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Senior Citizens Can Extend Life with Mediterranean
Diet: New Study
 April
8, 2005- Senior citizens can adhere to the Mediterranean diet to extend
their lives, according to research with elderly Europeans published
today in the BMJ. The authors say a healthy man aged 60 can add a year
to his life on the diet.
The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high
intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals; a moderate to high
intake of fish; a low intake of saturated fats, but high intake of
unsaturated fats, particularly olive oil; a low intake of dairy products
and meat; and a modest intake of alcohol, mostly as wine.
(What is Mediterranean diet? Below this article is what
the American Heart Association has to say)
Current evidence suggests that such a diet may be
beneficial to health.
The study involved over 74,000 healthy men and
women, aged 60 or more, living in nine European countries. Information
on diet, lifestyle, medical history, smoking, physical activity levels,
and other relevant factors was recorded. Adherence to a modified
Mediterranean diet was measured using a recognized scoring scale.
A higher dietary score was associated with a lower
overall death rate. A two point increase corresponded to an 8% reduction
in mortality, while a three or four point increase was associated with a
reduction of total mortality by 11% or 14% respectively.
So, for example, a healthy man aged 60 who adheres
well to the diet (dietary score of 6-9) can expect to live about one
year longer than a man of the same age who does not adhere to the diet.
The association was strongest in Greece and Spain,
probably because people in these countries follow a genuinely
Mediterranean diet, say the authors.
Adherence to a Mediterranean type diet, which
relies on plant foods and unsaturated fats, is associated with a
significantly longer life expectancy, and may be particularly
appropriate for elderly people, who represent a rapidly increasing group
in Europe, they conclude.
In conclusion, say the authors, adherence to a
diet relying on plant foods and unsaturated lipids and that resembles
the Mediterranean diet, may be particularly appropriate for elderly
people, who represent a rapidly increasing group in Europe.
Click here to view full paper:
http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/april/Mediterraneandiet.pdf
What the American Heart Association Says
About the Mediterranean Diet
What
is the "Mediterranean" diet?
There's no one "Mediterranean" diet. At least 16
countries border the Mediterranean Sea. Diets vary between these
countries and also between regions within a country. Many differences in
culture, ethnic background, religion, economy and agricultural
production result in different diets. But the common Mediterranean
dietary pattern has these characteristics:
- high consumption of fruits, vegetables, bread and other cereals,
potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds
- olive oil is an important monounsaturated fat source
- dairy products, fish and poultry are consumed in low to moderate
amounts, and little red meat is eaten
- eggs are consumed zero to four times a week
- wine is consumed in low to moderate amounts
Does a Mediterranean-style diet follow American Heart Association
dietary guidelines?
Mediterranean-style diets are often close to our dietary guidelines,
but they dont follow them exactly. In general, the diets of
Mediterranean peoples contain a relatively high percentage of calories
from fat. This is thought to contribute to the increasing obesity in
these countries, which is becoming a concern.
People who follow the average Mediterranean diet eat less
saturated fat than those who eat the average American diet. In fact,
saturated fat consumption is well within our dietary guidelines.
More than half the fat calories in a Mediterranean diet come from
monounsaturated fats (mainly from olive oil). Monounsaturated fat
doesn't raise blood cholesterol levels the way saturated fat does.
The incidence of heart disease in Mediterranean countries is lower
than in the United States. Death rates are lower, too. But this may not
be entirely due to the diet. Lifestyle factors (such as more physical
activity and extended social support systems) may also play a part.
Before advising people to follow a Mediterranean diet, we need more
studies to find out whether the diet itself or other lifestyle factors
account for the lower deaths from heart disease.
For more from AHA -
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