More on the mighty Mediterranean diet

The marvellously varied  Mediterranean diet keeps turning up in research and proving its many benefits.

Sticking to foods that typically make up the Mediterranean diet may prove to be an effective approach in managing ADHD, a Spanish team has deduced. The study doesn’t identify cause and effect, rather it focuses on very specific dietary strategies that can help families with children suffering from ADHD.

Wondering exactly what constitutes the Mediterranean diet? Think - Spanish, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern. Think - very high in fresh vegetables and fruit (red, orange, purple, green), whole grains, legumes, seafood and mono-unsaturated fats from olive oil, olives and nuts such as walnuts and almonds. Also think - much reduced meat and dairy!

The Mediteranean diet has also been demonstrated to boost brain power in seniors.

This study that should be dear to every baby-boomer’s heart - on the subject of memory and improving cognition, the Mediterranean diet rears its healthy head once again. Yep, the benefits of olive oil, lots of red, purple and green vegies, plus seafood, nuts and legumes is undisputed. In other words, the things to avoid are red meat and dairy, those saturated fats that make up such a big part of the typical Western diet. 

Additionally important for the baby boomers, study shows the Mediterranean diet is able to cut the risk of heart disease by 30 percent.

What can we deduce from all of this? It's simple - these particular, traditional eating habits should be enshrined as a healthy legacy for all ages and life stages! That means before conception, during pregnancy and breastfeeding too. And while I’m on my soapbox, if Mum breastfeeds for an extended period (remembering that WHO recommends a minimum breastfeeding period of two years) the large variety of Mediterranean-inspired taste sensations that her baby will enjoy through her breastmilk will promote sophisticated tastes and eating habits in her toddler!

Mediterranean diet boosts brain power in seniors

The traditional Mediterranean diet of fruit and vegetables, nuts, fish and wine could prevent neurological degeneration in later life, say researchers at the University of Edinburgh. This recent study is music to my ears. 

This comes on the heels of an earlier study showing the Mediterranean diet is able to cut the risk of heart disease by 30 percent. These studies make it clear that these particular eating habits should be enshrined as a healthy legacy for all! Of course generations have lived by its precepts and many more regularly enjoy this fine cuisine in its multiple guises. 

Interestingly, the so-called “landmark” study, which began in 2003 was terminated in 2011, cut short because the findings were so significant and because those following the standard “low fat diet” as recommended by the American Heart Association were at such a disadvantage! How’s that for damning the dietary pundits ...?

Wondering exactly what constitutes the Mediterranean diet? Think ... Spanish, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern. Think ... very high in fresh vegetables and fruit (red, orange, purple, green), whole grains, legumes, seafood and mono-unsaturated fats from olive oil, olives and nuts such as walnuts and almonds. Also think ... much reduced meat and dairy!

Oh and along with food lovingly prepared from a cornucopia of fresh ingredients, you’ll usually find a fine glass of red wine and convivial surroundings in that Mediterranean mix!  

On the subject of that glass of red wine, I still recommend that prospective parents avoid in the 4 months leading up to conception and that pregnancy and breastfeeding periods remain an alcohol-free zone. Learn all the reasons why in my free webinar.

Speaking of brain food

It’s official - the average Western diet damages your brain! Of course lots of people have known that fact for a very long time - but now Australian researchers at Macquarie University, reviewing decades of evidence, have linked the high-fat, high-sugar, typical Western-style diet to impaired brain functioning and development of neurodegenerative conditions. They make it clear that the same foods that are making us fat are impairing our mental function and are also disturbing our appetite regulation.

The bad news ... there is limited evidence to show that the neurodegenerative decline is reversible. 

Another study on the subject of memory and improving cognition, a topic very dear to every baby-boomer’s heart, the Mediterranean diet rears its healthy head again. Yep, the benefits of olive oil, lots of red, purple and green vegetables, plus seafood, nuts and legumes is undisputed. In other words, the things to avoid are red meat and dairy, those saturated fats that the Macquarie researchers identified as the trouble-makers. 

The good news ... you can set your children on the right path, give them the very best possible start in mental (and physical) health. The introduction to what you and your partner need to eat and do in the time before you get pregnant in my new mini ebooks. 

Modern Western diet? It's bad for your brain!

We're on the subject of better brain health! Very timely, given that the new edition of the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is under fire. Abbreviated to DSM-5, this so-called "bible" of mental health conditions and treatments previously listed 90-odd mental conditions, the numbers in the latest volume rising to more than 350! Detractors point to blatant marketing by Big Pharma, with a universal human emotional response, such as grief over death of a loved one, requiring dosing with potent medication! 

But then again, it should come as no surprise that the mental health of the population is suffering - the average Western diet damages your brain! Of course lots of people have known that fact for a very long time - but now Australian researchers at Macquarie University, reviewing decades of evidence, have linked the high-fat, high-sugar, typical Western-style diet to impaired brain functioning and development of neurodegenerative conditions. They make it clear that the same foods that are making us fat are impairing our mental function and are also disturbing our appetite regulation.

The bad news ... there is limited evidence to show that the neurodegenerative decline is reversible. 

Another study on the subject of memory and improving cognition, a topic very dear to every baby-boomer’s heart, the Mediterranean diet rears its healthy head once again. Yep, the benefits of olive oil, lots of red, purple and green vegies, plus seafood, nuts and legumes is undisputed. In other words, the things to avoid are red meat and dairy, those saturated fats that make up such a big part of the typical Western diet. 

The good news ... set your children on the right path, give them the very best possible start in mental (and physical) health. All you need to know about what you and your partner need to do in the time before you get pregnant ...  

Protection from sun damage? Nutrients can help...

New research from the UK confirms that supplementation with omega-3s could help to protect against skin cancer.

If those scary skin-cancer TV ads still have you running for cover despite the need for a moderate amount of sunlight exposure for vitamin D production, then listen up. Skin cancer isn't just about sun exposure, nor is it's prevention just about staying out of the sun or slathering on the sunscreen.

Readers of previous posts will know how important omega-3s are for the formation of your baby’s brain and eyes and that omega-3s can also help prevent pre-term birth and post-natal depression. You’ll also know something about the best sources of these well-researched, marine-based products and their sustainability or otherwise.

Now the research tells us that omega-3s can also protect against skin cancer! YAY - for years I’ve been saying that the skin-cancer story isn’t a simple equation of too much time in the sun. Now here’s some proof that nutritional status is a fundamental part of that story. Omega-3s, anti-oxidants, phytonutrients, trace minerals ... robust, comprehensive, balanced supplementation, but most important of all - an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit, fish, legumes, healthy oils, nuts -  easy on the red meat and dairy. Click on the images for my previous posts on the value of the Mediterranean diet!

        

Safe food additives? Does your government care?

20,000 chemicals used in food production and manufacture, 3,000 added directly to the food supply, only ten percent of those appear on labels...

Even more disturbing is the fact that many of those chemicals approved for use in the USA are banned in other countries. The countries whose regulatory approvals are more enlightened than those of the US, might actually surprise you. Russia for example has just banned all US meat and meat-product imports, due to ractopamine, a growth stimulant found in the meat.

Since I’ve been following developments in the food, beverage and dairy industries along with developments in nutritional and environmental medicine, I know there’s no excuse for America dragging the anchor in her embrace of non-toxic food additives. Safe alternatives are available and other countries have acted responsibly by placing a ban on the long-list that have been proven toxic. Ractopamine for example is banned in 160 countries, but not yet in Canada and the United States.

Of course the whole issue is not likely to concern you if you grow your own or buy organic, prepare it at home and eat it freshly made. If you also make that home-grown meal a Mediterranean-style one you’re home and hosed. But if jars, cans and packets still go regularly into your super-market trolley, you need to make sure you're not consuming potentially toxic additives along with the convenience! 

Make mine Mediterranean!

I blogged a few weeks ago that the Mediterranean diet was under threat - thanks to the financial constraints imposed on consumers by the GFC. 

But this new study, showing the Mediterranean diet is able to cut the risk of heart disease by 30 percent also makes it clear that these particular eating habits should be enshrined as a healthy legacy for all! Of course generations have lived by its precepts and many more regularly enjoy this fine cuisine in its multiple guises. This so-called “landmark” study, which began in 2003 was terminated in 2011, cut short because the findings were so significant and because those following the standard “low fat diet” as recommended by the American Heart Association were at such a disadvantage! How’s that for damning the dietary pundits ...?

Wondering exactly what constitutes the Mediterranean diet? Think ... Spanish, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern. Think ... very high in fresh vegetables and fruit (red, orange, purple, green), whole grains, legumes, seafood and mono-unsaturated fats from olive oil, olives and nuts such as walnuts and almonds. Also think ... much reduced meat and dairy!

Oh and along with food lovingly prepared from a cornucopia of fresh ingredients, you’ll usually find a fine glass of red wine and convivial surroundings in that Mediterranean mix!  

      

The Mediterranean diet is under threat

“The Mediterranean diet is under threat as cash-strapped consumers in southern European countries are spending less on fresh foods and more on cheaper packaged foods, according to new research.”

How sad is this? Whenever I travel in Mediterranean countries I’m delighted by the wide variety of fresh, whole, healthy foodstuffs available around every corner and in multiple growers’ markets across the region. My February 2012 sojourn in Istanbul was no exception and despite snow on the ground, I was overwhelmed with choice of healthy grain dishes (think beyond wheat), vegetables, seafood and meat in mouth-watering combinations. Pomegranates and pomegranate juice, the very essence of food and drink for fertility, were everywhere! Notable by their relative absence were packaged, fast-food items. The fact that large numbers of the population still smoke like trains is another issue - but I digress.

One significant, but under-estimated feature of Mediterranean diets, is their emphasis on enjoyment of the meal, time out in sociable surroundings with a glass of wine to enhance the lovingly prepared food and the pleasant company. But add it all up ... right combo of food groups, healthy oils, time taken to prepare and savour, a glass of vino and the health issues in these societies are nothing compared to those in the Western world where 50 years of refining, packaging, processing and increasingly, eating on the run, have taken their toll. The so-called “French Paradox” has confounded researchers for years. The French eat three times more saturated fat yet have only one third of the coronary artery disease of Americans!

We can only hope that the economic malaise afflicting Greece, Spain, Italy and potentially others, doesn’t completely reverse long-established and well-balanced attitudes to food - the aptly named “mindful eating”. After all, when times are tough, a fine meal and a cheering glass of wine may be the best single antidote to the doom and gloom. Vive le paradoxe francais!