By Martin Liptrot
The world is full of crank diets, miracle pills, and the latest fitness gadgets promising you the body and life you think you want. Magazines, the internet, and TV channels are filled with adverts for "get slim quick" or "shift that stubborn fat" snake-oil solutions, all making claims unverified by any reputable nutritional or medical authority.
But there is one lifestyle and diet that has been proven to add years of healthy living, lower the risk of disease, and enhance your general wellbeing. It is a diet not invented but discovered, and is now recognized as one of the healthiest patterns of life anywhere in the world.
A Village South of Naples
It was first revealed by an American professor more than 70 years ago, and it has stood the test of time. Back in 1951, Ancel Keys, a physiologist at the University of Minnesota, wondered why poor men in a Southern Italian village by the sea were living longer and seemingly healthier lives than rich men in fancy Manhattan penthouses.
After a few months' observation, he deduced that the combination of diet and lifestyle was the answer.
In fact, Keys was so taken by his findings that he moved to Pioppi, the small village just south of Naples, Italy, and set up home amongst the men and women who, even today, still have an average life expectancy of more than 90 years of age.
Keys' findings were picked up by others and formulated into what we now call "the Mediterranean diet." Simply stated, the diet proclaims that avoiding too much red meat and skipping processed food wherever possible is the way forward.
It advocates eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and getting our proteins from fish, seafood, and a little lean chicken. Olive oil, vinegars, citrus juices, herbs, and spices are also highly recommended, and while breads and pastas are not excluded, choosing higher fiber and whole grain varieties is encouraged. According to followers of the diet, even having a glass or three of a good red wine is seen as a celebration of life rather than a moment of weakness. Hallelujah.
Diet Means Lifestyle
While it sounds simple to follow these smart eating tactics, the reality is when you live in a freezing Midwest suburb, commute miles each way in the dark, and have 20 minutes for lunch at your desk, life can get in the way.
Mind you, that revelation shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. After all, our modern word diet is derived from the Greek word diaita, meaning lifestyle. So, while food and nutrition clearly play an important part in living healthier, what subsequent research and studies have also found is that lifestyle is a hugely beneficial factor too.
Tracing its roots back to the islands and warm shores of the Mediterranean Sea, these benefits can be embraced by many coastal communities elsewhere too — great news for those of us who live beach happy.
In short, it's about finding balance, harmony, and equilibrium. Like many things in life, it is about adding a little more of the good and having a little less of the bad.
Researchers and advocates of this healthier lifestyle talk about how in just a few weeks, the diet can make enormous improvements in heart health, help reverse diabetes 2, and tackle the nation's chronic obesity crisis. These ailments, it appears, are largely the consequences of our modern lifestyles.
Researchers have deduced that as communities became wealthier, they started to consume more red meat, to choose more processed food options and, inevitably, to become more distant from the production of their food and agricultural practices.
We also become less physically active. We love our cars and tend to drive everywhere in door-to-door air-conditioned luxury. Even here at the beach, when city folk do forgo their SUV or luxury sedan, it's only to clamber into a golf cart or other low-speed vehicle. Different mode of transport, same sedentary pose.
La Passeggiata, Coastal Edition
Instead, those dedicated to the Mediterranean lifestyle — Med-lifers, as I'm calling them — might choose to walk or cycle.
Research suggests just 30 minutes a day of light exercise is all you need. So, rather than a punishing sunrise bootcamp or repeatedly lifting heavy objects high above your head in a dank gym, Med-lifers can opt for a coastal version of la passeggiata — the fabled evening stroll that sees Mediterranean families sauntering along the promenade or through their local community as the sun sets each evening, chatting with friends, greeting their neighbors, and enjoying the warm ambience life in a coastal community creates.
Med-lifers are blessed with many other active lifestyle options too. Many coastal communities are now designed to get people moving. Bike paths, walkways, trails, and public beach access all make getting out and about easier. These facilities offer Med-lifers the choice of a morning stroll along the beach, a cooling swim in the emerald-green waters, or a bike ride to that favorite little coffee shop that has been drip-filtering health-boosting organic Costa Rican beans since sun-up. Pura vida.
UNESCO Agrees
And you don't have to just take my word for it. Med-life is acknowledged as having such a positive impact on people's wellbeing that UNESCO has become a supporter and advocate. The United Nations body responsible for identifying and protecting all that is good on Earth has adopted Med-life as a significant cultural phenomenon and, in 2007, first registered their intention to include the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle on their "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" list alongside other favorites like Belgian beer-making, Mexican Mariachi music, and Indian yoga and meditation practices.
Furthermore, UNESCO's members didn't just acknowledge the Mediterranean diet and associated lifestyle as a public health and nutrition priority. They saw the connection with sustainable agriculture, protecting the environment, and promoting culture and traditions.
As beach lovers, we already know the emotional and near-spiritual uplift being near the sea can deliver. And you can add a price to that. According to real estate brokers, a leading reason people want to move to the coast is often cited as the calming and relaxing effect of being near the water.
We also know coastal communities have a close connection to the seasons and nature's rhythms. Beach folks know when certain fish and seafood are in season, and how local delicacies and recipes, events, and festivals reflect the changing availability of fresh ingredients. A stroll through any of the multiple farmers' or fish markets, or being dockside when the catch is being unloaded, connects those fortunate enough to live along our shores with the food and produce that is destined for their plates.
Our restaurants celebrate this too. All along the coast, they offer a "fish of the day" or "menu prix fixe" that changes with the seasons to reflect the availability of the best and most abundant produce available. Many restaurants here along our Northwest Florida coast will even cook your catch for you — the ultimate in connecting you with your food.
In the long list of benefits cited by UNESCO, conviviality, sustainability, and locality are amongst the most striking. UNESCO argues that a Mediterranean lifestyle promotes being with friends and family, and that by celebrating, eating, and drinking together, we safeguard local culinary techniques, show respect for seasonal rhythms, and transmit these values to new generations.
Sharing recipes, preparing food together, and talking and telling stories sounds like a dream. With freshly caught fish or shrimp grilling on the barbecue, is there a better way to feed your friends and family?
As climate change and ecological concerns grow, we are more worried about how our food is produced than ever before. Much of the food we buy today is grown on one side of the globe, packaged on another continent, before being shipped here to be stacked high on the shelves of our supermarkets. The Mediterranean diet puts a premium on sourcing ingredients locally.
So, as you pack your bags for a week at the beach or scan the real estate blogs for that new dream home, prepare to reset your lifestyle too. Embrace Med-life and adopt the healthier living options only life on the coast can offer.
Originally published in Beach Happy Magazine, Volume 10 (Fall 2022). Story by Martin Liptrot. This article describes general dietary and lifestyle research and is not medical advice; talk to your doctor before making significant changes to your diet.
