Nordic Diet is the Non-Diet – A Danish chef has created the non-diet Nordic Diet by collaborating with nutrition experts and the results beat out many popular weight loss plans.
The New Nordic Diet has some similar elements of the popular Mediterranean Diet, but with a stronger focus on non-deprivation, spices, and local foods.
Claus Meyer is the co-founder of Noma, a Danish restaurant that has twice been named the best restaurant in the world. He began working with nutrition experts to combat obesity and found that the principles of The New Nordic Diet are more sustainable than traditional dieting.
By incorporating cold climate, local foods with antioxidant rich and ingredients rich in omega fatty acids, subjects in the study conducted at the University of Copenhagen lost twice as much weight on the New Nordic Diet than on regular portion-control weight loss plans.
The key to the Nordic weight loss plan is moderation, not starvation. Meyer’s plan was based on foods local to his own country, but the regimen can be adapted to include foods from your own area.
The key principles of The New Nordic Diet include:
- Eat foods grown in your own region – Meyer believes that using local, seasonal foods inspire creativity in cooking and therefore can eliminate ‘food boredom.’
- Home cooked meals are key – He says that adding a cultural, familial element to food, instead of the modern day grab-and-go notion, can psychologically change the way people think about their diet.
- Eat more side dishes – Simply prepared vegetables, even leftovers used in creative ways is part of Meyer’s ‘the more the merrier’ idea.
- Replace fat with sweetness – Using natural sweeteners with ordinary foods creates interest and cuts the fat. Use ingredients with sweet undertones like balsamic vinegar, honey, and molasses instead of oil or butter.
- Season with more than salt and pepper – Fresh herbs enhance food flavors. Using herbs, yogurt, apple vinegar, or lime juice in flavor combinations is a healthy way to experiment.
Meyer’s ideas are designed to prevent ‘relapses’ into unhealthy eating. In his manifesto on ‘the principles of good flavors’ he insists that ‘You are not on a diet!’ He believes that dieting implies deprivation which is not sustainable in the long term.
The staples of this weight loss program are based on foods that are plentiful in Northern Europe like fish, nuts, legumes, berries, cold-weather veggies like kale and cabbage, oats, and game meat (elk and lamb). Substitutions can be made easily: if you’d prefer not to eat elk, use turkey, chicken, and lean beef and pork.
By using methods like these, dieting becomes less of a chore and more of a hobby or lifestyle. And that’s why the New Nordic Diet is the Non-Diet.
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February 17th, 2012 at 1:15 am
On a research trip to the Denmark this week, Dr Sue took the opportunity to bring you to the research supermarket where an innovative new diet called the New Nordic Diet is being studied. In an interview with Sanne Poulsen, PhD student at the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Copenhagen, we learn about the New Nordic Study, which includes 200 patients and compares the effects of this diet with the traditional Danish diet on body weight, body composition, and cardiovascular risk factors. The New Nordic Diet focusses on healthy foods that are cultivated in Scandinavia, such as whole grains (rye, barley, oats), fruits, berries, and fish. There is also an emphasis on choosing foodstuffs that are produced in an environmentally sustainable fashion.