The Mediterranean diet has remained the gold standard years after scientists first discovered its importance. The diet incorporates a mix of healthy dietary habits with an active lifestyle. The diet provides many benefits, including preventing diseases and increasing longevity. This article looks at why the Mediterranean diet has retained its position as a top diet for decades.
What The Mediterranean Diet Is
The Mediterranean diet was inspired by dietary habits common in countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain, and Turkey. The plant-based, nutrient-rich Mediterranean diet typically involves eating vegetables, fish, fruits, grains, nuts, healthy fat, and less red meat. It also shuns processed foods and uses less salt and sweet foods.
People on the Mediterranean diet eat less red meat, especially steak, and more fish, such as tuna and salmon. These kinds of oily fish have a high volume of Omega-3 fats, which are good for the heart. People on this diet also eat legumes, nuts, brown rice, and wholegrain bread instead of processed white bread. Furthermore, fruits of all colors and vegetables in their season are highly represented in the diet. Another hallmark of the diet is olive oil rather than butter and highly saturated fats.
Why The Mediterranean Diet Is Popular Today
A Minnesota physiologist Ancel Keys discovered the benefits of the Mediterranean diet in the late 1990s. He wanted to know whether dietary and lifestyle habits influenced the rate of coronary disease and how fat levels and cholesterol affected individuals and regions. Keys gathered researchers from around the world for this study, now known as the Seven Countries study. The seven countries included in the initial research were Italy, Spain, South Africa, Japan, Finland, Italy, and Greece.
Keys’ findings revealed certain factors contributing to coronary heart disease, such as diabetes and serum cholesterol. He also found that cardiovascular disease can be prevented, and most risk factors are the same worldwide. Additionally, he discovered that people in the Mediterranean region had lower rates of coronary heart disease; he associated this finding with dietary patterns, active lifestyle, and low alcohol consumption he observed among them. These findings ultimately helped to make the diet popular.
Benefits Of The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet is beneficial to all aspects of human health. It has remained one of the most popular diets through the years; the U.S. News and World Report, for instance, has ranked it as the best diet for seven years. This diet offers several health benefits, such as lowering cancer incidence and reducing the risk of cognitive decline, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. Some other benefits include the following:
Cardiovascular Health
People on the Mediterranean diet have a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In a 2018 study, researchers found that women who adopted the diet had a 28% chance of not developing the disease. These changes were associated with other benefits the diet provides, such as lowering the risk of inflammation, abdominal obesity, and weight gain. Evidence also suggests that the diet has protective properties for those with heart disease.
Diabetes
The Mediterranean diet has been found to lower insulin resistance and help with managing diabetes since the diet contains lots of fiber, which is found in vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. As the body doesn’t digest it, fiber slows food digestion, thus helping to control the glycemic index and improve blood sugar levels. The fish and olive oil in the Mediterranean diet also contain monounsaturated fats that improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism.
Neurodevelopment
In addition to improving fertility, the Mediterranean diet can help with fetal neurodevelopment. A 2023 study revealed that following the Mediterranean diet while pregnant can significantly impact a child’s neurodevelopment at 2 years of age. The study was conducted in Barcelona, Spain, and involved 1,221 pregnant women. Researchers divided the mothers into three groups. One group received weekly shopping lists, recipes, and meal plans from a dietician monthly. They also got olive oil and walnuts.
The second group was placed in a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention, and the third group was assigned to standard care. Researchers then assessed 626 children born to participants when they were 24 months old. They scored them on five developmental pathways: cognitive, language, motor skills, social-emotional, and adaptive behavior. The study showed that children born to participants who followed the Mediterranean diet performed better in the cognitive and social-emotional domains.
Longer Life
The Mediterranean diet has also been linked to higher chances of living longer. It incorporates physical activity and rest, contrary to a sedentary lifestyle. It can protect against osteoporosis, frailty, depression, and pain. A study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggests that the diet can prolong life. Notably, it found that “higher adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle was associated with lower all-cause and cancer mortality in British middle-aged and older adults.”
The research surveyed the level of adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle among over 110,000 middle-aged and older men. At the end of nine years, it revealed that those who kept strictly to the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle had a 29% lower risk of dying from any cause and a 28% lower risk of dying from cancer. Researchers believe the Mediterranean diet’s ability to fight inflammation may have resulted in anti-aging capacities.
Conclusion
The Mediterranean diet’s ability to fight chronic diseases and improve health outcomes has continued to make it popular. Thankfully, it is not too difficult to incorporate into your lifestyle. Over time, as you get adjusted to the diet, you can improve and experience a better and healthier lifestyle.
Disclaimer: This article is intended simply to provide information. It does not replace the medical advice of a physician. Please speak with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns.
