What just a Little bit of ‘Mediterranean’ can do for you!

I want to challenge you to try something new starting tomorrow or even today if you have not eaten yet. Anything you decide to cook from now on, replace whatever vegetable oil that may be recommended and try cooking with olive oil. According to some research done on 26,000 Greeks, scientists were able to find that just by these individuals using more olive oil in their diet they were able to cut the risk of cancer by 9%. It’s quite fascinating to know that just by including more of this healthy oil into your diet can help you reduce your chances of developing certain cancers. Throughout their study, these scientists concluded that just by including “a couple of elements of the Mediterranean diet [this] could cut the risk of cancer by 12%.” It’s better to start off little than to not do anything at all. It really doesn’t take much effort just to replace your cooking oil. So let us get this straight; here are the basics when it comes to improving your health:

• Eating more unsaturated fats such as olive oil reduces your risk of cancer by 9%

And to further achieve the benefits that the Mediterranean Diet:

• Eating less red meat and more “peas, beans, and lentils, [can] cut the risk of cancer by 12%”

Another addition to your life you might want to consider is adding broccoli into your diet. Studies have shown that broccoli fights against heart disease and stops prostate cancer. The Mediterranean diet praises “higher amounts of fruits [and] vegetables…” and broccoli has appeared to be a very beneficial vegetable especially for men that are vulnerable to prostate cancer. Scientists were able to test the benefits of these vegetables by comparing the “effects of adding 400 grams of broccoli or peas a week” in diets of men that were at a greater risk of developing prostate cancer. Researchers found that the individuals that were tested by eating broccoli had a change in the “activity of genes” in their prostate. Broccoli is not the only vegetable that they believe they could find changes in; “their findings raised the possibility [that] other ‘cruciferous’ vegetables, such as cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, could help prevent or slow down the disease” if the patient were to have a particular “gene variant.” What I want all of you to take from this is that just by changing little things in your life can hugely impact you in advantageous ways.

Reference: [1]:

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7483164.stm>

Younger Generation goes Mediterranean

Western Crete, a small town in Greece, is considered to be the birthplace of the Mediterranean Diet, and is having a huge dilemma with the younger children in a place where individuals were brought up eating “fresh produce and fish” instead of from places such as “chocolate shops, pizza places, ice cream parlors…and fast-food joints.” Instead of eating healthy like the Greeks have in the past, they have succumbed to their fear of a more westernized civilization of junk food and poor eating habits. It is very critical for the younger generation to know the importance of having good eating habits while maintaining a healthy living style. Dr. Michalis Stagourakis noticed that in Kasteli, Greece there has been a huge transformation in the way the people in the Mediterranean region are eating; specifically “a changing diet [producing] an epidemic of obesity and related maladies.”

Sadly in Europe, nowadays the Mediterranean diet is hard to find in the places where it once originated from; instead it’s easier to find the healthier cooking at “restaurants of London and New York.” Of course you can always go to the supermarket to get the foods that you need to create a healthy Mediterranean dish, and there are even cheap frozen Mediterranean dinners for those that are fairly busy. Take a look at my previous blogs to get more information on foods on the go and previous recipes from Chef Maria Liberati. It is quite ironic how the Mediterranean diet that we know to be “associated with longer life spans and lower rates of heart disease and cancer” is being transitioned to a younger generation of about two-thirds of overweight children. Someone commented that it’s quite scary that individuals, from where this healthy diet originated from, used to live until they were around 100 and now “you see kids whose longevity is less than their parents.”

Out of concern, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations decided to focus on this growing problem and help educated people on what used to be the ever so popular Mediterranean Diet. Due to overall unhealthiness of the children in this area that they focused on in Greece, the Greek government decided to educate them. They were lectured on nutrition and taught lessons that included the food pyramid, specifically focusing on the Mediterranean diet. Interesting statistics to know is that in Greece “three-quarters of the adult population is overweight or obese” and in the United States “66 percent of adults older than 20 were overweight in 2004, and 31.9 percent of children 2 through 19 were overweight in 2006.” Greece and the United States differ in the way that they eat in general but surprisingly in Greece the growing number of children getting “fat” is quite shocking. Interestingly enough, the older generation is more shocked at younger generation due to the fact that “Greece had for so long been a poor nation where hunger was a recurrent problem” and another striking fact to note is that in the United States “obesity is more pronounced in adults than in children” while, like we have discussed previously, in the Mediterranean region weight problems is more prevalent in the younger generation. Obviously living in a village in Greece is quite different than growing up in a city like Los Angeles or New York. If we combine the methods from the Greeks and use that in our younger generation in the United States, we will be educating and perhaps preparing our children for a healthier future. Why not help prevent our children from having coronary heart disease when they are much older, or perhaps from having cancer. If we start with the younger generation it will be beneficial to us all in the long run.

Reference: [1] Rosenthal, Elisabeth. “Fast Food Hits Mediterranean; a Diet Succumbs.” The New York Times. 23 Sep. 2008.

Antioxidants and the Mediterranean Diet

Italian Researchers, Drs. Francesco Visioli and Claudio Galli, decided to take a look at the importance of antioxidants and the role it plays in the Mediterranean Diet. This research was conducted at the University of Milan in Italy. The researchers pointed out specifically that the traditional Mediterranean diets are a bit different from how diets are portrayed in Northern Europe and American diets. Something that particularly stands out is the fact that the traditional Mediterranean diets “include a significantly large amount of plant foods…[and] this notable difference between the two eating styles…has been associated with a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease and certain cancers.”

Something that may contribute to having coronary heart disease is having “high plasma cholesterol levels” which can be found in other popular diets in the US for example compared to the healthy eating style portrayed from the traditional Mediterranean Diet. These foods that are involved in the Mediterranean Diet have one of the best things your body could ask you for, and that would be; antioxidants. Antioxidants and its “excessive free radical production” have shown in a great number of studies that they have been linked to a reduction of the diseases that we have mentioned earlier. Through the research that these Italian scientists have conducted we are going to get into more depth about how the abundance of “fruits, vegetables, breads, nuts, seeds, wine and olive oil” have a great impact on individuals and their relation to “human disease.”

There are several different kinds of antioxidants; some of the antioxidants that these researchers focused on and its involvement with the Mediterranean diet are, “tocopherols, carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols.” Again, unlike many other diets out there, the huge benefit of the Mediterranean diet is that it focuses much of its attention on fruits and vegetables and other many ingredients that are “rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals” that represent a “major source of antioxidants.” Let’s take a closer look at the specific antioxidant vitamins and how they contribute to specific diseases:

(1) Tocopherols

This particular antioxidant can be found in “nuts, wheat germ, vegetable oils (i.e., seed oils), margarine, mayonnaise, butter, and eggs.” Epidemiologic studies have shown a correlation between the intake of tocopherol and its protection against coronary heart disease and certain cancers.

(2) Carotenoids

The great thing about carotenoids is its special relationship with Vitamin A. They are found in “heavily pigmented fruits and vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, red peppers, and pumpkins” which are very commonly used in meals prepared particularly inspired by the Mediterranean diet. Epidemiologic studies have shown that plasma levels of carotenoids are “positively correlated with a lower incidence of [coronary heart disease] and lung cancer.”

[3] Vitamin C

Citrus fruits are a great provider of Vitamin C. Popular fruits in this category consist of oranges, tangerines, grapefruits and lemons. Leafy vegetables are also a great source of this. A very important fact to know is that Vitamin C is actually the “principal antioxidant of human plasma.”

[4] Phytochemicals (nonvitamin antioxidants)

Polyphenols fall into the category of phytochemicals and are very abundant in the Mediterranean diet especially when it comes to “its high proportion of fruits and vegetables and to the consumption of red wine and olive oil.” Wine, when consumed moderately, have been known to have beneficial effects to an individual’s health especially from the protection from coronary heart disease. We have talked previously on how great olive oil is and how you should make olive oil your best friend.

Overall, these scientists believe in the benefits of antioxidants but they do suggest that your best bet is to follow a healthful diet, such as the Mediterranean Diet, and make sure to consume your body with an “abundance of…fruits, vegetables, [moderation of] wine, and olive oil” and you’re on a healthier path for tomorrow.







Reference: (1) Visioli, Francesco and Galli, Claudio. “The Role of Antioxidants in the Mediterranean Diet.” Lipids, Vol.36, Supplement (2001).

Allergies and the Mediterranean Diet

British Studies are showing that the Mediterranean Diet’s aspect of having antioxidant-rich foods is linked to the prevention of allergies and asthma symptoms. Scientists conducted a survey for children that are specifically from the Greek Island of Crete just to get an idea of their eating habits and how their body is functioning regularly. On a normal basis these children were eating “at least twice a day, [and] eight out of 10 children ate fresh fruit, and two-thirds ate fresh vegetables.” These children that followed a healthy eating style showed great benefits specifically towards ‘respiratory problems.’ Another interesting find was that the children who followed this healthy eating habit also showed that they were “less likely to develop air or skin allergies, or asthma symptoms.”

A lot of people seem to think that having allergies or asthma is not a serious condition. The funny thing is that you may think that you don’t have it and eventually develop symptoms for allergies or asthma as you grow older. The knowledge of this study could benefit all of us and it has made me aware of how I should go about my eating habits as well, especially if it is able to help me with these symptoms. At the end of August I began to have symptoms that I have never had in my life. Granted my mom does have Asthma and severe allergies so I’m sure she passed that on to me but it came out of no where. When an individual is suffering from asthma or allergies “their lungs [are] constantly bombarded by foreign bodies, or allergens in the air… [and when] these allergens enter the body, the immune system believes they are harmful….In an effort to protect itself, the body sends out antibodies to fight off the allergens.” It is important to be aware of your health and others around you because you may never know one day when it could possibly affect you.

Several doctors from London believe that everyone’s body needs to have some sort of balance, for instance “a balance between what we breathe in, and the body’s reaction.” Also when it comes to children, these doctors state that most children do not have allergies and an explanation to why they probably do suffer from this problem is because of their unbalanced diet. If this is what doctors seem to believe then the only thing one could think to do is to help other individuals have a healthy balanced diet. That’s where the Mediterranean diet comes into play. We all know, or if you don’t I’m letting you know, that the Mediterranean diet contains plenty of healthy foods and the power of these antioxidants is supreme. These antioxidants are believed to do a lot of good to many areas of the body; “antioxidants are known for their disease-fighting ability…[and] they work to sop-up the so-called free radicals left over in the body as a byproduct of a cell’s day-to-day functions.”

Honestly though, what more could you ask for? Studies have shown that “antioxidants are good for heart disease, good for cancer, and how asthma as well.” It’s a NO-Brainer! The Mediterranean Diet contains plenty of antioxidants. What else? Antioxidants help fight bad things in our body! I say, start the Mediterranean diet and give it a try. You will thank yourself for it ten years from now when you’re looking 20 years younger than all of your friends that didn’t listen to you. Start focusing on a healthy new you and get rid of the bad eating habits. You can do it!

Reference: (1) Owings, Laura. “Mediterranean Diet May Prevent Allergies.” ABCNews Internet Ventures. 2008. 5 April 2007 <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Story?id=3008436&page=1>