Instructions: The New England Journal of Medicine, 2003;348:2599-2608, has an article by Dr. Dimitrios Trichopoulos et al from the University of Athens titled "More evidence Mediterranean diet cuts death". A "Mediterranean" type diet, rich in vegetables, legumes, fruits and olive oil, indeed appears to lower risk of death according to this article. The researchers followed more than 22,000 adults in Greece for almost 4 years. Previous reports have shown that people living in Mediterranean regions tend to live longer than North Americans and people from Northern Europe and this latest research adds further evidence that dietary factors are responsible for survival differences.

The researchers surveyed the population about their eating habits, noting how closely each person followed the traditional Mediterranean diet. The researchers then followed the participants for 44 months, noting who died and of what causes. During the study period, the researchers recorded 275 deaths. They noted that the more closely a person followed the Mediterranean diet at the outset of the study, the less likely he was to die of any cause. In addition, people who followed the Mediterranean diet more closely than others were also 33% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 24% less likely to die from cancer. Interestingly, after breaking down the individual components of the Mediterranean diet, the authors discovered that no single component appeared to reduce the risk of death.

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