Food & Drink Feb 26, 2013 at 11:35 am

Mediterranean-Diet Research Stuns Researchers, Leads to a Startling Percentage of High-Risk People Not Getting Heart Attacks and Dying

Christopher Frizzelle
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Comments

1
Better yet, how about a recipe or two! Make a regular feature out of good eating recipes, please.
Pope Peabrain on February 26, 2013 at 11:44 AM Report this
2
@1 - That's what I'VE been saying. Recipes! BJC, what say you?
Christopher Frizzelle on February 26, 2013 at 11:51 AM Stranger Staff
3
the only thing you need there is the fish part with a dusting of vegetables. ever thing else is just a lighter version of the unhealthy filler everyone already eats.
ry coolage on February 26, 2013 at 12:00 PM Report this
4
I figure if we can eat like people in Italy and Greece do, where the GDP is plummeting under forced German Austerity, to profit the Bankers in foreign countries, we'll live longer.

Serfs always do.

That said, you can substitute olive oil for many oils (NOT BAKED GOODS) and you can eat more fish and more unprocessed nuts and grains.

After all, who wants horse meat in their diet?
Will in Seattle on February 26, 2013 at 12:04 PM Report this
5
You'll take away these Pork rinds and Mountain Dew over my dead body!
Gurldoggie on February 26, 2013 at 12:11 PM Report this
6
Vios, not Vio's

The New Sonoma Diet cookbook is really great, by the way. The website is all about losing weight, but the food is great and the principles around the diet make sense. And they encourage wine drinking.
genevieve on February 26, 2013 at 12:12 PM Report this
7
You left out Plaka Estiatorio in Ballard.
spaceapple on February 26, 2013 at 12:21 PM Report this
8
Mawada Cafe in South Seattle (Rainier and Graham) is the best and it's not on your list?
CC-Rob on February 26, 2013 at 12:24 PM Report this
9
Sadly, even though the sign for Costas Opa is still up at N 34th and Fremont Ave N, it's closed and turning into a Chase Bank.
Will in Seattle on February 26, 2013 at 12:28 PM Report this
10
@ 6 -- Good catch. Fixed. Thanks.
Christopher Frizzelle on February 26, 2013 at 12:32 PM Stranger Staff
11
Meanwhile, 34% of heart attacks, as well as large percentages of cancer, strokes, and diabetes, can be prevented by a vegetarian or vegan diet. This likely has nothing to do with anything magic about olive oil, and all about reducing red meat and animal fat.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/02…
raku on February 26, 2013 at 12:34 PM Report this
12
Yeah. Because nobody in Mediterranean countries eats animals fats.
tkc on February 26, 2013 at 12:39 PM Report this
13
The more food that we eat that is less processed, the better off we are. A good rule of thumb: If it wasn't available in 1950, you probably shouldn't eat it (very often).
sperifera on February 26, 2013 at 12:39 PM Report this
14
@11,

Anyone who blames diabetes on animal fat doesn't deserve to be taken seriously.
keshmeshi on February 26, 2013 at 12:45 PM Report this
15
@ 11, all that can also be attained by continuing to eat meat, as our bodies were meant to to - but in small quantities, and preferably from pasture-raised animals raised in clean and drug-free environments.

There are no health benefits to veganism that can't also be attained by restraint.
Matt from Denver on February 26, 2013 at 12:47 PM Report this
16
Mamnoon is a missing restaurant, and it's right on Cap Hill. Weird oversight.

And for recipes: invest in (or borrow from the library) Ottolenghi's books Plenty (which is vegetarian) and Jerusalem (which is omnivorous but slanted towards vegetables). Crazy good food, and as a nice bonus, almost all the most common vegetables in the books are grown in WA, including lentils and chickpeas.
alight on February 26, 2013 at 12:47 PM Report this
17
@1/2: I was going to say to Christopher that basic Mediterranean cooking is really easy to do at home, definitely easier than spelling "Mediterranean," but no cookbook sprang immediately to mind and then I got distracted (we're making a paper over here!).

Wait, though—I've been meaning to check out Yotam Ottolenghi's "Jerusalem" cookbook, which is reportedly awesome...

Anyone else, anything?
Bethany Jean Clement on February 26, 2013 at 12:50 PM Stranger Staff
18
Hey, wasn't Gordon Ramsay at Yanni's recently, filming an episode of Kitchen Nightmares?
TVDinner on February 26, 2013 at 12:54 PM Report this
19
Part of the Mediterranean diet is Mediterranean portion sizes, not today's American super sized meals.
Rob in Baltimore on February 26, 2013 at 12:58 PM Report this
20
@17: Yes! Martha Rose Shulman's "Mediterranean Harvest" is in heavy rotation on our house. Lots of delicious and authentic vegetarian recipes from throughout the region, with excellent indexing too.
emma's bee on February 26, 2013 at 1:07 PM Report this
21
It looks like what they're recommending is simply:

Avoid processed food and sugar.
Don't eat too much red meat.
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
Eat lots of whole grains.

That sounds like every other recommended eating regimen out there. The only thing that makes it "Mediterranean" is that olive oil is prominent on the list.
Urgutha Forka on February 26, 2013 at 1:24 PM Report this
22
Hmm, I wonder what would happen if we made a couple of changes here?...


...if they switch to a M̶e̶d̶i̶t̶e̶r̶r̶a̶n̶e̶a̶n̶ vegan diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, f̶i̶s̶h̶, fruits, and vegetables,


Well, you'd probably see something like the results of the China Study.


The authors conclude that people who eat a plant-based/vegan diet—avoiding animal products such as beef, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, and milk, and reducing their intake of processed foods and refined carbohydrates—will escape, reduce or reverse the development of chronic diseases.


What's that you say? Fish are rich in healthy Omega 3 oils like DHA? Well, so is algae oil -- which is what fish get their DHA from.


Fish do not actually produce omega-3 fatty acids, but instead accumulate them by consuming either microalgae or prey fish that have accumulated omega-3 fatty acids [...]
Ipso Facto on February 26, 2013 at 1:29 PM Report this
23
@6, I've been going to Vios for brunch every Saturday for a couple months now. So worth the trip deep into helicopter-parent territory. I have loved Thomas's menus since the old days at El Greco on Broadway.
gloomy gus on February 26, 2013 at 1:29 PM Report this
24
I don't think being predisposed to high cholesterol should be overlooked. A good diet for a predisposed person is like regular mammograms for a carrier if the breast cancer mutation.
internet_jen on February 26, 2013 at 1:37 PM Report this
25
@21,

You're not taking the low fat orthodoxy into account. What this study proved is that low fat diets are worse for you than the "Mediterranean diet" which tosses out at least 30 years of mainstream American dietary advice.

@22,

Yes, the China Study, which blamed high cholesterol levels for diabetes.
keshmeshi on February 26, 2013 at 1:45 PM Report this
27
You should never base the future of your health on a single article or study.
Arsenic7 on February 26, 2013 at 1:53 PM Report this
28
Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., MD:


All three dietary groups had almost equal facility PROMOTING the growth and clinical appearance of cardiovascular disease in those who at study onset did not have this illness. The single exception was the control group which had a significantly higher stroke rate; however at baseline, they also appeared to have a greater BMI, waist circumference, hypertension, anti hypertensive agents and diuretics suggesting a cohort at greater risk for strokes.


Emphasis is mine.
http://tinyurl.com/ahso327

Dean Ornish, MD:

In summary, the most responsible conclusion should be, "We found a significant reduction in stroke in those consuming a Mediterranean diet high in omega‑3 fatty acids when compared to those who were not making significant changes in their diet."


http://tinyurl.com/ae4uxlc
cgd on February 26, 2013 at 1:54 PM Report this
29
@25,
True. Forgot about that.

I think it's because I never once believed those idiotic American mainstream "low-fat" diets were real.

The problem, of course, is that when food manufacturers found out people wanted low fat, they just replaced the fats with other garbage. So a bag of "low fat" chips is packed full of corn syrup, salt, and myriad chemicals... but hey! It's low fat so why not eat 5 dozen bags?!?

Pisses me off...
Urgutha Forka on February 26, 2013 at 1:57 PM Report this
30
People need to be taught. It's the nature of the beast. A lot of people feel challenged with boiling water because they need specific and basic kitchen skills. But making time to eat your own properly cooked meals can be a whole lot healthier, cheaper and easier than you might think. I can make enough good food one night to make at least three meals for that week that just need a quick reheat. Even healthy snacks are easy. And delicious. And you know what went in it. These are life skills that have a quantitative effect on your health.
Pope Peabrain on February 26, 2013 at 3:32 PM Report this
31
Keshmeshi: it's extremely clear animal fat causes diabetes (and heart disease, and stroke, and certain cancers). It's not the only cause, but it's a major cause. Go to google scholar and there are literally dozens of studies supporting this.

http://m.care.diabetesjournals.org/conte…
raku on February 26, 2013 at 3:37 PM Report this
32
You know, everyone makes fun of Home Economics - how it supposedly subjugated women, blah, blah, blah, but I took Home Ec in Junior High (In Iowa, you took a semester of Home Ec and a semester of shop class each year) and a lot of that stuck with me over the years.

I don't can anything, and I don't sew, but I know how to make a meal from scratch, how to do laundry without ruining everything, how to sew a button back on, and how to balance my checkbook (not that I have a checkbook anymore, but that basic finance training was helpful to me)

If we taught basic life skills, including how to cook and eat healthy, we would have much more competent adults.

Catalina Vel-DuRay on February 26, 2013 at 3:40 PM Report this
34
Now we need to figure out out to farm fish without all the negative ecological fallout. The rising popularity of seafood is having a deleterious effect on already over-fished wild fish stocks world wide.
thatsnotright on February 26, 2013 at 3:55 PM Report this
35
Low fat only means something if it significantly reduces calories. All they do with "reduced fat" peanut butter is drain off the peanut oil, a healthy fat, but the calories are virtually the same, with less healthful properties. The same thing applies to sugarfree, and low carbs. It doesn't matter from where the calories come, if you eat more calories than you burn, you will get fat. Even healthy fats should be used with moderation. French fries deep fried in olive oil have the same calories as fries cooked in lard. Lard is more likely to raise your cholesterol, but if you eat too many, you'll be just as fat either way.
Rob in Baltimore on February 26, 2013 at 4:41 PM Report this
36
Mediterranean doesn't mean Middle Eastern exclusively, for heaven's sake. Spain, southern France, Italy, Greece, Morocco: all Mediterranean countries.
Cornichon on February 26, 2013 at 4:56 PM Report this
37
#33: You're still arguing that nobody has PROVEN smoking causes lung cancer, right?

And it's not "dietary fat intake" - it's dietary animal fat intake that causes all kinds of problems, including diabetes and heart disease. That's why there are these studies that show non-hydrogenated vegetable oil is fine.
raku on February 26, 2013 at 5:16 PM Report this
40
I'm disappointed that the Olive & Grape in Greenwood hasn't made your Mediterranean list, or are you just covering kebab shops?
deadrose on February 27, 2013 at 2:49 PM Report this

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