Has the Mediterranean Diet Really Disappeared?

The Mediterranean Diet has been making headlines lately. That said, the spotlight has been aimed in its direction for some rather unexpected reasons. For several years, it has been considered one of the healthiest dieting options. Published research has suggested it can help to lower the risk of many chronic illnesses from certain cancers to heart disease.

The Mediterranean Diet is based on the traditional style of eating of many cultures living along the Mediterranean Sea. These include the coastal portions of Greece, Italy and Spain.

What the World Health Organization Said

According to the W.H.O., the Mediterranean Diet, at least in its natural and organic form, is essentially dead. According to the well reputed organization, changing lifestyles in all the countries that traditionally used this type of diet has caused it to go extinct.

A new W.H.O. study showed that childhood obesity rates are exploding in countries that traditionally ate the Mediterranean Diet. The research showed that the rate has increased by over 40 percent. That trend was blamed on the greatly increased consumption of sugar in foods such as snacks and sodas.

The W.H.O.’s program manager for nutrition, physical activity and obesity in Europe, João Breda explained that when it comes to kids in those countries, the Mediterranean Diet is essentially gone.

Is the Mediterranean Diet as Good as They Said?

The W.H.O.’s statement was published not too long before those behind the most important research into the Mediterranean Diet retracted their entire study. That’s right, the study that showed the world that we should all be eating in that style in order to control weight, heart disease and some cancers has been taken back by those who originally published it.

The retraction shocked the medical and nutrition world. That said, the landmark study, originally published in 2013 and which was the first major clinical trial to examine the heart benefits of the diet, has been taken down. Despite the powerful benefits it suggested the diet could provide, and which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it has been retracted.

The authors had been celebrated for their work, but they have now replaced that original study with a new one after criticizing the methods they initially used. Their revised study still shows the same Mediterranean Diet benefits, only they are slightly more modest than the initial findings. Therefore, the benefits have not been disproved, they are simply not likely to be as miraculous as initially believed.