Was Vergil Wrong?
Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.
(”Whatever this may be, I fear the Greeks even when they’re bringing gifts.”)
-The Aeneid, Book II
Following a diet consisting mainly of fruits, vegetables, olive oil, fish, beans, nuts, pasta and breads (known as the Mediterranean Diet) seems to not only reduce the risk of developing heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and certain types of cancer, but also Alzheimer’s disease.
In a study published in the Annals of Neurology, 2,258 individuals without baseline dementia “were prospectively evaluated every 18 months for an average of four years. The primary outcome was the rate of decline in cognition as assessed at each study visit…During the course of the study 262 individuals were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.”
262 persons out of 2,258 developed dementia? Let’s hope that isn’t the national rate, otherwise we had better start reading the classics now before it’s too late.
“Adherence to the diet remained the main predictor [for avoiding dementia] even after adjustment for cohort, age, sex, ethnicity, education… [etc.].
The hypothesis is that the the monounsaturated fatty acid found in olive oil, the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and the antioxidants contained within fruits and vegetables all contribute to a general cleansing of the blood vessels of cholesterol and fat, thereby reducing atherogenesis and thus the incidence of coronary heart disease. They also provide nutrition without promoting obesity, lower blood pressure and reduce the incidence of breast and colorectal cancer.
What is the take home message of this research? Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas of Columbia University, one of the authors of the study, said it most clearly: “An overall dietary pattern is likely to have a greater effect on health than a single nutrient.”
Does everyone understand that sentence? It is so essential to promoting good health that I feel compelled to put it into the vernacular:
“STOP EATING JUNK FOOD, YOU FATTIES!”
Ahem…using more scholarly language, the point I’m trying to make is that we cannot ever hope to lose weight and avoid the ravages of heart disease and cancer just by adding a bran muffin or a Diet Pepsi to our cheeseburger-doughnut-frothy-latte-ice-cream diet. In order to truly live with respect for our bodies, in order to truly fulfill the wish within our hearts, our souls and our compos mentis minds for a long and healthy life, we need to change the way we look at food. Whether standing over the steam tables at Sunday brunch, or lovingly fingering a menu at Alain Ducasse, it is our responsibility to think before we choose. Just as a little child is taught to avoid eating certain items, such as bleach, we can train our adult selves to avoid stuffing our adorable little Kewpie doll-like figures with foodstuffs that are certainly as pernicious to our health as a bottle of great-grandma’s homemade cough syrup.
Even the heartiest of trenchermen, with a little counseling and friendly persuasion, can learn to like the Mediterranean Diet. Why not give it a try?
You might even try a glass of red wine with your Tagliatelle al Pomodoro Fresco. Salut!
“STOP EATING JUNK FOOD, YOU FATTIES!”
You should put that up on billboards at exits to freeway strip malls. Maybe with an asterisk that says “try the mediterranean diet,” which itself would have an asterisk that says “that doesn’t mean the never-ending pasta deal at olive garden.”
Comment by Ali — April 19, 2006 @ 10:28 pm
Thanks for telling me this 2 years after I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The truth of the matter is my sisters think it’s ok to smoke because no one in our family has ever had lung cancer. I saw my dermatologist yearly because my mother died of melanoma, but I only had mammograms done every 2 years because nobody in our family ever had breast cancer…I was diagnosed in stage 3 after having a clean mammogram six months prior to the diagnosis. I guess I’m getting as fatalistic as a Hindi about this, but I figure I’m not cut out for longevity anyway. “Eat, drink for tomorrow we die!”
Comment by Emmy — April 20, 2006 @ 1:02 am
To paraphrase Stanley Bing…
“Does drinking Diet Coke make you obese?
Have you ever seen a skinny person drinking it? ‘
Comment by John J. Coupal — April 20, 2006 @ 2:25 am
Stanley Bing (a.k.a. Gil Schwartz) is one of my modern literary heroes. Read “The Big Bing” for a sampling of his keen wit and masterful turn of the phrase, not to mention his skewering of the follies of the business world.
Comment by The Cheerful Oncologist — April 20, 2006 @ 2:41 am
Here, here.
Comment by violetta — April 22, 2006 @ 12:38 am
Limiting oneself to “junk food” is harmful, I have no problem with that. But to never indulge, or worse to insist that noone indulge, is at best fatuous and at worst leads to the extremes of a Pol Pot. As with many things (especially, albeit not only), keying on MODERATION is more beneficial. A glass of wine or beer with a meal, or even a shot of 151 rum, is MODERATE and can be beneficial, downing a bottle of tequila is actually poisonous and far from beneficial.
Or, “The dose makes the poison.” Hey, aspirin can kill!
As to `Following a diet consisting mainly of fruits, vegetables, olive oil, fish, beans, nuts, pasta and breads…` note the word “MAINLY“ in there.
Admittedly, I have a special axe to grind. People who do not know me have a tendency at meals to criticise my avoidance of vegetables: folks, you may not have heard of such a thing, but I am allergic to green stuff. Yes, I can ingest a stalk of celery if I want, but a single pea in a bowl of beef stew causes projectile vomiting and other nasty things.
Comment by John Anderson — April 23, 2006 @ 4:57 pm
Very entertaining issue. I haven’t heard of this one. It will be necessary to visit you on a thicket!
Comment by Bob Rae — November 23, 2006 @ 2:30 pm
This is a great article. I am new to your blog and i like what I see. I look forward to your future work.
Comment by Ken Dryden — December 8, 2006 @ 10:47 am
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Comment by Environmental finance solutions — December 12, 2006 @ 11:46 am