A Diet Mediterranean Style Can Extend Your Life 15 Years

Aug 24, 2011 by Emilia

Given the fact that I was born in Spain, I may sound kind of bias when I talk about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, but the truth of the matter is that I have seen the benefits of following this diet with my own eyes. In fact, not only I have seen its advantages; I have experienced them.

And now, the researchers at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, after conducting one of the largest studies on the Mediterranean diet, have concluded that following a Mediterranean diet combined with exercise, not smoking, and keeping a healthy weight, could extend life by several years.

The effect is strongest in women, who can live an extra 15 years compared to the least healthy people, while healthy men can enjoy eight years and a half more.

The study as published by the University of Maastricht:

Lifestyle has large impact on premature mortality

29 July 2011

The risk of death for middle-aged women with a low “healthy lifestyle score” is just as high as that of women with no unhealthy lifestyle, but who are 15 years older. For men, this ‘ageing effect’ is approximately 8.5 years.

This resulted from a study in which a combined lifestyle score was defined by the following four factors: smoking, physical activity, nutritional pattern and body weight. The results of this study from Maastricht University among 120,000 men and women aged 55–69 years were published online this week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

120,000 participants in the study

In this Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS) the nutritional and lifestyle habits of the 120,000 research participants were measured in 1986. The information was used to calculate a healthy lifestyle score that combined four factors: not smoking, being physically active for more than 30 minutes per day, adhering to a Mediterranean diet, and having a healthy body weight (BMI between 18.5 and 25).

A traditional Mediterranean diet is characterized by high intake of vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, fish, whole grains , monounsaturated fat instead of saturated fat, low intake of meat and alcohol consumption of approximately 0.5 to 2 glasses per day. The mortality among NLCS participants since 1986 has been documented and the relationship between lifestyle and mortality has been analyzed.

According to Piet van den Brandt, Professor of Epidemiology at Maastricht University, “Very few research studies worldwide have analyzed the relationship between a combination of lifestyle factors and mortality in this way. This study shows that a healthy lifestyle can lead to significant health benefits.

Not only did the risk of death strongly depend on the healthy lifestyle score, but the greatest reduction in premature deaths as a result of healthy lifestyles was seen in individuals with low or medium levels of education.

Women are the main beneficiaries

Furthermore, the effects of a Mediterranean diet were more evident in women than in men. Within this diet, nuts, vegetables and alcohol intake had the biggest impact on lower mortality rates.”

The Netherlands Cohort Study was launched in 1986 by researchers at the Department of Epidemiology at Maastricht University and TNO Quality of Life. This ongoing study has provided a wealth of information and many new insights over the years on the influence of diet and other lifestyle factors on cancer and mortality rates.

Final word

Here is what the researchers of the study have to say about the Mediterranean diet: ‘This study shows that a healthy lifestyle can lead to significant health benefits. ‘Furthermore, the effects of a Mediterranean diet were more evident in women than in men. ‘Within this diet, nuts, vegetables and alcohol intake had the biggest impact on lower mortality rates.’

To your good health!

Emilia Klapp, R.D., B.S.
www.TheDiabetesClub.com