A Mediterranean life is a longer life.
It’s been long known that the Mediterranean diet is good for one’s health, but a new Harvard study found that living a Mediterranean lifestyle can decrease the odds of premature death by 29%.
So what exactly is a “Mediterranean lifestyle?”
It’s not just the oft-touted Mediterranean diet, which limits processed foods and focuses on vegetables and healthy fats. Along with “good food,” the study suggests that one can live longer if they have “good friends” and get enough rest.
Published Wednesday in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, research teams from La Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the new study draws from the overall Mediterranean lifestyle and habits of people in countries such as Italy and Spain.
The Mediterranean diet — which was named the best diet overall for the sixth year in a row by US News & World Report — stresses the importance of quality sourcing and filling your plate with nutrient-rich whole foods and grains,
The eating style is derived from the traditional diets of 21 countries that border the Mediterranean Sea, including Italy, Greece, Croatia, Turkey and Monaco — where fresh greens, fruits, fish, nuts and olives are abundant.
Food plans on the Med diet have an emphasis on fresh produce, lean protein, such as fish and chicken, and, of course, antioxidant-rich olive oil.
In addition to the diet, researchers classified a “Mediterranean lifestyle” as a way of living that promotes sufficient rest, physical activity and socialization.
“People who adhere to a Mediterranean lifestyle have a lower risk of all-cause and cancer mortality,” a press release for the study declared. “People who adhered to the lifestyle’s emphasis on rest, exercise, and socializing with friends had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.
Researchers looked at the diet and lifestyle habits of 110,799 participants aged 40 to 75 from the UK Biobank cohort — a population-based study across England, Wales and Scotland.
Using the Mediterranean Lifestyle (MEDLIFE) index — a lifestyle questionnaire and diet assessments — researchers were able to get information about each person’s lifestyle based on the three categories measured by the index.
The three categories include: Mediterranean food consumption, eating foods part of the Med diet including fruits and whole grains; Mediterranean dietary habits, following the Mediterranean habits around meals; and physical activity, rest, and social habits and conviviality, complying with Med lifestyle habits.
Nine years later, researchers did a follow-up examination to assess the participants’ current health status. Out of the 110,799 people, 4,247 died from all causes, 2,401 from cancer and 731 from cardiovascular disease.
After analyzing these results and comparing them to the MEDLIFE index, the scientists found an association between the Med lifestyle and lowering the risk of death.
Adherence to all three MEDLIFE index categories was linked with lower all-cause and cancer mortality risk. Higher scores showed a 29% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 28% lower risk of cancer mortality.
The “physical activity, rest and social habits and conviviality” category was the most associated with these lowered death risks, as well as a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.
Many previous studies have looked at the benefits of the Med lifestyle and its health benefits, but mainly within the region — very little research has been done on the lifestyle itself on people outside the region.
“This study suggests that it’s possible for non-Mediterranean populations to adopt the Mediterranean diet using locally available products and to adopt the overall Mediterranean lifestyle within their own cultural contexts,” lead author Mercedes Sotos Prieto, Ramon y Cajal research fellow at La Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and adjunct assistant professor of environmental health at Harvard Chan School, said. “We’re seeing the transferability of the lifestyle and its positive effects on health.”
According to an analysis from March, women who follow the Mediterranean diet have a nearly 25% lower chance of heart disease and early death.
Recent research from a team at the University of Sydney suggested that women who follow the Mediterranean diet have a nearly 25% lower chance of heart disease and early death.
An earlier study from Harvard University said the Mediterranean diet was one of four common healthy eating patterns that can help reduce the risk of early death by up to 20%.