We are Mediterraneans and we love the Mediterranean Lifestyle!!!
The mission of SloWow is twofold:
1. Promoting as much as possible qualities and advantages of the Mediterranean lifestyle as well as explaining why such way of living is so healthy and beneficial for every human being
2. Promoting as much as possible the use of good quality, extra virgin olive oil in day-to-day cooking
It is worth reminding that the Mediterranean lifestyle is not just one of the healthiest ways to live but also the most sustainable one.
In fact, one of the key concepts of the Mediterranean philosophy is to live in great harmony with natural elements while building a solid equilibrium with mother nature.
SloWow was born out of a need to restore and promote a more balanced, steady, healthy, human and equilibrated way to go through life.
A slower approach to day-to-day living, capable of bringing back the joy of human interaction and healthy eating.
All things that today’s society is trying so hard to eliminate.
SloWow was born out of the need to preserve the traditions, the folklore, the habits, the diet and the mentality typical of the Mediterranean basin, which for thousands of years have been the drivers and foundations of today’s society.
As previously mentioned: the SloWow project has at its core 2 concepts: extra virgin olive oil and Mediterranean lifestyle.
Why extra virgin olive oil? You may ask.
Well, the answer is fairly simple.
Extra virgin olive oil is single-handedly the foundation of the Mediterranean diet, which is considered to be the best diet in the whole world. Extra virgin olive oil, other than being delicious and one of the best natural ingredients in anyone’s kitchen, is an excellent source of healthy fats because it provides numerous antioxidant compounds like the oleocanthal, the oleacein and vitamin E.
These compounds help to prevent heart disease, promote a healthy functioning of our brain while protecting our body cells from certain types of cancer.
Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed variety of oil (there are also other qualities like virgin olive oil and refined olive oil) and therefore the healthiest.
It is very rich in antioxidants which help fight inflammation and chronic disease and monounsaturated fatty acids which benefit hearth health and help in preventing heart diseases.
Furthermore, several scientific studies have concluded that consuming extra virgin olive oil on a daily basis improves cholesterol levels and blood pressure, lower risk of certain types of cancer and reduces the risk of stroke.
As you can see, extra virgin olive oil is not just very tasty, it’s also incredibly healthy: a win-win situation.
Now you know why extra virgin olive oil is so important for Mediterranean people.
The other reason Mediterraneans are famous for is their lifestyle:
The Mediterranean lifestyle.
Now, let’s start with order.
The first aspect to talk about when it comes to lifestyle is the diet. In fact, since the 2013 the Mediterranean diet has been inscribed on the “Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.
According to the UNESCO the Mediterranean diet is not just a healthy way of eating which “involves a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking and particularly the sharing and consumption of food” but also a proper cultural event because, still citing UNESCO, “eating together is the foundation of the cultural identity and continuity of communities throughout the Mediterranean basin.
It is a moment of social exchange and communication, an affirmation and renewal of family, group or community identity.
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes values of hospitality, neighbourliness, intercultural dialogue and creativity, and a way of life guided by respect for diversity.
It plays a vital role in cultural spaces, festivals and celebrations, bringing together people of all ages, conditions and social classes”.
The UNESCO definition is particularly accurate because it highlights the pivotal role that eating together has in Mediterranean cultures.
The act of sharing the meal, often lunch and more importantly Sunday’s lunch, builds trust and reinforces the relationships within the family, which is why the act of eating or the tradition of eating together is so respected by almost anyone living within the Mediterranean and the food must always be of the highest quality.
In other words, eating together is not just socializing is an act of highly sophisticated social engineering.
The Mediterranean lifestyle, however, does not involve only eating healthy food and consuming extra virgin olive oil. There is much more to that.
First of all, one big, and often misunderstood concept, is the management of time.
Mediterraneans dedicate a lot of time to family, friends and loved ones because we live a very socially active life and connections with our loved ones and closed friends is a priority (an active social life also has wonderful psychological effects on human beings as it reduces stress and anxiety and in several cases it drastically reduces the probabilities of falling into clinical depression).
Working is important, however, having a sustainable work-life balance is fundamentally imperative.
Another great aspect of the Mediterranean lifestyle is movement.
Mediterraneans are not exactly famous for being active gym goers and working out all the time but they manage to keep healthy and live long lives. How is that possible?
Well, the answer is simple we walk a lot and we bike a lot. Every day.
We like long walks by the sea, on the beach or in the countryside (better if in good company to share a few words). We also like biking, in fact, it is very common to spot elderly biking around with their friends or biking in order to go to the park and share some time with their friends.
Although everybody does these, walking and biking are more common among elderly while younger generations also love kayaking in the sea, swimming, jogging, football (read soccer) and the gym.
The Mediterranean lifestyle, as you can see, it is not just the diet, in fact, gravitates around other key principles like, among others, active social life, walking or biking and constant contact with nature.
We at SloWow want to promote this lifestyle, which is considered to be the best in the world from several health associations around the world, along to a healthy consumption of extra virgin olive oil, which prevents cardiovascular diseases.
The Mediterranean is our passion and at SloWow we decided to make it our mission.
Join us on this wonderful Mediterranean journey!!!