"Heal yourself!"

    This diet is adapted to the northern latitudes and corresponds to a moderate budget. It is called "Nordic", "Norwegian" and even the Viking diet. But its most common name is the Scandinavian diet.

  This diet offers to abandon artificial, unhealthy foods with synthetic additives, flavor stabilizers, emulsifiers and dyes in favor of natural, environmentally friendly products. Preference should be given to vegetables and fruits grown in the farmer's garden, rather than in the corporation's greenhouse. And instead of meat from the slaughterhouse to look for poultry or game. Confectionery and alcohol, the "Norwegian" system also intends to abandon, as well as baking from white flour.

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   Klaus Meyer is considered to be the creator of the Scandinavian diet. He is not a doctor or a nutritionist, but a restaurateur from Copenhagen. In 2004, Meyer noted the growing demand for food additives and semi-finished products. He convened a symposium of restaurateurs, which resulted in a manifesto of the new cuisine of the Nordic countries. The manifesto stated that Scandinavia gives its inhabitants enough useful and tasty products, and no matter how attractive exotics and semi-finished products are, it is worth promoting their own, useful and inexpensive products. Based on this manifesto, nutritionists at the University of Copenhagen have developed the "New Scandinavian Diet", which is in demand around the world today.

   The Scandinavian diet recommends sticking to the golden mean, which is the first main principle:  you don't need to starve yourself, but you shouldn't overeat. The optimal diet - 5 times a day in small portions of 200-250 grams. You should not overeat before going to bed, and if you want to eat so much that you can not sleep, it is better to drink a glass of milk, yogurt or kefir.

   The second principle is to prepare home-made food, not to add artificial food additives. Salt should not be completely abandoned, but its use should be limited: do not oversalt foods, do not sprinkle salt when you do not need it. For example, fresh vegetables are often salted: cucumbers, tomatoes. The Scandinavian system does not recommend this.

    The third principle is to give up frying in a frying pan. Instead, you can bake dishes in the oven, cook, stew, prepare fresh salads.

     The fourth principle is to limit the consumption of animal fats. Prefer lean meat and, where possible, replace it with fish and seafood. Of course, the Scandinavian food system prefers fish caught in the northern seas. It is rich in heart-healthy polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. When cooking, you should give preference to vegetable oils: sunflower, flaxseed, canola.

     The fifth principle is to eat fresh vegetables and fruits. Do not limit a couple of familiar vegetables - such as tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and try to include in the menu as many green, red, yellow vegetables. Choose seasonal products that grow in your homeland, because the body absorbs them well.

     The sixth principle is to try to indulge in forest products, gifts of wildlife.

    Finally, you should not give up bread, but you should choose high-fiber varieties: for example, rye or black bread.

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List of permitted foods in the diet:

• Whole grains: bran , barley, brown rice, green buckwheat. White rice is recommended to exclude, as well as semolina, millet, corn flakes and butter dough dishes.

• Dairy products: milk and cottage cheese. Powdered milk, which is on the shelves of supermarkets, the Scandinavian diet does not recognize. Dairy products should be bought from farmers. For residents of large cities, this means the need to go to the market.

• Vegetables and fruits: all without exception, and as often as possible, more diverse. Preference should be given to those vegetables and fruits that grow in your area: apples, raspberries, currants, cabbage, but fruits from hot countries are not prohibited.

• Forest food: mushrooms, nuts, bark, acorns, moss. It is necessary to collect all this with care, to buy too, after all you should be sure of an organic origin of products and their suitability for food. Not every moss can be eaten.

• Poultry meat. Meat consumption should be kept to a minimum by choosing naturally raised poultry rather than poultry. Exclude sausages and hot dogs from the diet completely.

• Fish and seafood. Ideally, you need to find fish that were caught from a natural body of water. Squid, shrimp, eel, oysters, seaweed should also be included in the diet.

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Pros and cons of the Scandinavian diet.

    The Scandinavian food system has a good effect on metabolism, it strengthens the immune system, heals the internal organs. All these improvements can not but affect the appearance, so the supporters of the technique look younger than their years. This is a full-fledged philosophy of healthy eating.

     The disadvantages of this mode are few, and they are relative. If someone wants to lose extra pounds, the Scandinavian system will lose weight gradually, but not to the detriment of health. Disadvantages include the fact that the method is not suitable for vegetarians, vegans and people allergic to fish and seafood.