“The Danes may have their hygge and the Norwegians their back to the land culture but the Swedes have 'lagom': an even-keeled approach to a life of balance.”
My mum sent me this recipe yesterday, which was featured in The Times and is from the book, The Nordic Guide To Living 10 Years Longer, by Bertil Marklund. This book has already enjoyed huge success in 26 countries and is being released in the UK, April 27th 2017. I have just preordered my copy.
Swedes are generally a healthy nation and seem to have a refreshingly healthy attitude to food, exercise and lifestyle, eschewing any calorie and carb counting and they also appear to feel no guilt about such things like drinking too much coffee! Generally speaking, they appear to enjoy a balanced approach to lifestyle and health, which is summed up by the word Sundhet.
The word Lagom describes moderation - translating to "just the right amount". The Swedes tend to take the attitude that to live a healthy life, you don’t have to go to extremes and that it is the small and simple changes that lead to a healthier, happier, longer life. So moderation is key.
This ‘super drink’ features in the book and is a daily tonic, which has been created by Stig Bengmark, who’s the professor emeritus of Lund University. It’s quite similar to Golden Milk or a turmeric latte but with a few twists. According to Bengmark, turmeric, when combined with pepper or ginger, has a potent anti inflammatory effect (avoid this tonic when pregnant or breast feeding).
Turmeric Tonic
Ingredients:
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp chilli pepper, cayenne pepper or black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1tbsp olive or coconut oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
100 - 200mls oat milk, blackcurrant juice, coconut milk or water (I used oat milk)
Method
Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix together or you could add all the ingredients to a blender and blend for 30 seconds, which is what I did.
I have to admit that this is an acquired taste but I ended up adding to my morning muesli and it was actually really quite tasty.
Other Nordic Lifestyle tips from this book for longevity include:
Drink 3 – 4 cups of coffee a day
Sunbathe for 15 – 20 minutes a day
Measure your stomach and ensure that you monitor abdominal fat
Sleep for 6 – 7 hours a day
Drink this turmeric tonic
Bertil discusses exercise, time to recharge, sleep, sunbathing, food, drink, weight, oral hygiene, attitude and relationships in the book.