During millions of years of evolution, human beings were largely subject to low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets (the foods generally available to our ancestors). The Paleolithic diet was based on lean meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, root vegetables, eggs and nuts [1,2]. The diet of late archaic hominid populations and their contemporaneous modern humans included marine food supply [3]. Modern civilization was born around the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient Greeks and Romans created a culinary culture that lasted for centuries, into present times [4]. For example, the Ancient Greeks used olives as their main source of fat instead of animal meat; they believed – in contrast to those they deemed barbarians – that animal fat was an unhealthy food. Olive oil was created to help preserve the olives. Barbarians ate more meat and animal products such as milk and cheese because they were nomadic and had less opportunity to grow olive trees or to prepare olive oil.
The discovery of America lead to the incorporation of new fruits and vegetables that enriched European gastronomy: tomatoes, corn, potatoes, chocolate, etc. In the 5th century BC Herodotus mentioned a fountain in the land of the Ethiopians, whose healing water was responsible of the exceptional longevity of this people. In Spain, during Moorish rule (from the 8th to the 15th century), stories about the water of eternal life or youth were very popular, and would have been known to the explorers who journeyed to America. Thus, in 1513 the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León claimed to have found “restorative waters” in what today is Florida.
Eating is one of life’s great pleasures, and there are many timetested diets that are compatible with good health. In the 1950s, it was reported that people in Crete had long lives because they had much lower rates of stroke, heart disease and certain cancers [5]. Researchers noted that the risk of heart disease was much lower for people throughout the Mediterranean region [6–8], despite the high intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), found in olive oil; and so began research regarding the ‘Mediterranean diet’ (MD). The World Health Organization sponsored a study regarding the dietary habits of people from seven different countries (Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Holland, Finland, the USA and Japan). The research covered a span of 30 years, with the participation of approximately 13,000 subjects aged 40–59. The study found that Cretan men had exceptionally low death rates from heart disease, despite their moderate to high intake of fat [7].
The Cretan diet was similar to other traditional MDs, consisting mostly of olive oil, bread, abundant fruit and vegetables, fish, and amoderate amount of dairy foods and wine. However, one must bear in mind that, when these studies were carried out, the Mediterranean region was an economically depressed area, and most people had a relatively restricted diet, with little meat; moreover, their lifestyle often featured hard physical work, and rates of obesity were very low. Thus, the reported health benefits of the MD may be related more to a physically active lifestyle and other social and cultural issues. Traditional Mediterranean mealtimes were leisurely family affairs, not a fast-food meal at work. The popularity of the MD has grown worldwide during the last 20 years, due to its link with greater longevity and lower rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer and age-associated cognitive decline [9–12]. The MD is a nutritional model based on the traditional diets of some of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, particularly Greece, southern Italy, Portugal, Cyprus, Spain, and Turkey. A recent meta-analysis confirmed the benefits of a MD in individuals aged 65 years and over [13].
Although there is no anti-ageing elixir, a healthy lifestyle may prolong the human life-span. The objective of the present article is to place in perspective the possible benefits of the MD on menopausal women’s health, a period of life with high morbidity, and its value in relation to some age-associated conditions.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Longevity and mortality
3. Mediterranean diet and the metabolic syndrome
4. Hypertension
5. Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular risk
6. Mediterranean diet and body weight
7. Mediterranean diet and cancer
8. Bone metabolism and rheumatoid arthritis
9. Central nervous system
10. Characteristics of the traditional Mediterranean lifestyle
- 10.1. Olive oil
10.2. Fruit and vegetables
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