Mediterranean diet reduces risk of heart disease in women.
But it’s not just heart disease that interests me about the Mediterranean Diet. It’s the fact that studies indicate that this type of diet is important for liver health as well.
The Mediterranean Diet helps improve liver health by reducing fat accumulation, lowering inflammation, and improving insulin resistance, making it a leading lifestyle recommendation for managing fatty liver disease (now often termed MASLD or NAFLD). [Anania et al., 2018].
Midlife women have been typically forgotten about in the research on nutrition and both liver and heart disease, however, the University of Sydney research offers some world-first insights into the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean Diet on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death in women.
The study findings were that women with a high adherence versus a low adherence to a Mediterranean diet had a 24% lower risk of CVD and a 23% lower risk of total mortality. (Pant, et al, 2023).
The traditional Mediterranean Diet includes a lot of vegetables – far more than the typical western diet, and one way to get lots of vegetables into us, is by making soup.
I was inspired to get this recipe from my local cafe, where it was deemed a winter favourite with patrons and get their permission to also put it into the MyMT™ Kitchen recipe books – these differ for each programme, depending on wieght loss or not. I hope you can enjoy making it too.
Mediterranean Tomato Soup
Ingredients (makes enough for 3-4 people)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp cumin
- 1.5 tbsp paprika
- 3 cloves garlic, cut in chunks
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 1 courgette, chopped
- 4 cups of vegetable stock (hot water with the vegetable stock dissolved)
- 1 can of tomatoes
- 2 tbsp of tomato paste
- ½ lemon, juiced
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Add the olive oil and garlic to a large pot which is turned onto medium heat. Fry for 2 minutes (until the garlic is fragrant but not burning) and then add the cumin and paprika. Fry for 2 more minutes, then add the diced carrot and celery. Fry those vegetables for an additional 5 minutes while stirring continuously.
- Add the vegetable stock, can of tomatoes, tomato paste, lemon juice, courgettes and salt and pepper. Cover the pot and then leave to cook through for approximately 20 minutes (or until the veggies are soft).
- Serve with a slice of rye, sourdough or gluten free bread.
[Inspired by the fabulous chefs at Relishes cafe, Wanaka, New Zealand].
References:
Anania C, Perla FM, Olivero F, Pacifico L, Chiesa C. Mediterranean diet and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2018 May 21;24(19):2083-2094. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i19.2083. PMID: 29785077; PMCID: PMC5960814.
