Tapas are good for you

Wednesday, 25 January 2012 13:27

Written by Editor

A beer and a couple of tapas are not just enjoyable, they have the same nutritional value as the rest of the so-called Mediterranean diet, according to the Spanish Nutrition Foundation (FEN), a private Madrid-based institution. Its report on the nutritional value of this traditional aperitif contains recipes, a table with the calorific and nutrient content of each tapa and the recommended beer intake to avoid developing a belly.

Thus we discover that the pickled vegetables which are favourites in Andalucia and Galicia hardly have any calories and are rich in vitamins A, C and B12, roughage and carbohydrates, while pescaito frito and morcillo are rich in minerals and vitamins that offset their cholesterol content. And the ubiquitous anchovy is a pleasant way of getting a daily dose of omega-3 fats. As for the beer that accompanies the tapas, men should stick to two or three cañas, and women to one or two. As beer is usually drunk in Spain with tapas and served in smaller glasses than the rest of Europe, it doesn’t go to one’s head quite so quickly.