My Big Healthy Greek Diet

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Many Greek dishes contain cheeses, such as feta made from goat's or sheep's milk. These cheeses are lower in fat and easier to digest than those from cow's milk. Greeks enjoy thick, creamy goat-milk yogurt with fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey.

Greek cuisine is noted for its lamb dishes, but lamb is traditionally only eaten on special occasions. More often, Greek meals include fish (anchovies, cod, flounder and tuna, for example) in moderate portions throughout the week. As shown in several studies, the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oils help prevent heart attacks and high blood pressure.

OLIVE OIL POWER

The ancient Greeks regarded olive oil as a gift from the gods—olive trees were valued as much as gold. Modern nutrition also places high value on olive oil, finding that it offers numerous health benefits. The traditional rural Greek diet features olive oil as the principal fat, rather than butter and margarine. Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fat, and a 1989 study revealed that it raises levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol while lowering artery-clogging LDL ("bad") cholesterol.

Numerous studies, including one published by the American Heart Association, have shown that peoplewho eat a high monounsaturated fat diet, such as the traditional Greek diet, have a lower risk of heart disease than people who eat more saturated fats, which include butter and margarine.

Researchers also found that people who consume olive oil have a lower risk for other diseases, too. Studies conducted by Dr. Dimitrios Trichopoulos at the Harvard School of Public Health indicate a link between olive oil consumption and a lower incidence of breast cancer and osteoporosis.

And a 1999 study conducted by Dr. Athena Linos and colleagues at the University of Athens Medical School showed that the Mediterranean diet may even help protect against rheumatoid arthritis. People who consumed olive oil and lots of cooked vegetables had a 39 percent lower risk of developing this joint disease.

The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid

Greek food may taste delicious, but the secret behind the healthy Mediterranean diet lies not in consuming more Kalamata olives and fish, but in adopting the entire Greek style of eating.

For guidance, you can turn to the Mediterranean food pyramid, created by experts at the Harvard School of Public Health, and the Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust (a nonprofit food issues think tank). These guidelines are based on the dietary habits of rural Greeks before 1960, when heart disease rates in Greece were 90 percent lower than those in the United States.

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