Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet has attracted attention for years for its relationship to lower rates of heart disease. It is one of the reasons for the surge in the use of olive oil in the U.S. and the increased consumption of red wine. The diet is heavy on fish, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains--all of the foods that are recommended by dieticians. Although the diet is high in fat, they are the "good" kinds of fat, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.

As a graduate student, I almost did my dissertation on aspects of the Mediterranean diet. My advisor had built his career on studying the relationship between cigarette smoking and mortality rates at the national level. He was really pushing me to do a similar study with fish oil. I wasn't all that excited by omega-3 fatty acids and went in a different direction.

One of the problems with studying the effects of diet on health is that it is so variable and uneven. Nobody eats exactly a Mediterranean diet, not even people who live around the Mediterranean Sea. Still, there seems to be a high correlation between the elements of the diet and lower rates of heart disease.

Now, a study in Chicago has shown that the diet also is associated with better cognition. Those who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet had cognitive scores 2 years better than those who did not follow the diet. Another good reason for having a glass of wine when I get home tonight!