Published 4 July 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a677
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a677

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Anyone for Club Med?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

A group of Spanish epidemiologists recently published a paper in the BMJ offering evidence that we can reduce our relative risk of developing diabetes by 83% by following a strict Mediterranean diet (BMJ 2008;336:1348-51, doi: 10.1136/bmj.39561.501007.BE). In view of my family history of the condition I made a unilateral (and, in retrospect, foolish) decision to amend the whole family’s diet.

The paper describes a Mediterranean diet as one "rich in olive oil, plant based foods (fruits, vegetables, and legumes), and fibre but low in meats." My animal protein comes from battered fish (every Friday, without fail) and soft boiled eggs, so I had plenty of room for improvement, despite describing my diet as "vegetarian."

The other day I proudly served up an aubergine, basil, and tomato casserole with couscous. The family sniffed at it politely and asked what else was coming. Nothing—this is the main course. Hmmm. No . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Adherence to Mediterranean diet and risk of developing diabetes: prospective cohort study

M Á Martínez-González, C de la Fuente-Arrillaga, J M Nunez-Cordoba, F J Basterra-Gortari, J J Beunza, Z Vazquez, S Benito, A Tortosa, and M Bes-Rastrollo
BMJ 2008 336: 1348-1351. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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