Recent studies indicating that the so-called
“Mediterranean diet” may reduce the
risk of heart disease and lead to an
overall longer lifespan have been somewhat
supported with the US Food and Drug
Administration’s (FDA) announcement of a
qualified health claim of the health value
of olive oil. Researchers from Tufts are
careful to point out, however, that it’s not
as simple as switching to olive oil.
“The message remains the same, and is consistent with
other findings: a diet lower in saturated fats” and
higher in unsaturated fats, will result in better health
outcomes,
Alice Lichtenstein, director of
Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the
Jean Mayer USDA Human
Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts and
chair of the American Heart Association’s Nutrition
Committee, told WebMD last year after a study
published in the New England Journal of Medicine
(NEJM) found that the
Mediterranean diet
lowers death and disease risks.
The 2003 NEJM study and additional research bolstered
support for the diet, resulting in the FDA’s
announcement in early November that food containing
olive oil could carry a qualified health claim noting
consumers may be able to reduce their risk of heart
disease “if they consume monounsaturated fat from olive
oil and olive-oil containing foods in place of foods
high in saturated fat.”
The Mediterranean diet – named for the region in which
it is most prevalent – calls not only for the
consumption of olive oil but also for meals rich in
vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, whole grains and fish,
as well as a moderate amount of wine. Meat and dairy
products are de-emphasized.
Although the benefits of the diet may appear obvious to
some, experts note that the challenge of prompting
individuals to change their ways is significant, and
physical activity is another crucial component.
“That’s probably the $64,000 question in the nutrition
community,” Lichtenstein recently told National
Public Radio. “How can we really motivate people to
adhere to a diet [lifestyle] like this that really has
been shown to be associated with increased longevity and
decreased risk of chronic disease?”
Lichtenstein noted to the Los Angeles Times
that diet combined with an exercise regimen “is
essentially the recommendation that the American Heart
Association has been making for 10 to 15 years. It’s the
whole package, and we need to be thinking of it that
way.”
Part of the resistance to incorporating regular exercise
into one’s routine, like the many Europeans who adhere
to this diet do, may come from an inherent difference
between the ways some cities in the U.S. and Europe are
set up.
In
parts of Europe, due to high gas prices and widespread
public transit, “it’s more likely people are going to
use bicycles. It’s more likely that people are going to
walk,” Lichtenstein observed on National Public
Radio.
