What I learned in Europe about their food...

Hi {NAME}, I’m writing this while I am on the plane returning from a month in Europe where I was studying Mediterranean cultures and their eating habits. I know this was just a blip on the radar in terms of my time there, but I learned some interesting things. I lived in Italy when I was a kid for a while. But I was too young (teenager) to really comprehend how different it was. Now, it’s a whole different ballgame and I can see the stark differences. 1) Portions: There is no doubt that the portions are about 50-75% the size of what you would find in the US. Especially with breakfast. Funny enough, the breakfasts were usually something really small. I often found locals eating a bit of prosciutto, some cheese and a latte. This goes against the grain of some of the metabolic benefits of having a larger breakfast, but I will bet it keeps their calories lower. 2) There is a stronger emphasis on Dairy protein and a little less meat. I notice that there were practically no signs advertising plant-based or vegan. Not a bash at all, just an observation. There was a lot of meat available, but servings of it were small, and it was clear that there was a heavier emphasis on protein coming from dairy. Lots of different products with filtered milk to make it higher protein (similar to how Fairlife is here in the US). For example, mozzarella balls that were higher protein, lower fat. Also these things called "Protein Puddings" which was just milk that was extra strained with some flavorings. (maybe not the cleanest, but still awesome to see). One of the things I have learned recently is how critical dairy fat is for our cells. Even some compelling evidence on CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) and C-15 fatty acids (both in dairy) on insulin resistance. So much so that we’re seeing that the chronic deficiency of C15 fats in the human diet is leading to a serious metabolic problem. They discovered this with the Navy research and it was the impetus for the creation of [Fatty15]( (the capsulized c15 fat that we’ve seen talked about a bunch). In fact, here’s a [15% off Discount Link to Fatty15 if you want to try it]( The reason it is so important (and possibly why Europeans seem to have better metabolic health) is because it provides a rigidity to our cells that is needed to keep the cell strong and rigid on the outside and protect against oxidative stress. A weak, soft cell can let a lot of bad things in and also has the potential to go through apoptosis (premature cell death). When this happens, it can lead to insulin resistance among many other things. That’s why C15 fats and dairy fat in general are starting to be so important for overall longevity and metabolic health. [TRY IT HERE]( - I noticed a difference in my energy and blood sugar control in about 2 weeks 3) Much more emphasis on fruit as an option: Almost every dessert place you would find, also offered a cup of fruit as an option, and it was front and center! So you would see a lot of coffee shops selling a simple cup or bowl of fruit and a lot of the locals grabbing one and the tourists grabbing sweets or the like. 4) Dinner Late, but sleep in later (not my style, necessarily). I am an early to bed early to rise person. But I think part of that is American culture driving the hustle lifestyle for me. At first I was like "hey what gives, these healthy people are eating at 8pm, that’s not good!" Then I realized they’re going to bed at 11pm to 12pm and getting up more like 8am and starting their days later. But what I noticed is that this was the case in Italy, whereas in France and Switzerland it was a bit earlier (I know Switzerland is not Mediterranean). 5) Of course, the walking everywhere. I easily walked 30k steps per day. But I didn’t feel like I needed to eat carbs as a result, so I don’t consider it an excuse to eat more carbs, but rather increase my protein intake and calories overall. 6) No weird preservatives: Even the french fries at McDonalds were cleaner when I looked at the ingredients. I didn’t see any red dyes. My daughter got a cold at some point and we picked up a bottle of kids medicine… no dyes and colored with beet coloring (and this was in a mainstream brand). 7) Very seldom did I see seed oils I actually had to look hard to find seed oils in most regular foods. Sure the processed junk had it, but a lot of restaurants cooked with olive oil, but most of them…. Butter! 8) Things were more ‘integrated’ into life. Healthy things. It made it seem like the US has a lot of healthy things engineered out of daily life and then turned around and sold as a service. In Europe, it was a bit more driven by just simple life. More movement, less gyms, more community, less overeating, more indulging in happiness and family, less doom scrolling. 9) People weren’t scrolling on their phones during dinner. Even kids were making eye contact and chatting at cafes. 10) Bread was fresh, and was demanded as such, leading to less desire for processed and refined breads in the fashion we are used to. 11) Seafood near the coast was always fresh. And a big emphasis on shellfish and calamari, which I have always been a fan of because of the mineral content. 12) Not a lot of reduced fat products. You really had to look hard for low fat milk. Lots of heavy cream, high fat milk and full fat cheeses. This didn’t seem to equate to overweight people either as most of the locals were thin. 13) Vending Machines actually had protein drinks and were refrigerated 14) It was easy to enter a gym as a guest. You could just buy a pass and not fill out 30 mins worth of waivers. 15) It seemed to be more like 2.5 meals per day. Breakfast which was light, lunch which was mid afternoon and usually a pic me up cafe latte for people or an espresso and a starchy carb, and then dinner which was where a majority of the protein came in. I have always been an advocate for more protein at night as it seems to improve sleep. So I thought this was a unique thing. 16) Major emphasis on polyphenols. Seemed like everywhere you turned there was fruit, leafy grens, or nuts. You could always grab something rich in polyphenols. 17) Yogurt, Yogurt, Yogurt and more fermented dairy. Aisles, and aisles, and aisles of yogurt. Yes, some had sugar and were junk, but most were good, unsweetened options. Even the convenience stores had at least 30 different kinds of yogurt or drinkable yogurt options, kefir, etc. I was amazed. It was a fermented paradise! 18) Lots of cured meats that only had meat and salt… Yeah, the sodium added up. And it probably was not designed to be consumed as a key source of 75 grams of protein like I used it for, BUT, the fact that it was only meat and salt made me realize that the processed meat in the US is very, very different. 19) It was a bit hard to find a place to order a burger without a bun… almost insulted them by not wanting the bun, but that was just my observation. So much more, but this is just the tip of the iceberg! I think the biggest takeaway for me was the emphasis on the dairy protein and dairy fat…. See you tomorrow, Thomas Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Thomas DeLauer, PO Box 1120, Stateline, NV 89449, United States