Mediterranean Diet Can Slow Aging, But What Else Can It Do?

A study published earlier yesterday, Dec. 2, in the British Medical Journal reveals that nutritional data indicates the health benefits of a so-called Mediterranean Diet high in healthy fats, boosting anti-aging in women and adding a few more years to their lifespan. But it's not just age that the diet affects, so what else can it do?

With the little added touch of a glass of wine at every meal, and a diet rich in olive oils, fish, vegetables and legumes, the Mediterranean Diet has a lot more than meets the eye.

Rich in vegetables, fish and wines, who have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties by nature, the Mediterranean diet has proven effective in protecting the cells of an individual's body from aging, however, researchers from studies such as the Harvard Nurses' Health Study published this week in the British Medical Journal have not able to isolate one component that worked better than the rest. Rather, researchers find that in combination, the more dietary components aligned with a Mediterranean plan, the longer they can expect a patient's telomeres to be.

"We know that having shorter telomeres is associated with a lower life expectancy and a greater risk of cancer, heart disease, and other diseases" study coauthor from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Immaculata De Vivo says. "Certain lifestyle factors like obesity, sugary sodas, and smoking have been found to accelerate telomere shortening."

"And now our research suggests that the Mediterranean diet can slow this shortening."

But the genetic changes aren't the only effects the diet has. In another recent study published in the journal Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, individuals who maintained a Mediterranean diet had a 42% lower risk of rapid kidney function decline and a 50% lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease.

Over the course of the seven year study, researchers scored 900 patients' diets relating them to the Mediterranean diet, much like the Harvard study, finding that a one-point increase was linked to a 17% decrease in their likelihood of developing the kidney affliction affecting over 20 million Americans. The benefits found in the study were attributed to the positive effects that the diet has on inflammation and blood pressure, helping organs function more efficiently and keeping patients young. Something that every culture can appreciate, no matter where they're situated around the globe.

"The Mediterranean diet is two-thirds of the way toward a whole foods plant-based diet, but it begs the question as to whether it's the optimal diet" president of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute, Dr. Dean Ornish says. "We've found that when people make bigger changes, as an intervention, they could actually lengthen their [lives]."