Word: mediterranean
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...decades, doctors have been intrigued by the apparent health benefits of the so-called Mediterranean diet, which is not really a diet the way most people think of one. It's more of a dietary pattern--or rather, several complementary dietary patterns that have existed around the Mediterranean basin for centuries. Typical Mediterranean diets emphasize lots of fruits, cooked vegetables and legumes, grains (whole, not refined) and, in moderation, wine, nuts, fish and dairy products, particularly yogurt and cheese. But most Americans tend to focus on one component of these diets--olive oil--as if it were a magical potion...
Life should be so easy. According to the largest, most rigorously controlled study of a Mediterranean diet ever conducted, people with the most Mediterranean-like eating habits do seem to have a reduced risk of dying from heart disease (down 33%) or cancer (24%). But the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week, was unable to link the health benefits to any one ingredient, not even olive oil. "It's only when you see the whole pattern that you see a statistically significant reduction in mortality," says Dr. Antonia Trichopoulou, the study's lead author...
Some foods did stand out in the data, however. Potatoes, while not clearly harmful or beneficial, tilted more to the bad side, as did eggs and meat--all foods that are consumed sparingly in traditional Mediterranean diets. Vegetables, legumes, nuts (in moderation) lean to the good side, with the greatest benefit coming from the consumption of large quantities of fruit. As you might expect, the NEJM study also showed that a Mediterranean diet did not eliminate the unsalutary effects of smoking or overeating...
...what about olive oil? Its main purpose seems to be as a vehicle for consuming more vegetables. Sauteed vegetables, especially when you add herbs and garlic, just taste better than steamed ones, which brings us to perhaps the greatest advantage of the Mediterranean style of eating. It treats food as food, not medicine...
...more experienced surfers. Meanwhile, Noosa?s reputation as a culinary mecca is another draw?its restaurants are awash with upscale visitors from Sydney and Melbourne, particularly in the high season when the chattering upper classes of Australia?s largest cities seem to relocate north en masse. Whether it?s Mediterranean-influenced cuisine on the seafront terrace of Bistro C or outstanding seafood at the ?ber-trendy Saltwater, the culinary word on Noosa...