Latest news with #DianeKochilas
Business Mayor
18-05-2025
- Health
- Business Mayor
Ikaria island diet helps a third of locals live past 90 – how to do it
The island diet has some key ingredients and eating methods that can lend itself to more healthy years (Image: GETTY) Located in the eastern Aegean, the small Greek island of Ikaria is home to a mere 8,000 full-time residents. Despite its modest population, the island boasts one of the world's highest life expectancies. An impressive one-third of the population lives beyond the age of 90, while the entire island enjoys lower rates of chronic diseases compared to other parts of the world. Reaching the age of 100 is not uncommon among the island's residents. Researchers have attributed the Ikarians' remarkable longevity to several factors, including exercise and frequent napping as an integral part of daily life. The islanders also place a strong emphasis on social and family ties, despite their relatively small population. However, their diet is likely the most significant contributor to their remarkable longevity. The scenic island is part of the Blue Zone, where people are more likely to live to 100 and beyond (Image: GETTY) Greek American chef Diane Kochilas, who has family roots on the island and spends half the year living there, explores the Ikarian diet in her cookbook, The Ikaria Way. In an interview with the BBC prior to the book's release last year, Kochilas explained that the key to the Ikarian diet lies not only in the ingredients used but also in the love and care with which meals are prepared. Read More 'Appalling' NI gynaecology waits under rapid review She noted: 'I think that one of the things that always surprises me is just the level of stress that people accept. In the US, stress is so detrimental, and most of it is in our own heads and thought patterns. Food is also love'. The Ikarian diet bears a strong resemblance to the Mediterranean diet, known for its longevity benefits. It emphasises healthy fats, high fibre, whole foods and is predominantly plant-based. Olive oil is the primary source of added fat, while items like fish, poultry and red wine are consumed in moderation. Red meat is even less frequent, making an appearance only a few times a month. Moreover, many inhabitants of the island adhere to the Greek Orthodox Church's fasting calendar, abstaining from certain foods such as meat during specific periods, like Lent. Beans, surprisingly, play a vital role in The Ikaria Way and have become a staple in Blue Zone diets. The chef encouraged people to 'eat beans and live longer', highlighting that good quality beans can be found anywhere in the world. The chef praised the health benefits of beans, noting that they're also easy to find (Image: GETTY) This phrase was originally coined by longevity expert Dan Buettner, who famously suggested that consuming one cup of beans daily could prolong a person's life by four years. The claim isn't completely unfounded. A 2004 study foundthat people who ate at least 20 grams per day could add around eight years to their lifespan. It may also help with weight loss, another preventable factor increasing your risk of a range of mortality causes. A 2016 review found people that ate 255grams, around nine ounces, of beans each day for six weeks lost more weight than people who didn't eat beans. Read More Assisted dying plans for terminally-ill approved on Jersey Diane further explained: 'Bean consumption aids heart health by lowering cholesterol because beans are rich in soluble fibre. This attaches to cholesterol particles and flushes them out of the body.'
Telegraph
12-04-2025
- Telegraph
Serve up a Greek feast with these springtime Easter recipes
When I think about Easter, I fantasise about Greece and Sicily. In Sicily, almond trees are in blossom in February and March, with frothy clouds of white and pink flowers everywhere. I suppose I think that the spring they experience so early should be felt by everyone. I'm yearning for globe artichokes but they've been eating them since late February. By Easter, marzipan is being used to make doll-sized fruits painted with tiny brushes – these are called frutta martorana. There are baroque creations such as cassata, an elaborate cake, but many areas have their own particular celebratory treats. In Favara in Agrigento, they have agnello pasquale, a lamb shaped in marzipan, filled with pistachios and sugar, and decorated with silver bells, beads and ribbons. And then there is actual lamb, prepared in different ways; in braises such as lamb spezzatino, where the meat is cooked with saffron and mint, and roasts that are cooked plainly with potatoes, olive oil, garlic and herbs. Lamb, pistachios, almonds and herbs seem perfect foods with which to usher in a new season and warmer weather – and to think, even if you're not religious, about new beginnings. Greece, if anything, has even more ways to cook lamb. Looking through Diane Kochilas's masterful work The Glorious Foods of Greece, there's lamb roasted with potatoes and artichokes, with lemons and vegetables, and stuffed with ricotta, dill, fennel, mint and eggs. Incidentally, I have owned this book for nearly 25 years. There are no photographs and more than 500 pages. It's pure cooking, research and joy from beginning to end. It's not just lamb that is worth celebrating, it's the rich regionality of Greek food: carrot and pumpkin pie from Kefalonia, greens pie with milk and eggs from Roumeli, chicken and cheese pie from Epirus (one of the best areas for pies in the whole country). There's a Greek Easter bread called tsoureki, which is a bit like challah, scented with citrus, anise and dried cherry pits, and often decorated with eggs dyed red (to represent Christ's blood). Easter is not just nodded to, as it is here, it's steeped in celebration – processions, specific to particular villages and regions, happen in Holy Week, and Easter Sunday starts at midnight with as much excitement as New Year brings elsewhere. There are bells, fireworks and dancing. It's a party. I have said before that Easter should be as big a celebration here as Christmas is. Many of you may well hate this idea – more cooking, more money spent and yet another big event to host – but the main meal could be as simple as the roast lamb with spinach, spring onions and rice here (and it's all cooked in one dish). Simple dishes seem right for spring – it feels as if you're opening all the windows and letting in light. The traditional Christmas meal in this country is heavy and rich, and you can end up passed out on the sofa afterwards. Easter food pulls you outside; in fact the Greek Easter feast is often eaten as a barbecue, including lamb roasted on a spit. The feast on these pages is Greek-ish rather than completely authentic. The lamb is based on a Greek dish (so many of the Easter lamb dishes share the same ingredients), and there's my version of the Greek classic gigantes plaki. The baba ghanoush is from Oma, a Greek restaurant in London. I loved it so much I begged them for the recipe – the confit garlic makes all the difference. It's not a Greek dip, though you find it in Athens. The Greek Orthodox Easter usually falls on a different date to ours. They follow the Julian calendar and we follow the Gregorian one, but this year we have Easter on the same day. A good reason to celebrate on 20 April with Greek food.
