Swinburne University researcher Gioconda Ceravolo with some of the healthy food groups in the study. Picture: DAVID CAIRD Source: News Limited
THE caveman diet could be headed for extinction with new research showing we may be better off eating like we are living by the Mediterranean.
A diet rich in fruit, vegetables and legumes has already been shown to aid weight loss, reduce heart disease, stroke and dementia risks, but now a new trial shows it could also make you happier.
People following the Mediterranean-style diet for just 10 days became more alert and content, according to the Victorian study.
Swinburne University of Technology researchers put half the 24 females on the Mediterranean diet for 10 days, while the others stuck to their normal diet.
Then they switched the diets over so all participants had the same amount of time on each diet.
On the Mediterranean diet participants were asked to reduce red meat intake and cut out butter, margarine, sugars, salts and alcohol.
Instead, they ate fruit, vegetables, legumes and whole grains and moderate amounts of oily fish, dairy products and olive oil.
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Professor Andrew Scholey, director of the Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, said they measured the participants’ alertness, contentment, calmness and cognitive performance.
“We found quite striking effects on their mood, it made them more alert and content,” Prof Scholey said.
There were also improvements in their heart health.
But he said it was possible the improvement in mood may be explained by the fact that the participants were feeling more positive because they were on a healthier diet.
“Although not an aim of the study, they also lost between 1.5kg-2kg so it may be that the improvement in mood could also be explained by the weight loss in this population.”
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Accredited Practising Dietitian Associate Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos said the key benefit of the diet was that it was plant-based with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and the main added fat was olive oil.
“Carbohydrates tend to be moderate in the traditional Mediterranean diet so what we see in many restaurants that serve large quantities of bread and pasta is not the traditional diet, it’s a translation of it.”
Prof Scholey said it was unclear if the mood-boosting effects were long lasting and what caused them, but it could be cutting out processed foods, alcohol and foods high in saturated fat and sugar.
Originally published as Get the good oil: Ditch caveman for Mediterranean