Mediterranean lifestyle — not just diet — could lower premature death risk by 29%: Harvard study

A Mediterranean life is a longer life.

It’s long been known that the Mediterranean diet is good for one’s health, but a new Harvard study found that living a Mediterranean lifestyle can decrease the odds of premature death by 29%.

So what exactly is the “Mediterranean lifestyle?”

It’s not just the much-touted Mediterranean diet, which limits processed foods and focuses on vegetables and healthy fats. Along with “good food,” the study suggests that one can live longer if they have “good friends” and get enough rest.

Published Wednesday in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, research conducted jointly by La Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health examined the habits of residents of countries such as Italy and Spain.

The Mediterranean diet — which was named the best diet overall for the sixth year in a row by US News & World Report — stresses the importance of quality sourcing and filling your plate with nutrient-rich whole foods and grains.

The eating style encompasses the traditional diets of 21 countries that border the Mediterranean Sea, including Italy, Greece, Croatia, Turkey and Monaco — where fresh greens, fruits, fish, nuts and olives are abundant.

Food plans on the Med diet emphasize lean protein like fish and chicken, fresh produce and, of course, antioxidant-rich olive oil.

In addition to the diet, researchers identified a distinctive “Mediterranean lifestyle” that promotes sufficient rest, physical activity and socialization.

“People who adhere to a Mediterranean lifestyle have a lower risk of all-cause and cancer mortality,” a press release for the study declared. “People who adhered to the lifestyle’s emphasis on rest, exercise, and socializing with friends had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.”

Researchers looked at the diet and lifestyle habits of 110,799 participants aged 40 to 75 from the UK Biobank cohort — a population-based study across England, Wales and Scotland.

Using the Mediterranean Lifestyle index — a lifestyle questionnaire accompanied by diet assessments — researchers were able to get information about each individual’s lifestyle based on the three categories measured by the index.

The three categories include: eating foods that are part of the Med diet, including fruits and whole grains; following Mediterranean habits around meals; and complying with Med lifestyle habits in terms of physical activity, rest and socializing.

Nine years later, researchers did a follow-up survey of participants’ current health. Out of the 110,799 people, 4,247 died from all causes, 2,401 from cancer and 731 from cardiovascular disease.

While comparing these results to the MEDLIFE index, the scientists found an association between the Med lifestyle and a lower risk of death.

Adherence to all three MEDLIFE index categories was linked with lower all-cause and cancer mortality risk. Higher scores showed a 29% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 28% lower risk of cancer mortality.

The “physical activity, rest and social habits and conviviality” category was the most associated with these lowered death risks, as well as a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.

Many previous studies have looked at the benefits of the Med lifestyle and its health benefits, but mainly within the region — very little research has been done on the lifestyle itself on people outside the region.

“This study suggests that it’s possible for non-Mediterranean populations to adopt the Mediterranean diet using locally available products and to adopt the overall Mediterranean lifestyle within their own cultural contexts,” stated lead author Mercedes Sotos Prieto, a Ramon y Cajal research fellow at UAM and Harvard Chan adjunct assistant professor of environmental health. “We’re seeing the transferability of the lifestyle and its positive effects on health.”

According to an analysis from March, women who follow the Mediterranean diet have a nearly 25% lower chance of heart disease and early death.

Recent research from a team at the University of Sydney suggested that women who follow the Mediterranean diet have a nearly 25% lower chance of heart disease and early death.

An earlier study from Harvard University said the Mediterranean diet was one of four common healthy eating patterns that can help reduce the risk of early death by up to 20%.