What is the Atlantic diet? Which foods does it include? How is it healthy?

A new study has flagged up the sunny benefits of the so-called Atlantic diet - healthy eating which still, somehow, manages to include bread, pasta and red meat.

The survey was published in the Jama Network - a monthly open-access journal published by the American Medical Association, and highlights the diet of those living in northern Spain and in Portugal.

The study found that after six months, people on the Atlantic diet had a smaller risk of developing metabolic syndrome, conditions that can include obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, triglyceride or cholesterol levels, and lead to the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Before the start of the study, and then six months later, scientists took measurements of waist circumference, cholesterol and blood sugar levels and blood pressure from those taking part. Results showed that compared with those eating their usual diet, those on the Atlantic diet had reduced levels of LDL “bad” cholesterol, had had a “significant decrease in waist circumference”, losing almost 2cm from their middle. Increased levels of cholesterol and belly fat are considered risk factors for metabolic syndrome and heart disease.

The Atlantic diet seeks to avoid processed foods, so includes lots of fruit and vegetables, but also includes carb-heavy food such as bread and pasta.

It is not that far removed from the Mediterranean diet, with the two sharing olive oil, dairy, eggs, fish and grains as staples. But the Atlantic diet includes more meat than its eastern cousin, and sees more stews involved.

Among the food in the diet is:

• Fresh vegetables
• Fresh fruit
• Red and white wine (in moderation)
• Bread
• Cereal
• Pasta
• Potatoes
• Milk and cheese
• Fish and seafood
• Lean meat, beef and pork
• Olive oil
• Eggs
• Nuts - almonds, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts
• Pulses such as chickpeas and lentils

In 2019, the website Euronews reported that the Spanish town of Narón had launched a healthy lifestyle initiative based on the Atlantic diet to help its residents shed a collective 100,000kg, and that in the first year the Galician town's 40,000 residents had lost a total of 46,000kg.