Is the Mediterranean Diet the Best for Older Adults or Just a fad? Is it still considered the best for older adults and health?

Fad diets come and go but the Mediterranean diet is not one of them. In fact the Mediterranean diet is the most widely studied diet for health. Our culture loves fad diets.  Just look on the internet or your local bookstore and you will find hundreds of diets that have cracked the secret code proving instant weight loss, health or wellbeing.  Some even advertise that you can eat whatever you want (as long as you do this one thing) and still lose weight.

There is no special secret diet, pill or 5 minute activity that will give you amazing results. After all if results were truly amazing, they wouldn’t be kept a “secret”!

The Mediterranean diet is not a secret, and it is proven to help many diseases.  Before reviewing the Mediterranean diet, let’s first review what it is not…. The American (Western) Diet.

American diets are:

• Focused on fast and processed foods. The more processed or altered foods are, the greater the loss in nutritional value. Fruit roll ups made with ‘real fruit’ will never replace fresh fruit for the nutritional and health benefits it contains.
• Too high in processed foods that contain trans fats, high levels of saturated or hydrogenated oils, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup.
• Too much saturated fat from meat, butter and high fat dairy products.
• Processed foods high in salt.
• Too many chemical additives and artificial sweeteners.
• Too few fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, seeds and nuts.
• Too little good fats such as olive oil and omega-3s.
• Too little variety (especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables) limiting the vitamins and nutrients we get.

Be aware of marketing hype that shapes the “American Diet”.  Industry’s response to society’s quest for healthier food is to produce and sell a new brand of processed foods designed to match our desires with a marketing campaign promoting their unique health benefits. Easy choice right. Think again!  

Don’t fall into the marketing traps listed below. Read the food labels to get the real facts.

• ‘Low in Fat’. This label leads the buyer to believe the product must be better for them if it now has less or no fat. Not necessarily true. More processed foods such as low-fat products tend to substitute fat with sugar, corn syrup or salt to enhance flavor.
• ‘Made with whole wheat or whole grains’. Creative marketing leads the buyer to believe that their whole grain or whole wheat product is better. This is not always the case. For example, your whole grain cracker or slice of bread is produced with wheat that is finely processed similar to white flower so the whole wheat claim of  health is reduced or the whole grain is added in such low amounts.
• ‘Less sugar or sugar free”. Again, not necessarily better for you. Your reduced sugar muffin may have more fat to keep it yummy.

Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower chronic disease risk across multiple diseases. Blue dots to the left of the horizontal midline (no association) represents improvement. Definition CVD= cardiovascular disease which includes coronary artery and vascular disease, CHD= coronary heart disease or coronary artery disease.

Cancer and Brain Disease

Mediterranean diet reduces risk of both cancer and brain disease!

Mediterranean Diet Slows Biological Cell Aging

 Telomers are located on the tips of our chromosomes (genes) and are made up of repeating sequences of DNA (like beads on a necklace). Each time a cell divides the telomere shortens until eventually it is too short can no longer divide. When this happens, the cell dies. In other words, telomeres protect the chromosomes from damage and promote cell life. 

Their length also shortens with age and in response to a many types of  stress.

Eight research studies that included 13,733 people from 5 countries were analyzed using a meta analysis approach. A meta-analysis is a formal statistical research method where multiple studies designed to investigate a similar problem or issue are analyzing collectively to identify collective trends in outcomes. This study showed a positive association between consuming a Mediterranean liked diet and telomere length. This suggests that the food we eat, and in this case the Mediteranean diet can influence the biological ageing of cells. Source: Mediterranean Diet and Telomere Length: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

What is the Mediterranean diet?

Simply stated, the Mediterranean Diet is the standard diet eaten by people in the Mediterranean region. The Mediterranean diet is:

• High in fruits and vegetables. 
• Great source of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
• High in nuts and seeds. These are high in fat and calories but rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Pay attention to serving size when adding to your diet.
• Low in animal protein and high in plant protein. Meat is limited to just a few times a month. Fish, nuts, beans, lentils, yogurt are eaten in its place.
• High in fish. At least once to twice weekly.
• High in whole grains.
• Olive oil in place of butter, margarine other oils.
• Garlic or other spices to liven the taste of food without added sugar, fat or salt
• Fresh fruit instead of processed or high sugar desserts
• Red wine with its beneficial polyphenols or purple grape juice if wine not best for you

 Practical Mediterranean Diet Eating Tips

• Eat real food, “close to the earth: over processed and fast foods. See Slow foods movement (About Us – Slow Food) which is a global initiative with a vision that all people should have access to good quality healthy real food. The Slow Food started in Rome, Italy in 1986 in protest to a fast food restaurant opening just steps away from the Spanish Steps.
• Use extra virgin olive oil (less processed with a darker color and highly flavorful; contains, vitamin E and other health promoting anti-oxidants) when possible, over salad dressing (olive oil and balsamic vinegar), butter, shortening or other oils
• Use spices as a way to cut down on salt
• Add a salad daily to get more leafy vegetables.
• Eat less meat. Add fish once or twice a week
• Add legumes (beans, chick peas, peas or lentils) in place of meat. If this is new to you and your family begin with one day per week “meatless Monday”.
• Add yogurt along with its calcium protein and probiotic benefits to your diet.
• If you drink alcohol, substitute a glass of red wine for its anti-oxidant effect. Talk to your doctor about whether you should avoid or reduce alcohol.

For an in-depth review of research see The Mediterranean diet and health: a comprehensive overview (wiley.com) for more information.

Learn why a healthy diet lifestyle is an important first step to a healthier diet.