But the diet has many components, and it hasn’t been clear which elements of the diet are responsible for this benefit. An analysis published this week in the British Medical Journal aimed to find out.
Researchers based at Harvard and the University of Athens looked at data collected from more than 20,000 Greek men and women who were followed for an average of more than eight years as part of a study of nutrition and health.
They assessed participants’ adherence to nine components of the Mediterranean diet. They found that overall, people who adhered more closely to the diet were less likely to die during the study. They also parsed the data to see which elements of the diet were most strongly associated with this benefit. Here, in descending order of importance, are the keys:
- A moderate amount of alcohol (usually wine)
- A small amount of meat
- Lots of vegetables
- Lots of fruits and nuts
- A high ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fats
- Lots of legumes
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