The Mediterranean diet continues to strike gold. Scientific evidence keeps accumulating, linking it to a bounty of benefits — including longevity. But it’s healthy longevity, not just living longer, that goes hand in hand with the Mediterranean diet. At the 15th Anniversary Mediterranean Diet Conference in Boston late last year, renowned scientists outlined overwhelming research linking the Mediterranean diet to good health. The diet’s protection against a variety of diseases, like heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, is key to maintaining a high quality of life. Living well — not just longer — is a goal worth striving for. And the good news is that adopting this style of eating offers benefits at any age.

While initial research in the area dates back to the 1950s, when American scientist Ancel Keys sang the praises of this plant-based food style, the concept of the healthy Mediterranean diet seemed to stay in the research lab until 1993 when, together with the Harvard School of Public Health, the Boston-based think-tank Oldways Exchange Trust released the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid. Suddenly, chefs, food writers and importers took notice, and olive oil became a chic food ingredient. Mediterranean cuisine was hot.

Since the publication of the pyramid, researchers have examined all aspects of the Mediterranean diet to determine just how the dietary pattern can be linked to such a wide assortment of health dividends. In 2008 alone, more than 200 scientific studies were published supporting its health benefits. Need another reason? Besides the more prosaic studies of heart disease and cancers, researchers have even observed an improvement in erectile dysfunction with a Mediterranean-style diet.

But you don’t take on a Med-style diet just for the health of it. Its palate-pleasing attributes can’t be beaten. The assorted ingredients used, including herbs and spices, not only provide a variety of flavours appealing to different tastes but each supplies health perks to boot.
Dr. Antonia Trichopoulou, of the University of Athens and one of the foremost investigators in the area, explained her research at the conference, which has looked at the various characteristics of the Mediterranean diet and come up with a method to measure how closely people adhere to it. This score offers points for consuming foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish and unprocessed cereals and has been used by many scientists to assess the health benefits of the diet.

THE DIET AND DISEASE
The Mediterranean diet offers a cornucopia of disease-fighting compounds that together are much more potent for protecting health than each consumed alone. Greater adherence to the diet is associated with a significant improvement in health status, according to registered dietitian Penny Kris-Etherton, of Penn State University, who presented a review of a number of studies looking at adherence to the Mediterranean diet involving more than 1.5 million people, followed for periods of time varying from three to 18 years and their risk of any chronic disease or death from those diseases. Kris-Etherton reported a nine per cent reduction in overall mortality, a nine per cent reduction in deaths from cardiovascular diseases, a six per cent decrease in death from cancer and a 13 per cent drop in the incidence of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

Research also indicates that the diet could impact those living with diabetes. In one study, Dr. Miguel A. Martinez-Gonzalez and his colleagues from the University of Navarra in Spain evaluated adherence to a Mediterranean diet and the incidence of diabetes among more than 13,000 initially healthy participants. Subjects who adhered strictly to the diet had a whopping 83 per cent reduction in the likelihood of developing diabetes. Those who followed the diet moderately still had their risk reduced by 59 per cent.
It’s well known that those with diabetes are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. Harvard’s Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, however, turned the tables on this conventional wisdom, so to speak, and found through his research that the odds of developing diabetes increase in someone who suffers a heart attack. But if the heart attack victim has followed a Med-food diet, it’s less likely that they will develop diabetes.

THE DIET AND LONGEVITY
After reviewing much of the research on the diet, scientists at the University of Grenoble in France concluded, “The Mediterranean diet has a striking effect on survival.” When asked which components of the diet offered the greatest benefits, scientists were quick to answer: it’s the whole pattern, not one particular food or component. And, as far as geography goes, although different countries in the region have different lifespans due to various factors, the people of the Greek island of Crete, the first group studied in the Mediterranean region, have one of the longest life expectancies known in Europe.

THE DIET PLAN

While the traditional local fare varies as you travel around the Mediterranean — whether it’s cumin and cinnamon-scented couscous from Morocco, a walnut and olive oil-infused roasted eggplant dip from Greece or a robust garlic and tomato-sauced polenta from Italy — the basis of the diet remains the same: a variety of fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, and only small occasional servings of meat or other foods high in saturated fat. Fish is consumed regularly, olive oil is the predominate fat, wine is consumed moderately and physical activity is regular.

IT’S ALL GREEK TO YOU
To You
Importing a Mediterranean-style pattern into your own home can be a pleasurable task indeed. Here are a few tips to get you started.

? Redesign your dinner plate. Shift the focus to a variety of vegetables and whole grains, making the meat a garnish rather than the centrepiece.

? Incorporate legumes, like chickpeas, lentils and kidney beans, on a regular basis. Add them to salads, pasta sauces or enjoy them in dips. And go for canned varieties if you like: Simply rinse them well to lower sodium counts.

? Change your drinking style, if necessary. Unlike in North America, drinking wine on its own is not a traditional activity in the Mediterranean; rather, the custom is to consume wine with food. And, instead of larger amounts on weekends, moderation on a regular basis is the norm. (But if you don’t drink now, it’s advisable that you don’t start drinking for your health.)

? Go for monounsaturated fats over other kinds. Instead of sauting foods in butter or spreads, use olive oil.

? Spice it up: The palate-pleasing seasonings of the Med diet, such as garlic, herbs and olive oil, not only liven up dishes but also offer a wide range of disease-fighting compounds. So don’t eat your broccoli bare; toss in a little garlic-scented olive oil, sprinkle with chopped parsley and lemon and enjoy.

SEEKING LIQUID GOLD: AN OLIVE OIL PRIMER
The Good: Virgin olive oil is simply the oily unrefined juice of the fruit. Extra virgin oils are the least acidic and vary in taste and colour, depending on the variety of olive used.

Virgin varieties contain about 200 different micro-components or phytochemicals linked to protection against disease. Included are various forms of vitamin E, carotenoids — the pigments that provide colour — along with phenolic compounds.

The more aromatic and flavourful an oil, the higher the level of phenolics. And it’s these phenolics that new research shows raise levels of the beneficial HDL-cholesterol and provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer action.
They’re also linked to fighting H. pylori, the bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers. So to maximize the number of health perks of olive oil, go for aromatic virgin oils.

The Bad:Oils with high acidity levels, off colours, unacceptable tastes or aromas must be refined, a process that results in the loss of phytochemicals. The term olive oil means that the oil has been refined but, according to the International Olive Oil Council regulations, a small amount of virgin oil is added back. So-called extra light and light olive oils are the most highly refined and are no lower in calories and fat than more colourful and fragrant varieties. But unlike the refined olive oil, extra light and light have no virgin olive oil added back. So avoid these oils if you’re looking to reap the most advantages from olive oil. –

– Rosie Schwartz

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