Mediterranean diet may be beneficial to health, and it seems to prolong the life.

The Mediterranean diet is characterised by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits and cereals, a moderate-high intake of fish, a low intake of saturated lipids and high intake of unsaturated lipids ( particularly olive oil ), a low to moderate intake of dairy products ( mostly cheese and yogurt ), a low intake of meat, and a modest intake of ethanol ( mostly as wine ).

Researchers, led Dimitrios Trichopoulos from University of Athens-Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, assessed whether adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet, in which unsaturates were substituted for monounsaturates, is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans.

The study involved 74,607 men and women aged 60 or more, without coronary heart disease, stroke, or cancer at enrolment, from nine European countries ( Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom ), participating in EPIC.

EPIC ( European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition study ) is a multicentre study investigating the role of biological, dietary, lifestyle and environmental factors in cancer and other chronic diseases.

Extent of adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet was measured using a scoring system on a 10 point scale.

An increase in the modified Mediterranean diet score was associated with lower overall mortality, a two unit increment corresponding to a statistically significant reduction of 8%.

According to investigators, adherence to a diet relying on plant foods and unsaturated lipids and that resembles the Mediterranean diet, may be particularly appropriate for elderly people.

Source: British Medical Journal, 2005


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