Leonardo da Vinci once remarked: 鈥淭rifles make perfection and perfection is no trifle.鈥� Trifles can make a huge difference in surgery, when building rockets, in nutrition, or in life generally.
For instance, according to a report in the publication LifeExtension, a Mediterranean diet prolongs life. As we all age, this is no trifle.
For years, doctors and nutritionists have known the Mediterranean diet is a five-star diet. But no one knew why it had such remarkable benefits.
Now, researchers have discovered its success is due to polyphenols (a plant-based compound). They lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by 60 per cent. This means fewer heart attacks, strokes, hypertension and less inflammation.
The author of the report, Michael Downey, says that most people fail to obtain sufficient polyphenols in their diet. Authorities agree that people should eat 10 servings of fruit and vegetables every day to reduce CVD risk. Unfortunately, for most people, it鈥檚 impossible to consume this amount of fibre, nuts, artichokes, lentils, grapes, pomegranates, olives, fish and wine each day.
The Mediterranean diet also affects the risk of dying. In 2016, at the European Society of Cardiology conference, a study showed that people who followed the Mediterranean diet were 37 per cent less likely to die than those who ate a non-Mediterranean diet.
One researcher made the sage remark that 鈥渢he Mediterranean diet provides more protection against heart disease than most of today鈥檚 prescription drugs.鈥� And this isn鈥檛 a trifle.
Since so many North Americans suffer from hypertension, one study is of particular importance. After a year on two types of Mediterranean diet, subjects showed that blood pressure had declined. Equally importantly, researchers discovered that increased amounts of polyphenols and nitric oxide were being excreted by the kidneys.
Nitric oxide is nature鈥檚 natural arterial relaxant. I鈥檝e previously reported that, as we age, less nitric oxide is produced by our bodies, causing constriction of arteries, hypertension and erectile dysfunction.
In view of the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, another finding is significant. Those who were consistent in following the Mediterranean diet had less age-related brain shrinkage,
Since it鈥檚 a challenge for most people to consume sufficient polyphenols, extracts 鈥� such as grapeseed, pomegranate, walnut, pecan and artichoke 鈥� are available in health-food stores.
I love blueberries and was pleased to read that several studies found that blueberries supply the brain with increased amounts of oxygenated blood.
British researchers studied the effect of blueberry concentrate on brain function for 12 weeks on a group of people with an average age of 68.
What made this experiment unique was that researchers analyzed brain function with a powerful MRI scanner while subjects were being asked questions. This revealed that blueberries produced a significant increase in brain activity.
Later, the use of blueberry concentrate on a group of children ages seven to 10 years showed another amazing finding. They were given a battery of tests over several hours. Significant improvements in memory were seen as quickly as 1.25 hours after being given blueberry concentrate.
Some authorities have labelled blueberries as the No. 1 antioxidant. This means that blueberries destroy free radicals, the waste products of metabolism, which are associated with an aging brain, cancer and heart disease.
So the Mediterranean diet is a prudent way to fight these major problems as it contains a variety of fruits, vegetables, fish, grapes, nuts, fibre and tomatoes loaded with lycopenes, which may help to prevent prostate cancer.
I鈥檒l add more blueberries to my diet. I鈥檒l also continue taking Neo40, a natural remedy to restore nitric oxide levels, and several thousand milligrams of vitamin C powder daily, which carries more oxygenated blood to the brain.
No reader has been able to inform me of anyone who has developed Alzheimer鈥檚 disease while taking 4,000 to 6,000 mg of vitamin C daily for several years.
