"Eating Right"

Since we started publishing this site, we have tried to make every attempt to provide information on staying healthy by taking personal responsibility for one's activities: Exercise, fruit and vegetable consumption, dealing with obesity risks, adhering to a Mediterranean Diet, and more. Now (November, 2007), more than three years since we launched this site, more information is becoming available that strengthens the case for following specific dietary recommendations. In this series, we will present the additional evidence, and its estimated impact on one's well-being.

First, we'll start with the Mediterranean Diet. In our original series, we presented evidence that this diet provides a significant decrease in coronary heart disease (CHD), and possibly also cancer and Alzheimer's disease. The reduction in CHD is found to be approximately 50%, a much larger reduction than that provided by statins!

During the last few years, more studies relating to this diet have been published (References 1,2,3). In reference 1, the study was performed on a European population. The study includes 1507 apparently healthy men and 832 women, aged 70 to 90 years in 11 European countries. This cohort study was conducted between 1988 and 2000. The study tracked ten-year mortality from all causes, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The mean age in one part of the study was 73, and in another - 77 years. During the follow-up period, 935 participants died. 371 of them from cardiovascular diseases, 233 from cancer, and 145 from other causes. For 186, the cause of death was unknown. Adhering to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduction in risk in all-cause mortality by a factor of 0.77 (23% risk reduction). The Margin of Error was between 0.68 and 0.88, or 12% to 32% risk reduction). Mortality from CHD, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer was reduced by similar factors.

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