MediterrAsian.com. Q & A

Quite simply, MediterrAsian means a fusion of traditional Mediterranean and Asian eating and lifestyle practices. Research has found that the traditional dietary and lifestyle practices of Mediterranean and Asian cultures actually share many similarities, including a high consumption of plant foods such as vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes and nuts; low consumption of red meat and animal fats; alcohol consumed regularly in moderation; regular moderate physical activity and an optimistic attitude towards life.

Research has repeatedly shown that these traditional practices protect Mediterranean and Asian peoples against many illnesses common throughout Western society such as heart disease (the number one killer of both men and women in the Western world), cancers of the breast, prostate and colon, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis and osteoporosis. The rate of obesity among Mediterranean and Asian peoples is also typically far lower than in Western countries such as the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

For a detailed discussion on how you can easily adopt a MediterrAsian way of living check out the MediterrAsian living section of the site.

There's not one specific component that makes a MediterrAsian way of living so healthy, it's really a combination of many factors that work hand-in-hand to promote good health.

By eating lots of plant-based foods such as vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes and nuts you're providing your body with a rich supply of vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants, phytochemicals and dietary fiber. These compounds all have health-promoting and disease-fighting capabilities.

Unsaturated fats like olive oil and peanut oil improve cholesterol levels and help lower blood pressure.

Fish is a great source of high-quality protein (which is used by your body for growth and repair) and valuable vitamins and minerals. And oily-fleshed fish (which are a prominent feature of MediterrAsian eating) contain high amounts of omega-3 fat which has a myriad of health benefits in its own right (click here to learn more).

Regular moderate physical activity helps you stay in shape and lowers your risk of stroke, heart attack, diabetes and osteoporosis.

Drinking alcohol regularly in moderation boosts good HDL cholesterol in your blood, thus reducing the risk of heart disease.

Having an optimistic attitude towards life and setting aside time to physically and emotionally relax each day helps keep stress in check, and that's important because too much emotional stress can make an impact on your physical health.

And another reason that following a MediterrAsian way of living is so healthy is the fact that you're not only eating more health-giving foods, you're also eating less health-taking foods such as saturated fat and trans fat.

Quite the opposite. You get to eat lots of delicious food every day, you don't have to formally exercise to stay fit, you can enjoy a wine or cold beer with your meal, and it's recommended that you set aside time each day to relax and do things you enjoy. Sounds pretty tough and hard to stick to doesn't it?

Ten years ago it was a fairly difficult task shopping for certain Mediterranean and Asian ingredients. It really was a case of driving all around town visiting different delicatessens, specialty shops and Asian grocers to find many of the ingredients needed to cook traditional dishes.

Thankfully, times have changed! The large amount of publicity generated about the healthfulness of Mediterranean and Asian food has meant that most large supermarkets are now well stocked with virtually all the essentials you'll need under one roof. And if your supermarket doesn't stock a particular item, or if you don't live near a large supermarket, you can always try an Internet ethnic food store who will deliver to your door.

At the same time, you'll also find that a wide variety of the ingredients used in MediterrAsian cooking are already commonly used in the West (although in vastly different ways to how they've traditionally been used in Mediterranean and Asian cuisine). Some examples include pasta, rice, bread, tuna, shrimp, salmon, chicken, nuts, beans, peas, tomatoes, onions, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, avocado, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, red and green peppers, grapes, berries, oranges and lemons.

That's right, Mediterranean cultures do traditionally consume a higher percentage of their calories from fat compared to Asian cultures. However, The types of fat consumed throughout the Mediterranean and Asia are very similar, coming mainly from plant and fish sources which are very low in saturated fat. So, although the amount of fat may vary, the traditional diets of the Mediterranean and Asia are low saturated fat diets (as well as low trans fat diets). And of course there are many other similarities between traditional Mediterranean and Asian diets including high consumption of plant foods such as vegetables, grains, fruits and legumes; regular consumption of fish; alcohol consumed regularly in moderation; and red meat consumed rarely.

You don't have to miss out on these foods at all when you follow a MediterrAsian way of eating. We still enjoy takeout fast food like this, but we also realize that too much of this sort of food isn't good for our health or waistlines, so we only eat it occasionally. However, we've discovered a great way to enjoy these foods on a more regular basis. Using the principles of MediterrAsian eating we have modified many of these typically unhealthy foods and made them far healthier and lower in calories—without sacrificing the taste. The Recipe Makeovers section of the site shows you step-by-step how you can do it too (you can also try out a healthier version of a hot dog by clicking here).

Actually there's a simple reason why a MediterrAsian way of eating is good for your waistline—and it all comes down to calories. Let's look at the common foods in a MediterrAsian diet and you'll understand more clearly.

Vegetables and fruits, because of their high water content, are generally very low in calories. For example, two ¼ pound cheeseburgers contain the same amount of calories as 50 carrots or 70 tomatoes. Vegetables and fruits also contain dietary fiber, which contributes virtually no calories to your diet yet helps suppress your appetite. So, put simply, vegetables and fruits will fill you up without filling you out.

Grain foods (such as bread, rice and pasta) and legumes (beans, peas and lentils) have a lower water content than vegetables and fruits, so they contain more calories—but they're still quite low in calories and are a good source of dietary fiber. And the great thing about grains and legumes is that they're also bulky, filling and satisfying.

Fish, which is a staple food in traditional Mediterranean and Asian diets, is generally much lower in calories than the red meat that's prominent in a typical Western diet. An eight-ounce sirloin steak, for example, contains more than 400 calories. This compares to an eight-ounce tuna steak which contains only around 240 calories.

But what about all the calories in the foods such as olive oil, nuts and avocados that are recommended as part of a MediterrAsian way of eating? These higher calorie foods are actually counter-balanced by all the lower calorie, fiber-rich foods you'll be eating. So, you'll end up eating lots of delicious and filling food, but you'll only be consuming a moderate amount of calories. This is why a MediterrAsian way of eating is ideal for helping you stay in shape.

Proving that point is Australian weightlifter Dean Lukin, who won the gold medal for weightlifting in the super-heavyweight division at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. After Dean retired from competition he weighed over 300 pounds, so he made the decision to lose weight—not just for his looks, but also for his health. Dean decided to try to lose the excess weight by following a way of eating based on the diet of his healthy, lean ancestors who came from a seaside village on the Dalmatian coast (part of the Mediterranean). As part of his new Mediterranean-style of eating Dean increased his intake of plant foods such as vegetables, grains, fruits and legumes, cut down his intake of red meat and made fish his primary source of protein. In less than a year he had lost over 110 pounds, or as Dean put it: "When I got to the stage of really ripping the blubber off, the rate of progress was quite startling." Because this way of eating is so filling and satisfying it will probably come as no surprise that Dean has kept the weight off for over 10 years.

A MediterrAsian way of living isn't based on a new fad or someone's personal theory of how we should be eating and living. This way of living hasn't been invented—it has evolved over many centuries. Indeed, this way of living has been successfully tried and tested by Mediterranean and Asian cultures for more than 5000 years.

On top of that, this way of living is backed-up by half a century of rigorous scientific research that proves its effectiveness.

But probably the biggest difference between a MediterrAsian way of living and most diets and lifestyle plans is that this way of living is fun and flexible. In simple terms this means you'll happily be able to live this way for the rest of your life.

Based on the decades of research conducted into Mediterranean and Asian dietary and lifestyle practices this way of living has many benefits. Reduced risk of many chronic illnesses including coronary heart disease, cancers of the breast, prostate and colon, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis

Other documented benefits include body fat loss, lowered blood pressure, improved cholesterol levels and increased energy levels. And from our own experience we have found that following a MediterrAsian way of living also leads to a big reduction in stress levels.

There's a wealth of scientific research that shows how health-giving Mediterranean and Asian dietary and lifestyle practices can be. To view a selection of this research check out the Scientific Research section of the site.

Studies have shown time and time again that Mediterranean and Asian peoples who adopt a Western diet and lifestyle substantially increase their risk of developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease and certain cancers. Many other studies have shown that when Westerners adopt a Mediterranean or Asian diet and lifestyle their health improves and their chronic disease risk substantially decreases. This demonstrates that the good health traditionally enjoyed by Mediterranean and Asian peoples has very little to do with genetics and a lot to do with what they eat and how they live.

Refined carbs can be unhealthy when they're eaten the typical Western way. For example, a cup of cooked pasta contains under 200 calories. But once you add a meaty or creamy sauce and top it with lots of cheese—which is the way most Westerners eat pasta—the pasta dish can bloat out to 800 or more calories. Then people mistakenly blame the pasta for making them fat.

But what about the rapid rise in blood sugar and insulin-spiking effects of pasta and rice?

Actually, pasta is made from a special type of wheat that has a dense compact structure and is slowly converted to blood sugar, so it doesn’t have the insulin-spiking effect that many people think. Rice, if it’s eaten by itself, can have an impact on blood sugar and insulin levels, but in Asian cultures rice is eaten with other foods which digest slowly such as fish and poultry, fibrous vegetables and healthy fats such as peanut oil. This means the overall meal doesn’t cause a spike in insulin levels.

To learn more check out Refined & Unrefined Grains.

The weight of scientific evidence certainly points this way. The Lyon Diet Heart Study, for example, found that out of two groups of heart attack survivors who were studied for two years, those who followed a Mediterranean-style diet had a 70 percent lower rate of death compared to those who followed a low fat diet.

Statistics also show that people who live in Asia and the Mediterranean and follow traditional practices are the longest-lived peoples on earth, yet when they adopt Western dietary and lifestyle practices their life expectancy drops substantially. One study showed that when people from the Japanese island of Okinawa migrated and adopted a Western diet and lifestyle, their life expectancy dropped by 17 years.

There's also plenty of anecdotal evidence that this way of living can help you live longer. Professor Ancel Keys is a perfect example. He was so impressed by what he saw during the Seven Countries Study that he decided to change his diet and eat mainly Mediterranean and Asian-style food. In fact, Professor Keys embraced this way of life so fully that for more than 30 years he divided his time between two homes—one in Minnesota and one in a small southern Italian town 40 miles from Naples. Ancel Keys died peacefully of old age in November 2004, two months before his 101st birthday.