The Mediterranean diet is back in the headlines, promising a fitter heart to those who eat lots of green vegetables, pasta, and olive oil. And what better place for a Mediterranean meal than an Italian restaurant with a chef from Naples. But at Il Palazzo in New York City, the entrees don't conform to a healthful standard. Diners aren't the only ones who may be confused.
Some doctors question the diet.
The basics of the diet are whole grains, green vegetables, fruit, pasta, olive oil, and fish. Red meat is a rarity. The regimen caught the public eye in 1994, when findings from the Lyon Diet Heart Study were published, showing that test subjects with heart disease reduced the risk of a second heart attack by 50 to 70 percent if they followed the diet. The second wave of data from the French study was released last week, bolstering earlier findings. Head researcher Michel de Lorgeril and his team followed the same test subjects for an additional four years, putting 219 people on a diet with up to 40 percent of the calories coming from fat, but only 8 percent from artery-clogging saturated fat.