Diet
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Become an Italian Stallion
Written by Dr. SkibaLet me tell you about my grandparents. All four of them are alive, which is nice. Both sets are of Italian extraction and both are in their 80's, but there is an important distinction between them. My mom's folks have been quite stringent about maintaining the customs of their immigrant parents, right down to their daily diet. Philomena and Angelo consume a diet very low in animal fat, and high in grains and other carbohydrates, olive oil and fruits/vegetables. Gracie and Bill (my dad's folks) eat an extremely Americanized diet. They consume a diet rich in meat and animal fat, with very few vegetables or fruits. Philomena and Angelo look ten years younger than their age. They are trim, healthy, and visit their doctors for routine maintenance, more or less. (Philomena is in need of another knee replacement, but what do you want for 85 years young?) Gracie and Bill have high blood pressure, are diabetic, and have multiple heart surgeries, vascular surgeries, and cancer between them. Can we say the above example tells us anything scientific? No. Does it fit the correlation between diet and health I see in my medical office every day? Absolutely.
Most everyone has heard about the benefits of the "Mediterranean Diet" on the nightly news. Recently, we were able to score one more for the Mediterranean Diet when a study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. They studied the relationship of the "Metabolic Syndrome" to diet. Metabolic Syndrome is an entity that is extremely common in the United States, and involves a bunch of factors known to increase the risk of heart disease. In no particular order, it involves abdominal obesity, abnormalities in cholesterol and other blood lipids, high blood pressure, and glucose intolerance (read: diabetes). Some more recent studies have implicated the presence of low-level inflammation of the interior of the blood vessels. All in all, none of these things are any good for you. So, some smart guys asked the question, "What if we put people with Metabolic Syndrome on the Mediterranean Diet?" So, the split their study group: half were counseled on improving diet overall, and half went Italian.
In this study, the Mediterranean Diet referred to the following:
- Carbohydrates: 50-60% of total calories
- Protein: 15-20% of total calories
- Total fat: <30% of total calories
- Saturated fat: <10% of total calories
- Cholesterol: <300 mg/day
- Fruits: 250-300 g/day
- Vegetables: 125-150 g/day
- Nuts: 25-50 g/day
- Whole Grains: 400 g/day
- Olive Oil Increased consumption
The results were dramatic. After 2 years, the folks on the Mediterranean Diet had significantly improved weight, body mass index, waist size, blood pressure, glucose levels, and cholesterol. In fact, about half of them no longer even had metabolic syndrome! There were no improvements seen in the other group. So we can say that the Mediterranean Diet can make positive changes in many measures of health, which are not realized by eating standard American fare. The question is: would it be beneficial for athletes?
If our goal as athletes is to be healthy, then our choice is clear. If our goal is to be fast, our choice is also clear. A diet high in carbohydrates has been shown to improve athletic performance, while diets low in carbohydrates have been shown to be a detriment to performance. "Why?", you may ask. When exercising slowly, for example, walking, your muscles rely on fat for fuel. When you are really trying to move, you are burning a higher percentage of carbohydrates, which your muscles store as glycogen. If you are going low-carb, your muscles aren't tanked up, so you will tire quickly.
The way I look at it, the Mediterranean Diet kills two birds with one stone. You can get your carbs, and you can get healthier. Perhaps most importantly, you'll make my Grandma Philomena happy.
References:
Esposito et al. Effect of a Mediterranean-Style Diet on Endothelial Dysfunction and Markers of Vascular Inflammation in the Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Trial. JAMA 292(12): 1440-1446.
