EPIC STUDY: The longevity benefits of the mediterranean food pattern proven once again to work in both mediterranean and non-mediterranean seniors

The Mediterranean food pattern is characterised by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals (in the past largely unrefined); a moderate to high intake of fish; a low intake of saturated fats but high intake of monounsaturated fats, particularly olive oil; a low to moderate intake of dairy products, mostly cheese and yogurt; a low intake of meat; and a modest intake of ethanol, mostly as wine.

Adherence to a Mediterranean food pattern has been measured using a 10 unit dietary score developed by Professor Antonia Trichopoulou in conjunction with HEC's Dr Antigone Kouris-Blazos and Professor Mark Wahlqvist. This score was first published in the British Medical Journal in 1995 (Trichopoulou A, Kouris-Blazos A, Wahlqvist ML et al. Diet and overall survival in elderly people. BMJ 1995; 311: 1457-60 ) and was the first study to show that a mediterranean dietary pattern improves overall survival in elderly Greeks in Greece.

This score was then applied by the same researchers to elderly Anglo-Celtic Australians, Greek Australians, Swedes and Japanese and for the first time showed that longevity benefits could be obtained by non-mediterranean people following a more mediterranean food pattern (Kouris-Blazos, Gnardellis, Wahlqvist et al., Advantages of the Mediterranean diet transferable to other populations? A cohort study in Melbourne, Australia. British Journal Nutrition 1999; 82: 57-61; Wahlqvist ML, Darmadi-Blackberry I, Kouris-Blazos A et al. Does diet matter for survival in long-lived cultures? Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2005; 14 (1): 2-6)..

The recent study published in the British Medical Journal 2005 by our colleague Professor Trichopoulou once again proves not only the longevity benefits of the mediterranean food pattern (using our original score published in the BMJ in 1995) but that these benefits can also be experienced by non-mediterranean people.

This study analysed the intake of nearly 75,000 men and women aged over 60 in nine countries - Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom - participating in the European study called EPIC (European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition study). The participants were apparantly healthy at enrolment without coronary heart disease, stroke, or cancer and with complete information about dietary intake and potentially confounding variables. They were followed up for mortality statistics.

The mediterranean diet score includes a high intake of monounsaturated fat and low intake of saturated fat as a measure of a more traditonal mediterranean food pattern. However, in order for this score to be applied to the non-Mediterranean populations in the EPIC study in which intake of monounsaturates from olive oil is minimal, the score was 'modified' to allow more polyunsaturated fats into the equation

This study showed that even after allowing for factors like education level and smoking, the closer people in this study got to the Mediterranean food pattern the less risk they had of dying for their age. It amounted to about a seven per cent reduction for those who came closest. The results were better in Greece and Spain probably because they had diets which were closer to the mediterranean food pattern and cooked in a mediterranean way (unfortunately these studies have not looked at cuisine and whether this adds further benefit to the mediterranean food pattern).

The conclusion from all these studies is that if you follow a more Mediterranean food pattern (especially in your old age) you will most probably live longer - even if you are not of mediterranean ancestry.

Also, a study published by our past PhD student at Monash University (Dr Irene Darmadi-Blackberry) showed that the legume food group in the mediterranean diet score conferred the greatest impact on longevity in comparison to the other food groups in older Greeks, Swedes, Japanese and Anglo-Celts.
So try to have a legume based meal at least once a week - see our recipes!

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