I talk a lot about the benefits of routine, moderate exercise, lowering stress, and taking healthy nutritional supplements.
But following diets like our food-loving, wine-sipping friends in Italy and Greece is perhaps the single, most important step you can take to protect your health as you get older.
In fact, according to a new, well-designed study, it can have a HUGE impact your LIFESPAN!
Let me explain…
Eat like the Italians and Greeks
For this new study, conducted in collaboration with the U.S. National Institute on Aging, researchers followed about 600 men and women, over 65 years old, living in the Tuscany region of Italy.
Over a 20-year period, the researchers took regular blood and urine samples from all the participants to detect the presence of key biomarkers found in foods that belong to the healthy, balanced Mediterranean diet.
As I’ve explained before, testing for biomarkers in blood and urine samples is a far more accurate and reliable way of assessing diet than relying on food surveys or questionnaires. (People tend to forget how often they do, or don’t, eat certain foods, or simply don’t report the accurately.)
The specific biomarkers they checked for were:
- Total polyphenols (and resveratrol, specifically), as found in red wine
- Carotenoids, as found in brightly colored fruits and vegetables
- Selenium, as found in seafood, eggs, and nuts
- Vitamin B12, as found in full-fat dairy, eggs, fish, and seafood
- Omega-3 fatty acids, as found in fish, seafood, nuts, and seeds
Over the course of the study, 425 deaths occurred. The most-common cause of death was cardiovascular disease.
However, those who had higher readings of those key biomarkers also had a significantly LOWER all-cause mortality (death) risk.
In other words, the people who more closely followed a healthy Mediterranean diet over 20 years had a lower risk of prematurely dying from ANY cause! Plus, they had a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (which remains the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. and elsewhere).
Following this delicious, satisfying diet has a big impact on health
In the end, this study just adds to much previous research showing how following a Mediterranean-type diet can prevent disease and improve longevity!
Not to mention, it’s incredibly satisfying…especially for food- and wine-lovers!
So, if you haven’t made this healthy diet a part of your lifestyle yet…I suggest you give it a go…starting TODAY.
As a reminder, a healthy, Mediterranean-type diet includes plenty of:
- Full-fat dairy, including butter, eggs, cheeses, and yogurt. (I’ll tell you more about one particularly remarkable health benefit of yogurt in tomorrow’s Daily Dispatch.)
- Wild-caught fish and seafood.
- Grass-fed and -finished, free-range, organic beef, chicken, and especially lamb, which has the best nutritional profile of all meats.
- Nuts and seeds.
- Five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day.
- Alcohol, in moderation.
When getting started on this diet, you may find it helpful to dispose of (or donate) all the ultra-processed, packaged foods in your pantry and refrigerator.
Then, when shopping, avoid the grocery store’s center aisles, which contain all the processed junk. Instead, stick to the displays around the perimeter of the store, where you’ll find all the whole, unprocessed foods.
You can also stock up on fresh, local fruits, veggies, meats, and full-fat dairy at your local farmer’s market. They’re now in full-swing in most places around the country.
Lastly, for more insight into nutritional approaches for protecting your heart as you get older, I encourage you to check out my Heart Attack Prevention and Repair Protocol. To learn more about this innovative, online learning tool—or to enroll today—click here now!