The Mediterranean Diet
(misspelled Mediteranean Diet)
An Anti-Inflammatory LifeStyle
You Can Follow
The Mediteranean Diet (purposely misspelled) is not really a diet, as much as it is a generalized lifestyle based on over 16 countries that border on the Mediterranean Sea. This diet came into popularity when it was discovered that many of the French people ate lots of high fat foods, yet they had very few heart attacks. It was initially felt that this "French paradox" was due to the protective effects of anthocyanins (a type of phytonutrient) found in red wine. In fact, that is only one of the many reasons that people who follow the Mediteranean Diet (really the Mediterranean lifestyle) have lower risks for heart disease than their American counterparts. The main components of the Mediteranean Diet include: - High consumption of fresh, seasonal, local fruits and vegetables.
- Lots of beans, potatoes, breads, whole grains, nuts and seeds
- Olive oil for cooking and dressings
- Moderate amounts of fish and very little red meat
- Moderate (two to three 4 ounce glasses) of red wine, mostly with meals
- An active lifestyle
In a 2003 study by Trichopoulou in the New England Journal of Medicine 348:2599-2608, the diets of more than 22,000 people living in Greece were ranked according to how closely they adhered to the traditional Greek style Mediterranean diet. During the 4 years study, the closer people followed the traditional diet the less likely they were to die from either heart disease or cancer, with slightly greater protection against heart disease than cancer. Overall, people following the Mediterranean diet most closely were 25% less likely to die during the study period than those who did not, suggesting that those closely following the Mediterranean diet end up dying later than those who do not. Another study in 2008 by Trichopoulou, published in the British Journal of Cancer showed about a 12% decrease in the incidence of cancer for those who adhered more closely to the Mediterranean diet.
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