The Wall Street Journal Says Marbella is Southern California of Spain

The Wall Street Journal Says Marbella is Southern California of Europe

Marbella has always been considered as the California of Europe

with its 320 days of sunshine a year

Over the past few weeks media from both sides of the Atlantic have been going crazy about the Costa del Sol; both for its potential as a cultural holiday destination but also because it is one of the best places to own a place in the sun. Malaga city in particular has had plenty of articles praising it showing up all over. The Daily Mail declared Malaga the “New Barcelona” at the beginning of April and now Marbella is back in the spotlight after being compared, in a good way no less, to Southern California by the Wall Street Journal.

Beneath the headline declaring “Marbella Makes a Splash” the article focuses on, expectedly, the high-end homes of the resort including places in the Golden Mile, Los Monteros, Sierra Blanca and La Zagaleta, where price tags can begin as “low” as €5 million. The report noted that new-generation homeowners will head to Central or Northern Europe to take breaks in the sun. It also included a brief look at how the town has evolved since the 60s and 70s, along with a gallery of images and videos feature some of the most famous landmarks and luxury mansions of Marbella.

The property prices in Marbella have recovered from their 15% drop and are now back at pre-crisis levels. It also goes on to say that there is more interest from buyers in Scandinavia and the Middle-East, along with an improved infrastructure and plenty of year-round appeal to younger buyers. All of this goes together to create a town on the rebound that is starting to look more like south California than south Spain.

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.