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CD 3

unit 7

It’s Dinner Time

Chapter 1

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is based upon the eating patterns of traditional cultures in the Mediterranean region.

Several noted nutritionists and research projects have concluded that this diet is one of the most healthful in the world in terms of preventing such illnesses as heart disease and cancer, and increasing life expectancy.

The countries that have inspired the Mediterranean diet all surround the Mediterranean Sea. These cultures have eating habits that developed over thousands of years. In Europe, parts of Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and southern France adhere to principles of the Mediterranean diet, as do Morocco and Tunisia and North Africa.

Parts of the Balkan region and Turkey follow the diet, as well as Middle Eastern countries like Lebanon and Syria. The Mediterranean region is warm and sunny, and produces large supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables almost year-round that people eat many times per day.

Wine, bread, olive oil, nuts, and legumes are other staples of the region, and the Mediterranean Sea has historically yielded abundant quantities of fish.

International interest in the therapeutic qualities of the Mediterranean diet began back in the late 1950s, when medical researchers started to link the occurrence of heart disease with diet.

Dr. Ancel Keys performed epidemiological analysis of diets around the world (epidemiology being the branch of public health that studies patterns of diseases and their potential causes among populations).

Entitled this Seven Countries Study, it is considered one of the greatest studies of its kind ever performed. In it, Keys gathered data on heart disease and its potential causes for nearly 13,000 men in Greece, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Japan, Finland, the Netherlands, and the United States.

This study was conducted over a period of decades. It concluded that the Mediterranean people in the study enjoyed some significant health advantages.

The Mediterranean groups had lower mortality rates in all age brackets and from all causes, particularly from heart disease. The study also showed that the Mediterranean diet is as high or higher in fat than other diets, obtaining up to 40 percent of all its calories from fat.

It has, however, different patterns of fat intake. Mediterranean cooking uses smaller amounts of saturated fat and higher amounts of unsaturated fat, mostly in the form of olive oil.

Saturated fats are fats that are found principally in meat and dairy products, although avocados, some nuts, and some vegetable oils also contain them. Saturated fats are used by the body to make cholesterol, and high levels of cholesterol had since been directly related to heart disease.

Several other studies have validated keys’ findings regarding the good health of people in Mediterranean countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) showed in a 1990 analysis that for major Mediterranean countries (Spain, Greece, France, and Italy) have longer life expectancies and lower rates of heart disease and cancer then other European countries and America.

The data are significant because the same Mediterraneans frequently smoke and don’t have regular exercise programs like many Americans, which means that other variables may be responsible.

Scientists have also ruled out genetic differences, because Mediterraneans who move to other countries tend to lose their health advantages. These findings suggest that diet and lifestyle are major factors.

The Mediterranean diet gained even more notice when Dr. Walter Willett, head of the nutrition department at Harvard University, began to recommend it. Although low-fat diets were recommended for sufferers of heart disease, groups of Mediterraneans in his studies had very high intakes of fat, mainly from olive oil.

Willett and others proposed that the risk of heart disease can be reduced by increasing one type of dietary fat − monounsaturated fat, the type found in olive oil.

Willett’s proposal went against conventional nutritional recommendations to reduce all fat in the diet. It has been shown that unsaturated fats raise the level of HDL cholesterol, which is sometimes called “good cholesterol” because of its protective effect against heart disease.

Willett has also performed studies correlating the intake of meat with heart disease and cancer.

The Mediterranean diet has several general characteristics:

The bulk of the diet comes from plant sources, including whole grains, breads, pasta, polenta, bulgur, couscous, rice, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, and nuts.

Olive oil is used generously, and is the main source of fat in the diet as well as the principal cooking oil. The total fat intake accounts for up to 35 percent of calories. Saturated fats, however, make up only eight percent of calories or less, which restricts meat and dairy intake.

Fruits and vegetables are eaten in large quantities. They are usually fresh, unprocessed, grown locally, and consumed in season.

Dairy products are consumed in small amounts daily, mainly as cheese and yogurt.

Eggs are used sparingly, up to four eggs per week.

Fish and poultry are consumed only one to three times per week, with fish preferred over poultry.

Red meat is consumed only a few times per month.

Honey is the principal sweetener, and sweets are eaten only a few times per week.

Wine is consumed in moderate amounts with meals (one to two glasses daily).