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The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet has received a lot of publicity over recent times, but do you really know what all the talk is about? This regimen is not only a healthier way to eat, but there is evidence to prove it will actually help you to live longer! Studies of several communities of people who routinely eat this way have shown that they have a dramatically increased lifespan than other members of the world’s population. We will first discuss just what the Mediterranean diet actually is and then we will discuss the various benefits to your health and longevity that are the result of changing your normal western diet to the Mediterranean one.

mediterranean diet

Mediterranean nutrition or the traditional diet of several communities through many Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy and parts of Spain, comprises a much lower consumption of red meat than our traditional western diets. This traditional diet also varies from a western diet in the fact that more fish, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and legumes are consumed. There is a considerable reduction in the amount of processed foods and sugar in the diet in comparison to western diets. The main difference that many people do acknowledge, and that has proven health benefits, is the consumption of large amounts of olive oil.

The basic foods eaten in the Mediterranean diet and the quantities eaten traditionally have health benefits in comparison to our traditional processed western diets. The substitution of saturated fats (fats from animals) with olive oil will have several health benefits, the first being that animal fats contain cholesterol. Olive oil and other plant based oils do not contain cholesterol, and so the associated risks of heart disease and stroke are minimized. Increased consumption of fish which has essential fatty acids is also recommended by western dietitians and medical practitioners, and is a core of this diet. Western dietitians have also been vocal for years about the fact that most westerners need to increase the amount of fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts we consume, and to decrease the amounts of processed foods and sugar. So as you can see the foods that make up the Mediterranean diet are going to make you healthier, and there is evidence that this diet will actually prolong your life expectancy!

The basis of the increased longevity or life span benefits of the Mediterranean diet is attributed to the fact that this diet fulfills the requirements of caloric restriction (decreased calorie intake that still provides the body will all of the necessary nutrients.) Calorie restriction has been proven in animals to increase their life span and it believed to do so for several reasons. The first reason for caloric restriction to increase longevity is that your body will not have to work as hard; the more food you eat the more work your body has to do to digest and process it. (Remember with this point that excess calories are stored as fat by the body and it has to work harder to carry this extra weight around as well.) If you can ease the stress on your bodily organs by decreasing their workload they will not wear out as fast – they will stay younger longer and thus you will live longer.

The second way that caloric restriction works to increase your life span is that it reduces the speed of your metabolism again easing the stress on your bodily organs and allowing them to work more efficiently and get more rest.

The third reason for the increase in lifespan is that cholesterol levels are lowered which will reduce the chances of heart disease and stroke, free radicals and other oxidation damage is reduced which reduces the chances of developing cancers, and finally insulin levels and blood pressure levels are also shown to reduce.

Eating in accordance with a traditional Mediterranean diet will provide you with all of these benefits. The diet is low in cholesterol and other saturated fats, which are replaced primarily with olive oil, and you will also receive the benefits of the essential fatty acids from fish. (A person who is eating according to this model would only be consuming red meat occasionally.) The diet as previously stated is high in vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts, all of these foods are lower in sugar than the high processed foods that westerners typically consume, and as they are higher in fibre you will eat less calories and still feel full.

Opting for a Mediterranean diet will allow you decrease your caloric intake allowing you the benefits of this, while you are still receiving all of the nutritional requirements for healthy living.

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