Eat Greek and Live Longer

If you want to live to a healthy old age and eat well along the way, then perhaps you should move to the Greek mainland or Crete. These are the areas of Europe whose population live longest, thanks to their varied diet. There seems to be similarities between the Greek mainland and Cretan traditional diets that may offer scientists a clue as to their beneficial effects.

But although these people are healthy and live longer, this surprises some experts. A study of several villages on Crete and the Greek mainland showed that fat made up 40 per cent of the average person’s calories, well over what most experts consider to be healthy. But most of this fat comes from cheese and yoghurt and very little from butter or milk. This could be the factor which makes the difference.

Researchers cannot yet explain why, though all of these products are produced by cows, they should have such different effects on people. It is possible that a chemical change could take place during the process of making cheese and yoghurt. A Greek professor who worked on the study believes it may have something to do with lactose, which is the protein found in milk.

Whether it’s lactose or not, national patterns in other parts of Europe appear to confirm this theory. For example, Finns have one of Europe’s highest rates of heart disease, and it could be because they consume four times more milk and butter than the Greeks do. Another puzzle has come out of the study. This concerns tobacco. Many of the people studied, who are in their eighties, are smokers. Tobacco is a big risk factor for heart disease as well as cancer.

But it appears that their diet is so good that it can even overcome the dangers of smoking. This kind of diet could account for the surprising health of one of the study’s subjects, an 82-year-old Greek carpenter. He has enjoyed food and wine all his life and has never dieted or taken special exercise. He starts the day with bread and milk. At midday he eats a large lunch with lots of vegetables and feta cheese. He eats all kinds of meat but mostly chicken. Everything is cooked in olive oil, and he also puts it on just about everything: salads, vegetables and cheese.

He says he hardly ever eats butter and his favourite dessert is full-fat natural yoghurt with walnuts, honey and fruit. There is a high level of chemicals which resist poisons in this kind of diet and it could be the chemicals that limit the effects of smoking. The resistant chemicals and many vitamins that are found in fruit and vegetables have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and other illnesses.

The study also suggests that wine is an important part of the Greek formula, but only at certain times and in certain amounts. The people who were studied drank wine regularly, but in moderate amounts and always with meals. This backs up a recent study, this time done in Italy. Men who drank between meals had a higher death rate than those who only drank when they were having a meal. In women there was an even greater difference.

Or could the secret be in olive oil? All the people studied consumed large amounts of olive oil, although experts are still not certain it could be the oil which helps them live longer. A final part of this mystery could be a vital fatty acid, which according to research can prevent heart disease. Cretans consume 68 per cent more of this acid than the average European. Walnuts contain a great deal of this acid, and these are eaten in large quantities by Cretans and rural Greeks.

But the search for a single magic ingredient may not be the answer. It may be that it is the whole diet that helps people to stay healthy and live longer, not just one of its individual parts.