Med diet – good for you but pricey?

Mental as well as physical benefits - at a cost

Mental as well as physical benefits - at a cost

Several studies have recently extolled the benefits of eating a ‘Mediterranean’ diet, characterised by high intakes of monounsaturated fatty acids (e.g. olive oil) and fruit, vegetables and fish, moderate consumption of alcohol and dairy products, and low meat consumption. The latest report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that people who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet were more than 30% less likely to develop depression, even after controlling for marital status, the number of children and factors associated with a healthy lifestyle, and personality (e.g. competitiveness and anxiety). This follows other research from 2006 (Annals of Neurology) on the diet’s effect on mental health – in that case, that the diet could significantly reduce the risk of dementia.

Other recent evidence of the physical benefits of this diet include that it can reduce the risk of some cancers by at least 12% (British Journal of Cancer, July 2008), that it can help to prevent many cases of type 2 diabetes (BMJ, May 2008) and that it can half the risk of chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (Thorax, May 2007).

Most of these studies also called for further research into the preventative effects of the diet.

However, another study (J Epidemiol Community Health) has recently noted that ‘a Mediterranean dietary pattern is more expensive to follow than a Western dietary pattern’ and that ‘higher daily food costs consumption were significantly associated with greater weight gain’. Cost may be preventing people from following a diet that has the potential greatly to benefit their physical and mental health, and this should be borne in mind when designing policy and advising about following a healthy diet.

Sources: BBC New Online, 6 October 2009; J Epidemiol Community Health, 17 September 2009 [Link]

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