UK Ambassador of Spain Says Costa Del Sol Keeps a Special Place in the Heart of Brits

UK Ambassador of Spain Says Costa Del Sol Keeps a Special Place in the Heart of Brits

British ambassador to Spain Simon Manley was speaking at a forum in Marbella last week when he remarked that the Costa del Sol still holds a special place in the hearts of Brits, reassuring everyone in attendance that the Brexit would have no impact on this relationship.

Spain will always be a special place for Brits

The forum took place in the Costa del Sol to address what the Brexit could mean for both Spain and the UK. Manley said that the Costa del Sol can still expect to see many British holidaymakers, as 2017 could very well break the record set last year of 18 million British tourists flocking to Spain.

The ambassador was also keen to remind the crowd that Britain remains the third largest investor in Spain, and spoke of his belief that this relationship is likely going to last through the changes to the UK’s membership in the EU.

In terms of specifics, Manley said that the Madrid British Embassy is working hard to develop the relationship between Spain and the UK on a number of topics including telecommunications, creating closer aviation ties, and renewable energy.

Given how much air traffic passes between these two countries, it only makes sense for the UK and Spain to develop a stronger working and commercial relationship as far as air routes and airports go.

Both Spaniards and Brits alike are sure to enjoy measures that make it cheaper and easier to travel between the countries. Such measures would also no doubt increase tourism revenue and boosting the Spanish property market, which has always been a favourite with British investors.

Study Shows Med Diet Better for The Heart Than Statins

Study Shows Med Diet Better for The Heart Than Statins

Spain is one of the healthiest places in the world to live

with 320 days of sunshine and its wonderful

Mediterranean diet, which helps you live longer 

It’s been shown by a new study that people who eat the Mediterranean diet are able to protect their heart better than people taking certain blood pressure correction and heart-protection medications.

The Mediterranean diet is the kind of diet that you find in countries like Spain, Italy and Greece. This Med diet involves plenty of olive oil, fresh fruit and v
eg, and fish. Don’t worry though; you don’t need to eat this diet in a bodega to get the benefits!

While there might be some health benefits to this socially inclusive way of eating the study from the IRCCS Nuromed Institute in Italy was focused entirely on the foods involved. This study showed that when heart patients were fed this Med diet their chances of dying an early death was slashed by a massive 37%, just over twice the 16% cut that heart medicine provides.

The researchers say that they can’t directly compare the figures and added many heart patients should combine the effects of both the Mediterranean diet and heart pills to get the best protection.

Even so the results were bound to draw attention in the medical world. The research would appear to back up several other studies and all of the anecdotal evidence that shows the health benefits of eating the traditional Mediterranean diet.

When people eat plenty of olive oil, fruits, vegetables and fish they ingest less fat and more beneficial nutrients. This nutritional balance has been shown to protect against diabetes, heart disease, and even some forms of cancer because of the anti-inflammatory effects of these foods and the nutrients they contain.

The study was headed by Professor Giovanni de Gaetano who went on to say that the Mediterranean diet was more effective than medication. Professor Gaetano also suggested that the government should begin subsidising fruits and vegetables and even make some fruit and vegetables freely available at doctor’s surgeries.

There are seven million adults dealing with heart disease in the UK alone.

Professor de Gaetano said that the study showed people eating a Mediterranean diet showed 37% less chance of dying from any cause compared to people who were eating poor diets. He added that the Mediterranean diet is accepted as being one of the healthiest diets there is. There have been several other studies into the Mediterranean diet that have shown how effective it is at reducing the chances of developing chronic issues and dying from any cause. Most of this research was focused on the general population though. These were people who were already healthy. De Gaetano wanted to look into the effects on people who already suffered from cardiovascular disease and if it would still be the best option for them.

The research would show that the diet is just as effective, if not more so, for people who need to control these conditions. Combining the Mediterranean diet with statin could provide the ultimate two-pronged attack to control these conditions without the negative side effects of medication such as muscle pain.

The study was done on 1,200 Italians who were followed for seven years. These participants all had heart disease and were instructed to record the foods they ate during this seven year period. How well they adhered to the Mediterranean diet was scored using a nine-point scoring system and, after other factors were considered (smoking, weight, gender, and exercise levels), the study showed that there was an average 21% reduced chance of death from heart disease with people following the Med diet. This went up to 37% for the people who strictly followed the diet.

Spain offers many chances for people to follow the Mediterranean diet as the cost of living in Spain is low and most restaurants and supermarkets make all the ingredients available at affordable prices. When you combine this diet with the outdoors lifestyle and a healthy climate it’s not hard to understand why the Spanish life expectancy is higher than most of Europe.