A new lifestyle

Lifestyle diseases are the ‘in’ thing in today’s world. An unhealthy diet and a sedentary life can shorten your life – there is no doubt about it. A diet rich in fat, coupled with a lack of exercise, can lead to heart attacks, obesity and other afflictions increasingly called ‘Non Communicable Diseases’.

One of the prime reasons for this trend is that our lives are ‘fast’ in this commercialised world. Hence the need for ‘fast’ food. Most people apparently have little or no time to prepare food on their own and consume it at leisure. With today’s fast-paced lifestyles, processed foods that can be eaten right off the shelf or with minimum preparation have become a godsend, regardless of the associated health risks.

But with an increased awareness of the risks posed by unhealthy foods, people all over the world are experimenting with various diets that can add life to our years and vice versa. Low-fat, low-carb, Atkins, low-sugar, high-fiber, low-glycemic – whatever the name, the ultimate aim is a more healthy life with none of the diseases associated with a ‘fast food’ regimen. In fact, the very word ‘diet’ is derived from the Greek “diaita,” meaning lifestyle.

So, what is the best diet for a healthy life? As mentioned in this column on an earlier occasion, the Mediterranean region has become a hotbed for diet research since the 1970s. Why? The peoples of the Mediterranean are living longer, healthier lives without necessarily giving up the best things in life.

It is a simple life – eat a little pasta with a dash of sauce and olive oil (or something equally simple), drink a little bit of wine, have a little siesta on a hot afternoon and do a bit of work in the garden or in the field. In fact, there is one village in Italy where practically everyone lives to be over 100.

Scientists and food lovers call it the ‘Mediterranean Diet’. It favours monounsaturated fat, whole (unprocessed) grains, protein with roots in the ground (not on legs), sugar in its natural habitat only and fiber – plenty of it. Someone with a “perfectly Mediterranean” eating pattern would consume a high ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fats; a very moderate amount of alcohol occasionally; plenty of legumes, grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables and fish; scant red meat and dairy.

There are some who say that the word ‘diet’ is a misnomer here and that it should be diets, owing to the number of countries (Greece, Italy, France etc) and regional variations. There is no clear-cut, strictly regimented diet as such, only a list of basic ingredients and processes that can combine to form a healthy diet.

One of the diet’s champions, Dr. Dimitrios Trichopoulos of Harvard University, calls the Mediterranean way of eating “possibly the best ever.” The diet has been linked to a decrease in mortality rates and to reduced rates of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease,cancer,diabetes and other serious health complications.

This is backed up by scientific evidence too. In a 2010 article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, for example, researchers analysed the results from 19 studies with more than two million total participants.

They found that adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with lower overall mortality rates, as well as reduced rates of (and death from) many serious health problems, including heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

Another analysis, published in 2011 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, pooled the results of 50 studies (including 35 clinical trials) with more than a half-million total participants. It found that consumers of the Mediterranean diet were less likely than others to develop high blood pressure, high insulin levels, too much fat around the waist and unhealthful cholesterol levels, or all of these clustered together. And all these from a centuries-old diet that developed naturally in the olive-growing areas of the Mediterranean basin.

Scientists have now come up with a more detailed formulation of the Mediterranean diet — a four-tiered eating pyramid. The ground floor of the 2008 version — foods you should “base every meal on” — is stuffed with fruits, vegetables, grains (mostly whole), nuts, legumes, seeds, olive oil, herbs and spices. Next tier up — to be eaten at least twice a week — are fish and seafood.

Then on level three are poultry, eggs, cheese and yoghurt (daily to weekly in moderate amounts). Perched at the very top are meats and sweets which you should take very, very occasionally. Pizzas and Pastas made with a healthy kind of flour are perfectly acceptable. The plan also calls for plenty of water, but one can opt not to have any wine at all.

On the face of it, the diet does not appear to be very difficult to follow, depending on your means. In a way, it is nothing new either. Everyone knows fruits and veggies are good for health.

But there seems to be greater understanding about the need for a better diet among the general population. Research has shown that a little adherence to the diet gives you a little benefit, but greater adherence gives you more.

But wait. The Mediterranean diet is not only about food. It is also about physical activity and mealtime sociability. These two factors are missing from the lifestyles of most people and families. In most Sri Lankan households, dinner – that most social of meals – is consumed by family members seated in chairs, avidly watching a teledrama.

They do not talk to each other, except to point something that goes on in the teledrama. This is a distinctly unhealthy practice, in more ways than one.

As an expert on the Mediterranean diet says, “eating together and not alone, eating all the foods together in combination, the pleasure of eating — these are the most important features of all”.

There is absolutely no stress to worry about either. Add a bit of exercise to this list of ingredients and you have an uncomplicated recipe for success in your (long) life.