendy weight loss injection of celebrities, will set you back $1,000 USD a month. So with this kind of pharmaceutical spending in mind, it was refreshing to read an article about the Atlantic Diet, a fresca (fresh) foods spinoff of its more famous predecessor, the Mediterranean.

“Atlantic” foods

Because it’s a common way to eat in Spain and Portugal, the Atlantic is formally known as the Southern European Traditional Atlantic Diet (a real “mouthful” there).  But you can just call it “The Atlantic” because it’s so simple.  A lot of fresh fish, a little meat and dairy, vegetables, whole-grain bread, and the occasional glass of wine.  To contrast, the Mediterranean demands more plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, and olive oil on top of just about everything.

No surprise, the Atlantic improves your health by lowering blood pressure, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, and the circumference of your waist.  It’s not rocket science but it still takes fortitude to pass up the other temptations of, say, the American diet.  Soft drinks.  Processed foods.  Just about anything with sugar in it.  The usual sacrifices that come with a healthy diet.

There’s a more challenging aspect of the Atlantic diet besides whole foods.  The meals are meant to be home-cooked and served family style, encouraging social interaction.  Accordingly, an Atlantic dieter should a) turn off the TV, b) put away the cell phone, c) focus on meaningful conversations, d) chew slowly, and e) pause between bites.  Talk about overhauling the way you eat, huh?  So I ask, especially to you fellow Americans, which of those five would be the hardest to achieve?  You’re forgiven if you answer “all of the above”.

Admittedly, my wife and I would be challenged by the Atlantic approach.  We enjoy making dinner together, but after a long day there’s nothing more appealing than plopping our meals on trays and sitting down to another episode of mindless streaming TV.  And the cell phones are always nearby in case a text chimes in.  We’re so immersed in our show in fact, who knows how fast we chew or if we ever pause between bites.  Heck, do we even taste what we’re eating?

At least we’re not tempted by Ozempic.  “Miracle drug” perhaps, but don’t ignore the side effects.  Dropping the weight through injections can gift you with blurred vision, gallstones, allergic reactions, and a constant state of exhaustion (just to name a few).  Worst of all, you might literally wear your results with “Ozempic face”, a hollowed-out look with sagging skin and signs of premature aging.  No thanks.  Those couple of countries on the other side of the Atlantic have a much better approach.

Some content sourced from the CNN Health article, “A cousin to the Mediterranean Diet: the Atlantic Diet explained”, and Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.

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Author: Dave

Five hundred posts would suggest I have something to say… This blog was born from a desire to elevate the English language, highlighting eloquent words from days gone by. The stories I share are snippets of life itself, and each comes with a bonus: a dusted-off word I hope you’ll go on to use more often. Read “Deutschland-ish Improvements” to learn about my backyard European wish list. Try “Slush Fun” for the throwback years of the 7-Eleven convenience store. Or drink in "Iced Coffee" to discover the plight of the rural French cafe. On the lighter side, read "Late Night Racquet Sports" for my adventures with our latest moth invasion. As Walt Whitman said, “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Here then, my verse. Welcome to Life In A Word.

19 thoughts on “Fresh Food for Thought”

  1. I read about the Atlantic Diet and thought in theory it sounds great, but in reality I’m not sure we could adhere to it. It’s interesting you mention it and then Ozempic. Soon after I read about the Atlantic Diet I began to see ads for Ozempic on my phone and iPad. Never had them before, but by showing an interest in something healthy, instead of getting ads about other healthy diets, I got ads for a dubious drug. Ain’t that the way?

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    1. I’m glad it wasn’t my blog post prompting the Ozempic ads! Yes, darker forces (Big Pharma) are clearly at work behind the scenes, and they are relentless. Stay strong 😉

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  3. I agree with you, we always watch tv while we eat. I do not like hearing people chew, so I need the noise of the tv haha. I think the Atlantic Diet seems doable, although it’s easier to follow when the country has fresh, healthy food so easily available like Spain/Portugal. It’s kind of scary all the processed junk the stores in the US sell.

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    1. The Atlantic really speaks to the culture of those countries (and others). When everyone around you is socializing vs. spending time with electronics, you’re apt to do the same thing. I’ll always remember the small tea room where we’d hang out in the late afternoons in Dublin, on our visit to Ireland. Every last soul in the place was having face-to-face conversation. It was refreshing… and definitely not Starbucks.

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  4. I had not heard of the Atlantic diet Dave, just the Mediterranean diet which I follow loosely. I would not use any of the weight-reducing drugs like Ozempic, especially given a recent article about all the serious side effects from those taking it, including photos of the hollow-eyed look and way too much weight being lost suddenly. It is not difficult to eat healthy, although we know it costs more to eat healthy. so unfortunately that is probably the biggest deterrent for most people.

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    1. It’s a cultural thing, the quick fix, which makes me admire Europeans all the more for avoiding crash diets and drugs. When I lived in Italy in college, I realized “simple, slow, and social” was a lifestyle to be admired.

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      1. It’s been a while since I traveled to Europe, but yes, you said it perfectly Dave. A meal was something to be savored with friends and/or family, not something to rush through as though it was just one more task in your day. Even the shopping for that dinner meal, sometimes a daily visit to get fresh produce, or bread, stopping at a fish market or butcher shop, all unique and a whole experience that is sadly lacking here.

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  6. Ugh diet fads and their names. I’m surprised Hollywood types would use that drug to lose weight if it could result in looking more aged. Couldn’t they just get liposuction if they care that much?

    Hubs and I used to always eat dinner in front of the tv too until the kids came along. Once I was at my prom date’s house for dinner, and they all sat at the table facing the tv. Except for me. The guest chair had me with my back to the tv. It was so so very awkward.

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    1. Oh my, awkward indeed. Reminds me of the scene from “Back To The Future” where Marty’s with Lorraine’s family (“What’s a rerun?”) ha. Didn’t think whole families watched TV from the dinner table 🙂

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  7. Nice post. Seems like we are always trying some diet or another, mostly just to stay healthy. The diet that worked for us as far as weight loss goes is the Flat Belly Diet which was a fad about 14 years ago. My husband lost the extra weight he had been carrying and has kept it off ever since. We always eat at the table… but we can see the TV from there!

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    1. I miss the days when our kids were still at home, and we ate together at the dinner table. We had lively conversations, with no television. Now that we’re retired, my wife and I have enough chatter during the day to make talking during dinner somewhat overkill; hence the TV. I will say, our meals out at restaurants are a little more special because we’re fully focused on each other 🙂

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  8. My answer is  c) focus on meaningful conversations. My focus should be on the food I’m eatting not conversations lol. In Portugal, I do try to eat three types of fruit a day and adding some sort of greens to the meal. But I’ve forgotten about the fish. I do miss the salmons from Alaska or PNW. The atlantic salmon is no comparison and Portugal doesn’t even have salmons :(. That said, I will go get a fish tomorrow hehehe

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  9. Haven’t heard of the Atlantic diet, but do follow loosely the Mediterranean diet. I eat a lot of fresh fruit, veggies, and chicken, and try to stay away from salt, sugar, and simple carbs. We eat a lot of salads, and my dressing is just olive oil and wine vinegar. (No salt or sugar that way.) It’s become a bit easier as overly-salted or overly-sweetened food no longer tastes good to me. But of course, I do cheat now and then!

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    1. We agree on salad dressing, Nancy (also now-and-then cheats, ha). There’s no longer any option besides a good olive oil and (in our case) a balsamic vinegar on our salads. And more and more we’re making salads our dinner entrees, often adding whatever leftovers we have in the refrigerator. Took us a long time to up the “healthy” in our eating habits.

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