The Mediterranean diet was hailed by the late Doctor Michael Mosley and now Dr Antonio Escribano has praised the benefits of a specific morning dish
The breakfast is popular in the sunny country of Spain – and it sounds yummy(Image: Getty)
A nutritionist has said that one Mediterranean style breakfast is perfect to start the day. This specialist recommends one that is popular in Spain – and it sounds delicous.
The Spanish breakfast is a combination of bread, extra virgin olive oil, ham and tomato. But not only that, he said we should be having an “extending food intake” throughout the morning.
Talking about the brekkie option many of us may not reach for, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) emphasises the importance of the first meal of the day. They note that dairy products, cereals, fruit, oil, and butter are foods that we should not be banishing from our tables.
The expert, Doctor Antonio Escribano, is a specialist in Endocrinology and Nutrition. Advocating for a Mediterranean breakfast as the healthiest for the body, he revealed all on the TV programme ‘Salud al día’ on Canal Sur.
What is a healthy breakfast?
Escribano says that a healthy breakfast combines many vital factors: “At that early hour of the morning, we are receiving several components that are like the beginning of the opera that is eating throughout the day,” reports abc.es.
“Olive oil, along with the protein in ham and the lycopene in tomato, ultimately compose a little tune that suits the body wonderfully”, he explained.
He also added that this breakfast should be “well-chewed and not in large quantities. When I see people having a huge toast that looks like a shoe sole and pouring half a litre of oil…that has calories and makes you gain weight” he reveals, urging people to “eat the right amount.”
Adding to the breakfast, he notes: “I would add a little bit of dairy to that breakfast. A small glass of whole milk to provide vitamins ‘A’, ‘D’, and ‘K’. It has three per cent fat, which is relevant; however, it contains all the vitamins that fat has.”
All of these combined together, you have “created a breakfast that doesn’t have to be consumed all at once. We can have milk or yoghurt mid-morning.
“We can have a piece of fruit an hour before lunch. Therefore, what I call an ‘extended breakfast’ is much better than having a substantial block of breakfast, which causes insulin, sugar, and glucose levels to drop and then not eating anything until midday. It’s better to maintain glucose levels throughout the morning.”
Doctor Michael Mosley and the Mediterranean diet
As reported by the Mirror Online, the late Dr Mosley, who sadly passed away last year, swore by a daily tablespoon of olive oil, hailing it as a cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet and a powerhouse of health benefits due to its high polyphenol content – and extra virgin olive oil is even mentioned in the brekkie as loved by Doctor Antonio Escribano.
Doctor Mosley said: “Olive oil is also rich in something called Oleic acid, which, along with the polyphenols. [This] could explain why a good glug of olive oil a day can lower inflammation, improve our memory and reduce blood pressure.”
Dining and Cooking