Mediterranean Diet VS. WFPB GWilkerson12/15/2014 Plant Based Nutrition
Is the Mediterranean Diet Healthy? A Mediterranean Diet is actually heavy in fruits, veggies, legumes, and grains, LOW in meat. The modern day interpretation is not remotely similar to the diet of Crete in the 1950’s which made the basis for the Mediterranean diet.
What is a Mediterranean Diet? American Heart Association’s Mediterranean Diet There’s no one “Mediterranean” diet. At least 18 countries border the Mediterranean Sea. Diets vary between these countries. Many differences occur in culture, ethnic background, religion, economy and agriculture, result in varying diets. Julieanna Hever, the plant-based dietitian has taken the heart-healthy Mediterranean Diet and bumped it up a few notches as far as health goes.
Mediterranean-style diets are often close to the American Heart Association dietary recommendations, but they don’t follow them exactly. In general, the diets of Mediterranean peoples currently contain a relatively high percentage of fat calories. This may contribute to the increasing obesity in these countries, which is becoming a concern. Crete 1950s Crete became the birthplace of the Mediterranean diet, a heart-healthy eating pattern that has become the de facto diet of anyone living in countries bordering the northern Mediterranean Sea. Many details of the original research about the Cretan diet have been lost in translation and nutrition recommendations developed from those studies are often condensed into three generalities: more olive oil, fish, and wine. The diet recommendations with this regional characterization are actually based, in large part, on an epidemiological study of men living in rural Crete in the 1950s. The Seven Countries Study, investigated the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 18 regions in seven countries: Italy, Yugoslavia, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Finland, and Greece. This study was unique and progressive for its time, comparing the lifestyle, diet, and disease risk among contrasting populations with the hypothesis that CVD risk factors are variable and modifiable. The Seven Countries Study was a landmark project that directed attention to the importance of comparative population studies in epidemiology. It was also the first to demonstrate the degree to which dietary intake of saturated fats and mean serum cholesterol levels predict rates of coronary heart disease. Residents of rural Crete in the 1950s ate significant amounts of olive oil, olives, fish, fruits, vegetables (especially wild greens), and nuts. They consumed moderate amounts of wine and cheese and small quantities of meat, milk and eggs. Foods comprising the core of their diets provided ample amounts of many beneficial nutrients, including fiber, antioxidants, vitamins E and C, selenium, phytochemicals, and omega-3 fatty acids. The Cretan residents had the lowest rates of CVD of all populations observed in the Seven Countries. Cretans had one of the highest-fat diets (37% of calories from fats). The men also ate substantial amounts of wild plants, including purslane, a succulent green that is a good source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Other sources of ALA in the Cretan diet included walnuts, a variety of green vegetables, legumes, and figs. Cretans certainly consumed a lot of olive oil and fish and drank healthy portions of red wine, but they were also part of a culture and landscape that supported the production and enjoyment of beneficial foods. The Contemporary Mediterranean Diet
According to The Mayo Clinic, The heart-healthy Mediterranean is a healthy eating plan based on typical foods and recipes of Mediterranean-style cooking. The traditional Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart disease. An analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer. Of course, modern life takes over so the pressures of modern society mean many are changing their ways. Contemporary Italy is suffering from an obesity epidemic and a massive increase in type 2 diabetes. While many Italians eat plenty of olive oil, pasta and vegetables, many are unaware of the precise elements of a healthy Med diet. Easy-to-prepare foods like ham, salami and cheese are now eaten daily. In northern Italy in particular, the diet is very rich in pork, beef and animal fats. Talia Furhman, in an article: this:
It’s About Time The Olive Oil Myth Was Laid To Rest writes
Olive oil has been hailed as the healthy oil for far too long and it’s about time science triumphed over the almighty media on this relentless myth. Most people have been taught at some point or read somewhere that olive oil is a healthy oil to be consumed with fervor. It’s a key component to the Mediterranean diet, which itself has been touted as a heart healthy diet. However, the evidence for these claims just do not stack up and for many people striving to lose weight, it is sabotage city. It has been proposed that extra virgin olive oil is heart healthy because it is rich in polyphenols. Polyphenols have antioxidant characteristics and studies show that they reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. All plant foods are rich in polyphenols and most deliver much more polyphenols (and far fewer calories) than olive oil. You’d need to consume 5 tablespoons of olive oil, the equivalent of 600 calories, just to get 150 mg of polyphenols, the same amount in 55 calories of lettuce, not to mention hundreds of other nutrients and documented benefit in greens. It is also a myth that olive oil lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol. Olive oil appears to lower bad cholesterol in most studies because the participants replace animal fats like butter, cheese, and fatty meats with olive oil. Animal fats are composed of saturated fats, which are the most dangerous types of fat. Consumption of saturated fats raises cholesterol levels and elevates the risk of heart disease and cancer. Conclusion Get your healthy fats from whole food sources and not low nutrient oils- olive oil included. The Mediterranean diet might be healthy when compared to other diets, but this is because of the intake of fruits, vegetables, and nuts in that diet compared to the dangerous SAD diet, rather than any supposed benefits of olive oil. And seriously, who needs calorie dense oil when nuts, seeds and avocadoes taste so good!
If you’re interested in Plant-Strong Nutrition and optimal health, I suggest purchasing and reading The Vegiterranean Diet by Julieanna Hever, MS, RD – – The Plant Based Dietitian. It is linked on the page of my book and dvd recomendations. Included are 66 oil free recipes or the region. The Mediterranean Diet of decades past was very near a Whole Food Plant-Based diet. It seems that the peoples in the Mediterranean region were healthier in Spite of olive oil, not because of it. http://www.plant-strong-health-blog-by-gary.com/mediterranean-diet-vs-wfpb/