A study which was continuing for more than ten years involving 5000 nurses found that a Mediterranean diet keeps your cells younger for longer. The nurses involved in this study were eating a diet consisting of vegetables, chicken, fish, fruit, but they stayed away from red meats, butter and animal fats. The researchers from Boston found that the nurses’ cells had less DNA breaks, had longer telomeres (the caps at the end of the chromosomes). The participants of the study had much less heart disease and appeared younger for longer.
Why is this so? The combination of salads and vegetables with olive oil gives your body the right ingredients, say scientists: it is the unsaturated fat in olive oil and the nitrite in the vegetables and lettuce that brings down the cholesterol and blood pressure. The Mediterranean diet consists of vegetables, fresh fruit, wholegrain cereals, olive oil and nuts. Absent are fats from butter or fatty meats and red meats. Prof. Eaton from King’s College and his colleagues from the University of California believe that within the gastrointestinal tract nitro fatty acids are formed from the interplay of olive oil and vegetables/lettuce, and this process inhibits an enzyme called epoxide hydrolase, which lowers blood pressure. All of this has been proven with genetically engineered mice, but what is more important is that humans have the same enzyme, epoxide hydrolase that helps us to lower blood pressure, if we choose the right foods. Prof. Eaton said that nature’s protective mechanism could perhaps be tapped into and “we could make new drugs for treating high blood pressure and preventing heart disease”. I disagree with this kind of statement as so far many blood pressure medicines have potentially serious side-effects while Mediterranean food does not carry any risk for the patient and is also much cheaper. Up to now it has only been proven that the Mediterranean diet is effective in keeping you younger for longer without heart disease.
This study proves for women what the firefighter study has proven already for men. Stick to healthy Mediterranean diet habits, not the plate of pasta and not the slices of pizza, but enjoy the beneficial whole foods mentioned before: fish, fruit, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and olive oil.
More information available at Nutrition.