A recent study indicates that a Mediterranean diet is linked to improved fertility and other studies have shown links between a Mediterranean-style diet and decreased risk of stroke and heart disease. What is a Mediterranean diet and why does it seem to be so effective?

What is a Mediterranean Diet?

A Mediterranean-style diet is a diet consisting of foods that have been traditional staples in Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Italy, both of which historically have shown a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease than other European nations. Until processed foods were introduced into their diets in the 1960s and 70s, olive oil, fresh herbs and vegetables, fruit, fish and poultry comprised the bulk of the diet in these cultures while red meat and foods high in fats were more moderately consumed. The term "Mediterranean diet" refers more to the types of foods consumed in Greece, Italy and other Mediterranean regions than to specific recipes.

Since the concept of a Mediterranean diet was introduced in the 1990s, its potential for helping prevent cardiovascular disease has taken centre stage. A recent study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, for instance, studied the eating habits of a group of over 2000 Black and Hispanic New York residents. The intention of this study was to determine if these ethnic groups responded to a Mediterranean diet as favourably as Caucasian study groups had. The study authors concluded that a Mediterranean-style diet "rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains fish and olive oil" helped promote cardiovascular health in these ethnic groups, finding that for each point on their scale, risk of heart disease was reduced a further 9%.

While this study added further weight to the argument that diet contributes to an increased or decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, researchers at the University of Navarra in Spain, sought answers to a different question. They wanted to discover if there was a dietary link between a Mediterranean diet and fertility. An article published in Science Direct, Dietary patterns and difficulty conceiving: a nested case–control study suggests that  the answer is yes, a Mediterranean diet may improve fertility.

How the Meditteranean Diet is Linked to Improved Fertility

The team of seven University of Navarra researchers selected 485 female university students between the ages of 20 and 45 from campuses throughout Spain who had reported having difficulty conceiving children and matched their results against a control group of 1669 age-matched women who already had one or more children. Two distinct dietary patterned were defined and studied. One, a "Mediterranean-type" diet, was rich in foods associated with the Mediterranean diet while the other, the "Western-type" diet was rich in red meat, processed foods and other foods commonly associated with Western eating habits. Those women who adhered more strictly to the Mediterranean-type diet showed a greater tendency to be able to conceive than the women who more habitually ate a Western-type diet. While recommending that further research was necessary, the researchers concluded that "greater adherence to the Mediterranean-type dietary pattern may enhance fertility."

Natural health practitioners have been advocating an essentially "Meditteranean diet" consisting of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and olive oil for decades. Scientific investigations like those conducted in Spain and New York just corroborate what the natural health community has always been saying: eat a Mediterranean-style diet and reap the benefits both now and in the future.