The Mediterr-Asian diet, disease and longevity.
As a practising consultant looking after patients in severe pain, I often used to wonder whether there might be anything I could suggest or prescribe that would help prevent the onset of pain and disease, particularly pain secondary to degenerative diseases such as arthritis (including spinal conditions). Many of my patients would be distraught when they were told that they faced a future full of pain and suffering. Whilst as a doctor I hoped to be able to treat some of their conditions and pain, the question most of my patients would ask is ‘Why me, what have I done to end up like this?,’ and, more importantly, ‘What could I have done to prevent this?’
In the past, my stock answer would have been to say that we just don’t know why people end up with degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis. In relation to cardiac problems, dementia or cancer, I would answer, ‘Well, we know about some risk factors; do try to avoid smoking and becoming too overweight.’
In fact I didn’t have much to offer, in particular to patients who had tried to eat what was formerly considered a standard healthy Western diet. It seemed to me that as doctors we were almost powerless to stop the epidemic of disease that confronted us. Is it because we are living longer due to effects of Western medicine that we have to expect these degenerative conditions to plague us in our later years?
Intriguingly however, there are many places in the world where people not only live longer without the benefit of Western medicine, but in addition tend to remain rather disease-free as well. Such remarkable societies are currently the subject of a great deal of scientific research, as you might imagine, and the implications for the rest of us are profound. Take for example, Okinawa in Japan It has been found that there are four times as many centenarians there than in the West, but more important, perhaps, is the remarkable quality of their lives (see for example the Horizon program ‘How to Live to be 101’).[i] [ii] [iii]
There has been intensive study of these islanders and other societies where longevity and low incidence of disease seem to co-exist. Diet does seem to be a major factor. The Okinawans eat a wide variety of raw and lightly cooked fruit and vegetable products, significant amounts of fish, have moderate alcohol consumption, take a reasonable amount of exercise and have a relaxed attitude to life.
Their society does seem to possess a remarkable number of old and disease-free people, who experience a very low incidence of Western problems such as obesity, arthritis, cancer,[iv] heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
The reason for the islanders’ longevity is not primarily genetic, as those islanders who migrate to the West and change their lifestyle have a 17-year drop in life expectancy and an increase in their rates of cardiovascular disease and cancers.
This observation, along with many others, suggests that the lifestyle and environment of the Okinawans is important and research has particularly focused on what it is about their diet which is so beneficial.
It is clear that the model of nutrition promoted by doctors and so-called ‘health experts’ in the West is inadequate. If, as we have done to date, we think only of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals as the basis of a healthy diet, then we ignore – literally at our peril – the increasing evidence that there are other factors which are vital in the promotion of good health. These include those parts of our diet known as phytonutrients, which we can obtain specifically from fresh fruit, vegetables and other foods.
This book will concentrate on these foods and the phytonutrients that seem to make a profound difference to disease prevention and promote a good quality of life.
The good news is that it is likely that making relatively small changes to our diet and habits may contribute significantly to reducing the onset and the severity of life-threatening diseases.
[i] How to live to be 101’ Horizon Tuesday 19th February 2008, 9pm, BBC Two http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/101/
[iii] Quoted from http://www.mediterrasian.com/scientific_research.htm
Sources: Willcox BJ. Et al. (2001). Evidence-based Extreme Longevity: The case of
[iv] Nutr Cancer. 2003;46(1):30-7. The protective effect of the Mediterranean diet on lung cancer. Fortes C, et al The results indicate that some food items typical of the Mediterranean diet are associated with decreased lung cancer risk.
Posts
