six-million strong nation was placed first among Arab countries and
32nd out of 163 countries overall in the Global Health Index, which
measured life expectancy, causes of death and health risks. For highly acclaimed Lebanese food blogger Bethany Kehdy, the news
comes as no surprise and comes firmly as a result of the country’s world
famous cuisine. Lebanon’s much-reproduced Mediterranean diet
sees an abundant use of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and fresh fish,
with olive oil religiously replacing animal fat.
For the most part when we consider the Lebanese diet, traditional
cuisine and eating habits we notice that firstly and most importantly it
revolves around the season which means you’re eating food that is
fresh, and in its nutritional prime,” Kehdy, author of The Jewelled
Kitchen cookbook, tells The New Arab.
For Kehdy, nutritional variety is key to Lebanon’s healthy lifestyle.
“The [Lebanese] diet also revolves around vegetables with sprinklings
of meat with weekends dedicated to letting loose and enjoying a lavish
meat-laden grills. Fruits are also still celebrated and often as a form
of dessert,” she adds. Meals are mostly balanced and include copious amounts of garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. “A typical lunch is very balanced with a salad, stew, not overdosed
on meat and a good serving of grains. The diet also involves lots of
fermented foods – pickles and yoghurt always grace the table – so lots
of probiotics and natural digestive aids,” Kehdy says. She also adds that cultural habits, and especially light dinners, are key. “If we go back and really consider the traditional eating culture we
notice that dinners were often simply yoghurt and cheese which much
lighter and easily digestible in comparison to the balanced lunch of
stew, grain and salad. The old saying says: have lunch and nap, eat
dinner and walk.” As testified by hordes of customers filling Lebanese restaurants from
Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo, Lebanon’s cuisine had long ago found
world-wide fame.
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The old saying says: have lunch and nap, eat dinner and walk |  |
Kehdy says despite recent trends within the country itself, Lebanese cuisine remains the go-to option the country’s citizens.
“Even though I notice our eating patterns have ‘globalised’ more, I
think the fact that we have an excellent and varied cuisine that
Lebanese remain fond of goes to show that the food offerings in
themselves are very healthy!”
Other Arab states that made it on the Index list include Qatar, which
ranked as the second healthiest Arab state, followed by Bahrain, the
UAE and Oman.
The famous link between a Mediterranean diet and overall health was
once again confirmed in Bloomberg’s ranking which put Italy was the
world’s healthiest nation, followed by Iceland in second place and
Switzerland in third.
You can read Bethany Kehdy’s food blog here and follow her on Twitter: @Bethanykd
Sarah Khalil is a journalist with The New Arab. You can follow her on Twitter: @skhalil1984
