What is it about the Mediterranean diet that promotes longevity? It's apparently not the olive oil or all the healthy fresh fruits and vegetables or even the amount of fish. A new study that tracked more than 23,000 European men and women for an average of 8.5 years concluded that the moderate intake of wine is the dietary component most associated with the longer life seen among those who eat the Mediterranean way. The Harvard researchers who conducted the study suggested that alcohol, principally in wine, theoretically accounted for 23.5 percent of the diet’s longevity effect. The high ratio of monounsaturated fat (mostly olive oil) to saturated fat was responsible for only 10.6 percent of the longer life attributed to the diet. The big surprise was that fish and seafood appeared to play a slightly negative role (but the researchers noted that fish eaten in the area are not high in the omega-3 fatty acids linked to cardiovascular benefits). Low meat intake was responsible for 16.6 percent of the longevity effect; high vegetable intake for 16.2 percent; high fruit and nut consumption for 11.2 percent; high intake of legumes, 9.7 percent.
Changing your diet can be an effective, gentle, inexpensive - and even delicious - way to prevent, relieve or even reverse a wide variety of conditions. If you are at risk for or have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, consider adding these calcium-rich foods to your diet:
1. Low-fat or non-fat dairy products
2. Canned sardines and canned salmon
3. Dark green vegetables such as broccoli, collard greens and bok choy
4. Tofu
5. Calcium-fortified juices and carrageenan free soy milk
6. Black-eyed peas
7. Blackstrap molasses
8. Poppy seeds and sesame seeds
9. Almonds
10. Figs
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