- The Atlantic diet is a diet that is popular in some regions of Portugal and Spain, and it is similar to the Mediterranean diet. It focuses on consuming fresh and local foods that are minimally processed.
- An area of research interest is how this traditional diet can improve health and how it may impact the environment.
- A study found that consuming the Atlantic diet may help reduce metabolic syndrome risk. However, the results did not find that the diet significantly helped reduce carbon footprint emissions.
Research is ongoing about how diets influence people’s well-being and how they affect risk for various health problems.
Research also continues to expand regarding how different diets impact the environment. Ideally, dietary patterns can help people achieve health goals while reducing carbon dioxide emissions when possible.
A study published in
Among the 574 participants, researchers found that those following the Atlantic diet significantly reduced their risk for metabolic syndrome.
However, the Atlantic diet and the control group experienced about the same reduction in carbon footprint scores. Based on the study’s limitations, more research is required with a larger sample size to see the impact of the Atlantic diet on the environment.
As noted by the authors of this study, the Atlantic diet is a traditional diet popular in northwestern Spain and Portugal.
Registered dietitian nutritionist Karen Z. Berg, not involved in the current study, explained to Medical News Today:
“You don’t often hear about the Atlantic diet, but it’s the traditional diet of Northwestern Spain and Portugal. It’s very similar to the Mediterranean diet because it focuses mainly on locally sourced fresh, minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and olive oil. It also incorporates a lot of fish and seafood consumption,…
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