Mediterranean Diet

www.anglophonie.fr
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The Mediterranean Diet: Key to Longevity
(ABC News - 2009)
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7915630
Now the food you need to eat – alright, you don’t have to prove it Jean, alright Jean! – ah,foods to eat and
live longer. There’s a groundbreaking new study out this morning that tracked a staggering twenty-three
thousand Greek men and women and how they ate.
Many follow the famous Mediterranean diet. Now researchers have identified the exact foods that help them
live well into old age.
And our GMA medical contributor doctor Marie Savard is here to tell us what they are and just how much of
each we all should be eating.
-Good morning, Marie.
-Good morning, Robin.
-What is new? Because we’ve heard about the Mediterranean diets.
What’s new on this study?
-Well first of all, I think the Mediterranean diet really is the Holy Grail of diets we’re looking for. We know
that it improves survival, no question. And also lowers the risk of diabetes, heart disease, even cancers. But
what’s new in this study, we’ve thought of the Mediter-ranean diet as kind of a grouping of foods. You
know, healthy foods that you might eat. They’ve looked at the components and figured out which of the
foods in the Mediterranean diet really mattered to increase survival.
-Ok. So tell us, which ones really matter?
-Five things.
-Ok.
-Let’s look at these five things. First, vegetables, number one. Second were beans, third fruit and nuts,
fourth olive oil and healthy oils -- they consume mostly olive oil -- and then fifth wine primarily. They drink
with their meals. They have a social gathering and drink wine with their meals. Those five things
significantly increased survival.
-Ok. And you’re gonna tell us how much of each, but first over here. Come on, fish. I’ve been like… I can’t
eat enough fish. I’ve been told fish fish fish fish and you’re saying “haa.”.
-Well, there are some surprising things in this study. They actually found, let’s first start with cereals. We
usually think of cereals and grains as being healthy, and they are. But in the study they found it was kind of
neutral, didn’t increase survival. Probably because it was a combination of whole-grain cereals like the oats,
which is important, with some of the processed cereals, especially with a lot of sugar. So it kind of
neutralizes those effects.
Also, another surprise -- seafood. That didn’t show up on the list as you mentioned. We know it’s a good
thing, but it turns out they didn’t consume enough to even matter in this diet. So we’re not pushing the fish to
say that that increases survival.
Couple other points: diet. You should certainly have low-fat dairy product(s) as much as possible, (be)cause
certainly yogurt is good. You could have rich, creamy cheeses, that’s not good. So that was kind of a neutral.
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The final thing was meat. The less meat, the better in this diet.
-But these are neutral foods. Let’s say we shouldn’t have these foods, but these are kind of neutral. This is
the good stuff over here.
-Exactly.
-So tell us how much of each of these five we should be eating.
-On average, and this was the average – and you certainly could have more – starting with the vegetables: two
cups a day. Beans, surprising, not much. I was very surprised. Actually about a quarter of a cup, uncooked
in this case.
- A week?
- A week. Very few. That’s surprising. And then fruit and nuts, they kind of come together. About a cup
and a half. You don’t want to have it all nuts because it’s full of calories but nuts are an incredible
powerhouse of nutrients, fiber, protein. So you want to handful maybe twenty-five almonds, let’s say thirteen
or fourteen walnuts and then, you know, as much food as you can get in. Maybe about a cup and a half.
Finally the olive oil, you’d need about two to three tablespoons a day of the olive oil.
- A day?
- Or other healthy oil like a canola oil. Finally for women, the alcohol. Let’s talk first for women. Less than
one glass, ideally red wine maybe white wine. For men, less than two glasses a day.
But with meals, there’s something about the interaction of food and alcohol, particularly wine that might be
what’s so protective and healthy.
-Many are taking in all this information, Marie, and they say, “OK, I wanna do this.” Is there a general rule
of thumb because it’s kind of hard to do all of this, but if there’s one thing we should really stick to.
-That’s a good point. Actually it’s cumulative so if you just add one thing, it adds up. So this kind of adds
up. The bottom line, it’s plant-based eating. We’re getting away from eating animal-based products. The
truth is, plant-based foods, unprocessed and certainly not too much.
-Alright, with moderation, that is always… that never goes out of style.
-Right.
-Alright, but still eat the fish.
-Eat the fish, small amounts and be careful.
-And drink alcohol sparingly.
-Yes.
-Well Marie, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Food for thought!
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Vocabulary
-A groundbreaking new study out this morning
-Staggering twenty-three thousand Greek men
révolutionnaire
stupéfiant, impressionnant
-To live well into old age
-The Holy Grail
-To figure out
-To really matter
vivre très vieux
Le Saint Graal
arriver à comprendre, savoir
avoir de l’importance
-Beans
-Nuts
-A social gathering
-Over here
des haricots
des noix (terme général)
un rassemblement social
ici
-Whole-grain cereals
-Oats
-Processed cereals
des céréales complètes
de l’avoine
transformé, traité
-Seafood
-To show up on the list
-It turns out that …
-To push fish
fruits de mer
figurer sur la liste
il s’avère que
recommander, promouvoir
-Low-fat dairy products
-Yogurt
-The less meat, the bette
des produits laitiers allégés
yaourt
moins il y a de viande, mieux c’est
-This is the good stuff over here
ce sont les bons aliments, ‘les bons trucs’
par ici
ils vont ensemble en quelque sorte
une mine
-They kind of come together
-A powerhouse of nutrients
-A handful / to handful
une poignée / prendre l’équivalent d’une
poignée
-Walnuts
-To take in information
-A general rule of thumb
-It’s kind of hard
-…one thing we should really stick to
des noix (de noyer)
saisir, comprendre des informations
une règle générale
c’est un peu difficile
une chose à laquelle nous devrions nous en
tenir
-It adds up
-The bottom line
ça s’accumule
le résultat, la conclusion, la réalité
-That never goes out of style
-Drink alcohol sparingly
- That’s food for thought!
ce n’est jamais démodé
avec modération
Ca donne à réfléchir!