Massive Study Touts Mediterranean Diet for Seniors

Jun 27th, 2008 | By admin | Category: Aging and Longevity, Diet & Nutrition

The Mediterranean diet – with it emphasis on vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, cereals and olive oil – has long been considered one of the healthiest around. It should come as no surprise then that a recent British Medical Journal study found that a slightly modified version of the diet helped seniors live longer. What is rather surprising is the scope of the study.

While most studies of the Mediterranean diet in the past have concentrated on Greek citizens, the researchers behind this latest one cast their nets considerably further to involve 75,000 seniors living in nine European countries. The diet was modified so that unsaturated fats (general plant based oils) instead of monounsaturated fats (very specific plant based oils found in olives, seeds and nuts) were used.

The results? Those participants who most closely followed the diet tended to have a lower overall mortality rate than those who did not. An example the researchers used was that a 60 year old man who regularly followed their modified Mediterranean diet lived on average a year longer than a similar 60 year old man who didn’t.

Note: The traditional Mediterranean diet also incorporates a number of other elements, including: moderate fish intake; low intake of saturated fats (animal-based fats); low to moderate dairy intake; low intake of meat and poultry; and regular, albeit moderate, alcohol intake, usually consumed in the form of wine served with meals.

Popularity: 3% [?]