Mediterranean diet for a longer life
Adherence to a Mediterranean type diet associated with a significantly longer life expectancy.
08/04/05 A study published online by the BMJ suggests that Mediterranean diet is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans.
The Mediterranean diet is characterised by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals; a moderate to high intake of fish; a low intake of saturated fats, but high intake of unsaturated fats, particularly olive oil; a low intake of dairy products and meat; and a modest intake of alcohol, mostly as wine.
Current evidence suggests that such a diet may be beneficial to health.
The association was strongest in Greece and Spain, probably because people in these countries follow a genuinely Mediterranean diet, say the authors.
Adherence to a Mediterranean type diet, which relies on plant foods and unsaturated fats, is associated with a significantly longer life expectancy, and may be particularly appropriate for elderly people, who represent a rapidly increasing group in Europe, they conclude.
