- "Are you hungry?"
"No, I already ate."
"Good. I'll make you something."
--Exchange between Ian Miller and Maria Portokalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
What you need is a big fat Greek diet. The fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, dried beans, fish, garlic, fresh herbs, bread, feta cheese, wine, and certain oils that make up what is commonly known as the Mediterranean diet may actually cure what ails you.
Two separate studies have concluded that the foods that are common in a Greek diet reduce the risk of heart attack and death in people who already have heart disease and decrease the pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis.
Eating foods traditionally consumed by Greeks may work better to reduce heart problems than just cutting out saturated fat and cholesterol, according to a study by doctors at the Medical Hospital and Research Center in Moradabad, India that was published in The Lancet. Study leader Dr. Ram B. Singh randomly assigned a group of 1,000 heart disease patients to eat a Mediterranean-type diet that was slightly adapted to local Indian tastes or a diet that closely adhered to the so-called Step 1 plan that is promoted by the National Cholesterol Education Program in the United States. Both groups limited total fat intake to no more than 30 percent of their daily calories with less than 10 percent from saturated fat. Those who were eating the big fat Greek diet were told to consume specific amounts of fruit, vegetables, walnuts and almonds, whole grains, and mustard seed or soy bean oil. Two-thirds of those who participated were already vegetarians; many had sedentary desk jobs.
The results: Reuters reports that after two years, those in the Mediterranean diet group were less likely to have had a non-fatal heart attack or die due to sudden cardiac death compared to those on the Step 1 diet plan.
And that's not all!
A study conducted at Visby Hospital in Sweden found that the traditional Greek diet helps ease the painful symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, reports Reuters. Rheumatoid arthritis, which occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the joints, causes inflammation, swelling, and pain; over time, the bone and soft tissue within the joints are eroded. Twenty-six patients with rheumatoid arthritis who ate Mediterranean foods for just three months experienced a number of improvements that their 25 study counterparts who ate a Western diet did not enjoy, including a decrease in pain, inflammation, disease activity, and in the number of swollen joints.
Reuters reports that the study findings, which were published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, suggest eating the Mediterranean way can help people regardless of their previous dietary habits.
This is the power of a big fat Greek diet: It lowers the risk of heart disease, cancer, and memory loss. And it can ease the pain of rheumatoid arthritis.
--Cathryn Conroy
