Mediterranean diet… bogus?
Internet trolls say the Mediterranean diet research is bogus, based on false information. But proponents insist the science is real, with profound health benefits to those who follow its dietary precepts. Who’s right? To dig a little deeper, we spent some time at an all-afternoon seminar called “The Science Behind the Mediterranean Diet” at the recent Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.
According to this study, “The traditional Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and grains (mainly unrefined); a high intake of olive oil but a low intake of saturated lipids; a moderately high intake of fish; a low intake of dairy products, meat, and poultry; and a regular but moderate intake of alcohol (specifically wine with meals.” It’s the way people traditionally ate in the regions that border the Mediterranean Sea—but not entirely because many of the components, like tomatoes and peppers—were relatively recent arrivals from the New World.
The presenters at the Fancy Food Show were mostly academics, participants in a road show which has appeared at several venues under the aegis of mdrproject.com. We wish that website would provide some links and downloadable assets for those who want to learn more but can’t attend an event. But googling the participants provides some useful information.
Details of the research on telomeres and the Med Diet. Click the photo to blow up and read.
Immaculata De Vivo, Professor of Medicine at Harvard University, presented the study mentioned above which appeared in the British Medical Journal. This study found that switching to the Mediterranean diet can indeed prolong lives—not everyone, but those who have damaged telomeres as a result of lifestyle or diet. Telomeres are a component of DNA which shrink as we age; in the study the Mediterranean diet caused growth in people with damaged telomeres. Dr. De Vivo cautioned that the research does not show the same benefits for people without prematurely damaged telomeres.
As to the debunking aspect, the issue (not dealt with by this panel) is that the original Mediterranean Diet study included some sloppy science—subjects were not kept to the same standards in all groups analyzed, among a population of males in Spain. This does not automatically mean the results are wrong; as this New York Times article points out the original researchers withdrew their article but then re-published it with similar conclusions.
Vegetables, aromatics, maybe a little meat or fish, sautéed in quality olive oil and served with a glass of wine. We can buy into that—and take our chances as to whether it helps us live longer.
