Healthy living
Healthy eating
Mediterranean medicine
The Mediterranean diet can help protect you from heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's - but you have to be strict about it
Drop the dairy, axe the alcohol, meter your meat - if you really want to benefit from the life-lengthening effects of the Mediterranean diet, you're going to have to dine a lot more like a 19th-century Greek fisherman, according to an overview of a range of relevant studies published in the British Medical Journal Online First.
The Mediterranean diet is rich in olive oil, grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and fish, but low in meat, dairy products and alcohol.
A ‘score’ based on how closely study participants stuck to the Mediterranean diet could be used as an effective preventive tool for reducing the risk of premature death in the general population, say the authors.
Previous research on the Mediterranean diet suggests that it has a protective role in cardiovascular disease and cancer, but no study has reviewed all the available data for a possible association between sticking to the Mediterranean diet, premature death, and the occurrence of chronic diseases in the general population.
A team of researchers from the University of Florence assessed 12 international studies, which collectively included more than 1.5 million participants whose dietary habits and health were tracked for follow-up periods ranging from three to 18 years.
All the studies examined the concept of using a numerical score to estimate how much people stuck to the diet, called an ‘adherence score’.
The researchers found that people who stuck strictly to a Mediterranean diet had significant improvements in their health, including a nine per cent drop in overall mortality, a nine per cent drop in mortality from cardiovascular disease, a 13 per cent reduction in incidence of Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease, and a six per cent reduction in cancer.
More on the Mediterranean diet
- Mediterranean diet lowers risk of heart disease
- Mediterranean diet may help you lose weight
- The diet that may help Alzheimer's patients live longer
- Mediterranean diet may help lower cholesterol
- Eat Mediterranean style for a longer life
Recipes using Mediterranean ingredients
- Aubergine and red pepper layer toasts recipe
- Balsamic salad of roasted leeks and red pepper
- Classic tomato soup recipe
- Rocket, leek and caper filo pie
- Spinach and ricotta gnocchi with fresh tomato soup
- Penne with kale, roast onions and Gorgonzola
- Runner bean and pea couscous
- Cassoulet - the classic French bean stew
- falafel in pitta pockets
- Moroccan vegetable pilaff
More on eating for health
- Whole grains help protect your health
- Virgin olive oil helps control 'bad' cholesterol
- Benefits of eating fish
- Nuts, fish and seeds for lower blood pressure
- The connoisseur's way with oils
Useful information
Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
