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EOPLE IN THE Mediterranean region--Greece, Italy, southern France, Spain, North Africa and parts of the Middle East--seem to have figured out how to live.
Surrounded by all kinds of sun-drenched scenery, they take two-hour siestas at lunchtime and close up shop in the early evening to stroll along narrow cobblestone streets, visiting with friends and family.
Plus, they eat all kinds of delicious food: crusty bread soaked in olive oil, slices of juicy tomato with basil, pasta with garlicky butter sauce. Meals are special occasions that can go on for hours, and eating is a sensory experience to be savored.
Turns out, you can eat like this, too--and it's actually good for you.
Numerous studies, both recent and decades old, show that a Mediterranean-style diet has many health benefits, from improving cardiovascular health to increasing life expectancy.
"In the Mediterranean region, heart disease is exceedingly rare, almost unheard of," said Dr. Goulda Downer, a nutritionist who is president and CEO of Metroplex Health and Nutrition Services in Washington, D.C., in a telephone interview. "The diet is a good base to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading killer of all of us."
The Mediterranean diet pyramid was developed in 1993 by Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust--a nonprofit "food issues think tank,"--the Harvard School of Public Health and the World Health Organization. It was the first of a set of pyramids designed by Oldways to reflect the eating habits of populations around the world who enjoy better health than the United States.
The pyramid is based on studies conducted by scientist and nutritionist Ancel Keys of the eating habits of people in Crete and Southern Italy in the 1950s, according to Chris Speed, nutritionist for Oldways. Keys was one of the first to study how diet and activity affected instances of cardiovascular disease in different populations.
At the base of the pyramid are fresh, unprocessed, plant-derived foods--fruits and vegetables, potatoes, breads, grains, pastas, beans, nuts and seeds. Dairy products, mostly cheese and yogurt, are consumed daily in small amounts, and fish and poultry are eaten weekly. Eggs are eaten up to four times a week, and red meat is eaten very sparingly.
Most of the fat in the diet comes in the form of olive oil, a monounsaturated fat which is also supposed to be good for the skin, nails and digestive tract. Moderate daily amounts of red wine are also part of the diet, as is daily physical activity.
The Lyon Diet Heart Study, conducted in France in the 1990s, provided some of the most drastic evidence of the Mediterranean diet's beneficial effects on cardiovascular health.
According to Dr. Robert Eckel, chair of the American Heart Association Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Council, the study involved two groups of people who had survived a first heart attack. One group consumed a Mediterranean-type diet, while the other was given no dietary advice. After four years, the people following the Mediterranean-style diet had a 50 percent to 70 percent lower risk of recurrent heart disease.
Other studies have found that the diet can reduce the risk of cancer and age-related diseases and that it improves blood fats and blood circulation, according to Speed.
"The Mediterranean-type diet is considered by various scientists as the 'gold standard' in nutrition patterns," Speed wrote in an e-mail.
The secrets of the diet's healthy properties are found in oleic acid, which comes in olive oil, and omega 3 fatty acids, which are found in fish oil, Downer said. When these acids are metabolized by the body, they have anti-inflammatory effects.
"They work like antioxidants that help to neutralize the body's response to inflammation, and when we do that, we're combating free radicals that can damage tissue," she said. "Research shows that the diet can cut the risk of heart disease up to 30 percent, depending on what study you look at."
Oldways organized a conference this past February in Rome that brought together scientists, nutritionists, chefs and food writers from around the world to discuss the healthy benefits of pasta.
The scientific consensus of the conference, according to Oldways, was that pasta has a low glycemic load, which means it is converted into glucose more slowly than other highly processed carbohydrates. This keeps insulin levels stable and keeps the eater feeling full longer.
Eckel agreed that a Mediterranean-style diet, with its emphasis on fruits and vegetables, can be considered heart healthy.
"It looks like a diet the AHA would recommend, with five or more servings of vegetables a day and fish once or twice weekly," he said during a telephone interview from Colorado.
But he cautioned that the inclusion of red wine should be considered optional.
Downer added that the diet shouldn't be thought of as a quick fix, and that the healthiness of people in the Mediterranean region depends on a combination of factors.
"A plant-based diet, reducing stress, being physically active, it's a combination of all these things," she said. "But the diet is a good, solid base for a health plan that we can build on."
To reach ADELE UPHAUS: 540/374-5419 auphaus@freelancestar.com