Mediterranean Diet Link Could Be Due To Specific Foods

Cp418-- thanks for the post.

I'd like to comment if I may that in addition to the types of foods, there is a different style of how to eat and when.  Fast food is not the norm at least here.  And eating in between is not the norm either.

Fresh eggs are important here.  The date they are laid is stamped on the cartons. Cheese too is a big part of the diet.  Goat and sheep cheese are more available and reasonable prices. Does this count for dairy?  

That said, there is much changing since the EU formed.  One of the biggest changes that I've noticed is the supermarkets are becoming Americanized.  It's the good news/bad news.  For instance there are more processed and prepared foods and sweets at point of purchase marketing points.  But I can buy the breads from the mountain town without driving to them now...as long as I get there early in the morning before they sell out.

Vending machines appeared at every train station.  This type of food was not so accessible only a couple of years ago.  And like France, I don't know if the people will embrace these changes.

I think tourism has much to do with these changes.  It's such a big part of their economy. The problem is that like the Galapagos Islands the eco and social systems are fragile.  Too much tourism could cause the culture to change and retreat.  That would leave the ruins as the only attraction.  I think people come to Italy as much for the culture.  Assimilation isn't all it's talked up to be.

Back to the diets though, it's rare to see someone eating other than in the 'appropriate' places.  Almost never do I see anyone eating while walking or on the trains.  It's just not done.  It might also have something to do with the pace they keep and the importance they put on the family being together whether at home or in a restaurant.  The pace is much slower, especially when the sun is out (very, very hot).  Here they close for lunch and reopen late afternoon until 8ish when it's cooler. More efficient use of energy..human and fuel.

It's true too that fresh veggies abound.  They plan their meals around the in season foods (thus the idea for a thread here) and deserts are usually fresh fruit by itself, in a tort, mixed together, with cream and every other variation you can imagine.  And wine is always served with the meal along with bottled water.  The kids like cola.

I must admit that it took getting used to.  I needed to organize my life around the times that the shops were open and what was in season.  But after a couple of years here, I found myself looking for similar foods when I traveled back to US.  It was much harder to find.  I admit though that our favorite place to shop in US is Trader Joe's. 

That said....I always eat a cheese steak and hoggie when I get back to Philly.  Some habits are hard to change.  

I wonder what others might think about this?  

Best wishes to all as always 

CP418 -- I'm curious of your thoughts on this discourse.

We read so much about the links of diet to health or lack thereof. As the financial people like to say, I think this is a "lagging indicator". I mean this in the sense that the world is running far faster than we can catch up to it at the moment while we all try to adjust to 'global everything'.  Now if we can move it to the front of the curve...fundamentally speaking.....

The mediterranean diet specifically.  I've been researching information on kidney stones lately. (my research is as a lay person with curiosity only--not professional).

I followed the results of a lab report that listed calcio (calcium) and ossolati (oxalate) present in a tissue sample.  When I followed the definitions of oxalate I learned that the presence can indicate an imbalance that when combined with calcium forms stones (ouch).  When I followed the foods that were high in oxalate, I found that strawberries were among them.

Now I know I'm reaching here, but strawberries are in season now and the person suffering the kidney stone loves them and ate many recently.  Strawberries are high in oxalate.  There were a few other items on the food list that caught my eye as well. There was a recent change in this person's diet for the purpose of weight loss too.  The shift of a combination of these foods in addition to the abundance of the food in season may have triggered the event?

I learned too that there is a bacteria necessary in the large intestine to brake down the oxalate that can be destroyed by anti biotics.  This person takes anti biotic therapy for diverticulitis.  So the bacteria may be absent as well, thus an increased amount of oxalate.  

Specific fruits are mentioned as a low to medium content of oxalte.

I guess I write this because I am very convinced that we are only skimming the surface of the diet issues and even the supplements.  More research at this level would be most welcomed.

Without doubt, the Mediterranean diet is a very good place to start.

my references to this conversation are http://www.vulvarpainfoundation.org/ and http://www.uwhealth.org/urology/kidneystonetreatmentsnutrition/11240 

What do you think? 

CP418 -- No I didn't read the book.  I read The Zone many years ago. And I took a nutrition course as an elective in college (I graduated in 1995)  I became interested in diet in the 60's and 70's. We had a small farm and I had a large garden. My neighbor, an older sweet lady, was a big fan of Prevention magazine.  She pointed out the food all around us and the medicinal herbs.

Another friend took me for a day's seminar at the University of Maryland (her daughter was attending) with a professor who was also an American Indian chief.  We collected food to eat and he showed us what could be used for medicine as we walked the woods.  Now if I only could remember everything!  

I became more than interested when I was diagnosed with hypothyroid in the early 90's.  A friend of my mother's told me about various vitamins I needed to support my immune system.  Then I found a book on the subject. 

Interesting is that not one doctor along the way had any conversations with me about it.  That was "hippy, crazy talk"....until I moved here.  Every one of them talk about diet, sunshine, exercise along with conventional therapy. 

Lindasa -- My mother plays music every day.  And if she doesn't play it she sings it.  She's 90.  

I think what is so important to remember while we swirl around these theories is that each of us are unique and unless we can take blood and waste samples daily to watch the effects of our choices, we can do as much damage as good.  There are baselines for healthy bodies like the Daily Recommended Allowance published on nutrition panels.  The problem is that when our cells travel out of sync--putting them back in rhythm again is work for serious research.  I hope that they keep looking in this direction.  

I'm not sure which figures your are referring to .... but I do remember that a safe weight loss is about 2 lbs. per week.  "Safe" in the sense that you are adjusting you diet in a balanced manner and your body and mind are adjusting to the change of diet and patterns of behavior.  

Side bar:  I was talking with an elementary school teacher on a bus trip to the Race for the Cure in Rome.  She said that children are beginning to bring "treats" in their bags.  So as the population raises their income, the family buys into fast food and junk food as a means to fill the gap they think/thought was missing in their life.  What a shame....they will follow the pattern of the US to obesity.  

It seems the healthy med diet is anchored in a simple life using basic ingredients and raising that to an art form.  This art form may evolve to a lost art.  I've witness the change of markets over the last eight years since the EU formed and it begins to resemble US marketing techniques.  I don't believe that this is the best route to take.  People here don't see the road ahead and where it leads.  Did we?