What Makes the Mediterranean Diet So Healthy?
Despite its well-deserved reputation for contributing to health problems, inflammation in small doses is actually good for our bodies. It helps fight off foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria and subsides once the threat is gone. But when inflammation doesn’t let up and becomes chronic, it can lead to the development of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and cancer.
In addition to age, a common risk factor for chronic inflammation is a high-fat, high-sugar diet. But eating the right foods each day can help keep chronic inflammation at bay, says Vanessa King, RD, clinical nutrition manager for the Queen’s Health System in Oahu, Hawaii, and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. And the foundation of anti-inflammatory eating? Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, olive oil, whole grains, legumes, lean proteins, and food high in omega-3 fats.
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes those foods and is backed by extensive research. For example, after older adults followed this plan for six months, they had lower levels of inflammatory markers in their blood, while those who followed their usual diet didn’t, according to a 2023 study in the journal Nutrients.
Excerpted from Consumer Reports
