It’s no doubt that we are in a constant state of stress these days amplified by a pandemic. Toss in a political election, quarantined with family, and all travel and vacation plans canceled indefinitely for the time being—our stress level is at an all-time high.
Luckily, we can control some of it just by adjusting our diets (and no, we don’t mean adding more wine!).
Researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, NC, compared the long-term effects of a typical Western diet with those of a Mediterranean diet on stress resilience in macaques under controlled experimental conditions.
“Unfortunately, Americans consume a diet rich in animal protein and saturated fat, salt, and sugar, so we wanted to find out if that diet worsened the body’s response to stress, compared to a Mediterranean diet, in which much of the protein and fat come from plant sources,” says Carol A. Shively, a professor of pathology and comparative medicine at the Wake Forest School of Medicine and the study’s principal investigator.
Prof. Shively and colleagues found that monkeys fed a Mediterranean diet of fruits and vegetables, unsaturated fats like olive oil, fish, poultry, beans, and grains were more resilient to the effects of stress and were slower to develop age-related increases in stress sensitivity compared to those fed a Western diet of animal protein, saturated fat, salt, and sugar.
The research took place over 31 months, which is about 9 human years and both of the study’s diets had equivalent contents in terms of calories and cholesterol.
“Our study showed that the Mediterranean diet shifted the balance toward the parasympathetic nervous system, which is good for health,” says Prof. Shively. “By contrast, the Western diet increased the sympathetic response to stress, which is like having the panic button on all the time — and that isn’t healthy.”
The Mediterranean Diet comes in at number one for the third year in a row for diets to follow, and now with these new results, there’s an even better reason to start today.
It’s no doubt that we are in a constant state of stress these days amplified by a pandemic. Toss in a political election, quarantined with family, and all travel and vacation plans canceled indefinitely for the time being—our stress level is at an all-time high.
Luckily, we can control some of it just by adjusting our diets (and no, we don’t mean adding more wine!).
Researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, NC, compared the long-term effects of a typical Western diet with those of a Mediterranean diet on stress resilience in macaques under controlled experimental conditions.
“Unfortunately, Americans consume a diet rich in animal protein and saturated fat, salt, and sugar, so we wanted to find out if that diet worsened the body’s response to stress, compared to a Mediterranean diet, in which much of the protein and fat come from plant sources,” says Carol A. Shively, a professor of pathology and comparative medicine at the Wake Forest School of Medicine and the study’s principal investigator.
Prof. Shively and colleagues found that monkeys fed a Mediterranean diet of fruits and vegetables, unsaturated fats like olive oil, fish, poultry, beans, and grains, were more resilient to the effects of stress and were slower to develop age-related increases in stress sensitivity compared to those fed a Western diet of animal protein, saturated fat, salt, and sugar.
The research took place over 31 months, which is about nine human years, and both of the study’s diets had equivalent contents in terms of calories and cholesterol.
“Our study showed that the Mediterranean diet shifted the balance toward the parasympathetic nervous system, which is good for health,” says Prof. Shively. “By contrast, the Western diet increased the sympathetic response to stress, which is like having the panic button on all the time — and that isn’t healthy.”
The Mediterranean Diet comes in at number one for the third year in a row for diets to follow, and now with these new results, there’s an even better reason to start today.
Here are some great recipes to get you started.
Share your favorite recipes with us and any other helpful tips for a Mediterranean lifestyle.
Remember, eating in moderation is important on any eating plan you follow as is following a healthy habit of movement, as explained by Benessere Storyteller Sonia Satra.
Eating well is step one of the four aspects of Benessere. Read more and enjoy.
