One of the things Trudy and I love most about following a MediterrAsian way of eating is that we get to eat amazing food that also happens to be amazingly healthy.

We’re reminded of just how healthful traditional Mediterranean and Asian eating practices are on a regular basis — mainly through the many scientific studies that show that these eating patterns are the healthiest on earth.

Adding to this wealth of research are two recently published studies which found that a traditional Mediterranean diet can help significantly reduce the risk of both stomach cancer and heart disease.

The first study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and was based on an analysis of 485,044 European men and women aged from 35 to 70 years old. During nine years of follow-up Spanish researchers from the Catalan Institute for Oncology in Barcelona found that those who most closely followed a Mediterranean pattern of eating (characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, fish, nuts and olive oil, with a moderate intake of dairy products and low intake of red meat) were 33 percent less likely to develop gastric cancer compared to those whose diet least resembled the Mediterranean ideal.

“The results add to the evidence for the role of the Mediterranean diet in reducing cancer risk and add further support for the need to continue to promote the Mediterranean diet in areas where it is disappearing,” said Dr. Carlos A. Gonzalez of the Catalan Institute for Oncology in Barcelona.

The second study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology and involved an analysis of over 40,000 Spanish men and women followed for an average of 10 years.

After adjusting for confounding factors, researchers found that those who most closely adhered to a Mediterranean diet had a 40 percent lower risk of developing heart disease compared to those with the lowest adherence.

Now excuse me while I go make myself a nice big bowl of Greek salad.