The Mediterranean diet is known as the healthiest in the world because it is not truly a diet, but rather a lifestyle that prescribes a lot of what we should eat, and a little of what we shouldn’t, along with shared physical and social activities. Oldways, a nonprofit food and nutrition education organization that features the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid (page 7), refers to the Mediterranean diet as “the gold standard eating pattern that promotes lifelong good health.”
The base of the Pyramid shows the importance Mediterranean cultures place on enjoying meals with others and being physically active. Regardless of religion, ethnicity, or language, the people of the Mediterranean region share a common desire to spend time eating and socializing with friends. In the Muslim countries of the Mediterranean region, there are even prophetic sayings encouraging believers to choose who they eat with before they decide what to eat.
The Mediterranean diet, then, is a modern eating plan based on the traditional diet and lifestyle of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Best of all, while many of the recipes, ingredients, and traditions celebrated in the Mediterranean diet have been around for centuries, they are easily adaptable into today’s busy lifestyle and suitable for modern palates. There are no fads, special “diet” foods, or modern technology needed to achieve successful results. There are no formulas, exchanges, or point systems to master. Best of all, you don’t need a nutrition label to determine what fits into the lifestyle. Cent ered on healthful, whole foods eaten in moderation, sticking to the Mediterranean diet becomes second nature.
One glance at the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid reveals the majority of items that should be eaten or practiced at the wider, bottom portion of the triangle. The items that should be eaten sparingly appear at the top. All you need to do to successfully follow the Mediterranean diet is switch your mentality to traditional means of preparing and eating natural, whole foods, getting regular physical activity, and making a commitment to prepare and eat foods in community whenever possible.
Intrigued by the number of elderly people living with lower rates of illness and disease in the region, scientists and doctors around the world have been researching the Mediterranean diet for more than half a century. Today, large well-designed studies and clinical trials are demonstrating its effects. Following the diet has thus far been linked to:
• preventing heart attacks and strokes
• improved mental capacity
• preventing and reversing diabetes
• reversing the symptoms and reducing the incidence of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
• longevity
• reduced inflammation
• reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer
• preventing cancer and inhibiting tumor growth
One impressive study of 7,447 people reported in 2013 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that high-risk heart disease subjects could prevent 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes, and deaths from heart disease by switching to a Mediterranean diet. The results were so dramatic that the study was concluded early because the researchers felt that continuing to test control groups following other diets would be unethical when they had already determined the efficacy of the diet.
Another study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine tracked the diets and lifestyles of more than 10,000 women in their fifties for fifteen years. The results showed that 40 percent of those who followed the Mediterranean diet were more likely to live past the age of seventy without chronic diseases, memory loss, or physical problems. They also suffered fewer strokes and were less likely to die than the control group who simply followed a low-fat diet.
It is worth noting that low-fat and Mediterranean diets have different philosophies. Low-fat diets focus on what people should not eat (namely, fat), whereas the notion of deprivation does not fit with the tenets of the Mediterranean diet. So, while following a generally low-fat diet may cut risks associated with higher fat intakes, you will not reap the same rewards that the Mediterranean diet offers.
Many doctors are recommending the Mediterranean diet to combat chronic inflammation, which is an underlying cause or factor in many illnesses, from allergies and arthritis to autoimmune diseases and even cancer. According to Norton Fishman, M.D., F.A.C.P., C.N.S., Medical Director of Optimal Health Physicians in Rockville, MD, it is “key in helping patients with chronic, persistent infections such as Lyme disease. Many of the people suffering from these types of infections develop insulin resistance and gluten sensitivities. The healthful fats and lack of processed grains and sugar associated with a Mediterranean diet are the perfect eating plan.”
To prove that the Mediterranean diet can reduce inflammation and impact diabetes, Spanish researchers studied 3,541 Spaniards between the ages of fifty-five and eighty who had three or more risk factors for diabetes. After four years, 87 percent of the high-risk subjects following a Mediterranean diet were able to prevent the onset of diabetes.
The combination of a lifetime of enjoyable meals that taste great and just happen to be good for you is almost too good to be true! One of the most attractive attributes of the diet is that, in essence, it doesn’t ask us to give up anything or deprive ourselves: It’s a simple strategy that requires exercise, consuming the majority of calories from foods that are good for you, and reserving those that aren’t for special occasions.
It might come as a surprise to many that the base of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid is not a food group at all, but rather behaviors such as physical activity and social interaction. At its core, the Mediterranean diet is not a diet in the conventional sense of the word. It is a lifestyle that should be enjoyed with both pleasure and health in mind. When people sit down at a table in Egypt, the phrase bilhanna wi shefa or “with pleasure and health” is uttered much in the same way that bon appetit is in many places. I fell in love with this phrase the first time I heard it; food should be about equal parts health and enjoyment.
The Mediterranean’s philosophy of approaching life with an equal measure of pleasure and health leads to a more balanced and happy existence. To the majority of people living in modern urban areas, physical activity means heading off to a gym to work off calories on machines after an entire day’s worth of sitting at their desks, in their cars, or on their couches.
In the Mediterranean region, however, it’s another story. Daily life is set up to naturally require more activity and calorie expenditure. Urban and commercial areas are built in historic centers that preceded the invention of cars. Driving and parking in them is difficult, which necessitates a greater deal of walking. Electrical capacity is also often lower in many areas, making it difficult to operate many appliances simultaneously. Outside of hotels, few people have clothes dryers, even in urban areas. Simple tasks such as hanging clothes out to dry and ironing them, shopping, and cooking require greater effort and expenditure of calories.
In order to enjoy optimal health and reap the rewards of the Mediterranean diet, followers need to integrate pleasurable forms of activity into their daily lives.
Every country and culture around the Mediterranean has its own way of encouraging people to eat together, and family life is valued greatly. Throughout the region’s history, eating alone was frowned upon. Only unworthy bachelors or scorned people who didn’t have family would eat by themselves. While attitudes have changed in modern times, most people in the Mediterranean find it unpleasant to eat alone. Fortunately, in many places, work and school schedules revolve around mealtimes. When they do not, families change their schedules in order to be able to eat together at least for one meal per day.
Residents on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia are ten times more likely to live past 100 than people in the United States. Researchers who studied this remarkable longevity found that daily communal (family style) eating was commonplace and attributed it to the overall wellbeing of residents. The researchers concluded that there is something extremely satisfying and comforting about knowing that, no matter how difficult life gets, at lunchtime you will be surrounded by loved ones. This adds a deep sense of psychological security, which, in turn, has a positive effect on health and happiness.
Throughout the region, food is viewed as a way to express love, thanks, appreciation, and respect. It may be used as a gift, as a way to settle a debt, or as a traditional medicine. In southern European countries such as Spain, Italy, Greece, and France, great pride is taken in giving a guest or a loved one a handmade food item; if it was grown on the giver’s own land, it is even more special. What comes from the hands is an extension of self—and is healthier than what can be bought at the store. When my relatives came to visit me in the United States from Calabria, Italy, they brought finely ground chile pepper, cheese, olives, and cured meats, all of which were produced on the family’s farm.
As I share these thoughts and reflections, I realize that, in our busy day-to-day existence, much of what I am describing sounds like a Utopian fantasy. While most Americans will find re-creating this type of lifestyle unrealistic, I propose simple ways to implement it:
• Vow to live each day with both pleasure and health in mind.
• Find easy, enjoyable ways to get more exercise, such as gardening or walking with a friend.
• Begin incorporating new and varied plant-based foods into your diet.
• Identify simple, make-ahead dishes and snacks to work into your schedule.
• If it is not already a custom, make plans to eat, exercise, and socialize with friends, family, and co-workers as often as possible.
• Treat food, family, and friends as if they are the most important part of your life.
