Very interesting.  As well as the differences in their diet, the
mediterranean folks may be doing better because of differences in their
genes.  Farming started in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago.  Their is
archeological evidence (scythes, mortor and pestles) that mesolithic
hunter/gatherers were harvesting wild grains for about 10,000 years before
that.  While 20,000 years is probably not long enough to become fully
adapted to grains, it is quite possible that folks living near the Middle
East can tolerate grains better than other groups.  So the low CHD mortality
in the Meditteranean diet may be due in part, not to the diet but to the
Meditteraneans.  This theory would predict that folks that just started
eating grains recently, i.e. North American and Australian aboriginal
peoples would do worse on grains than Europeans and that is what we see.
This is discussed in the Paleodiet archives at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind9801&L=paleodiet&P=R1218.
Ken
----- Original Message -----
From: "Amadeus Schmidt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 9:34 AM
Subject: Mediterranean Diet Miracle - Arachidonic Acid the real culprit?


> Recently I wrote a short text to explain some of the omega* concepts to
> some friends.
>
> I noticed a fact which may explain the "Mediterranean Diet Miracle" a
> little better.
> Ok, mediterranean people (Italian Spanish French) have much less
> CHD/heard disease than others.
> They are supposed to eat a lot of olive oil as the main fat.
>
> Olive oil doesn't contain too much of omega-3 oil, but the pufa's it
> contains (7%) are very well balanced.
> Around 50/50 percent. Ok, we know it, and it has little SFAs.
>
> If you look at the diagram how AA (Arachidonic A.) is made, the key
> point is the d5d enzyme.
> It makes AA out of the (good) DGLA. AA is the source of all the bad
> eicosanoids.
> omega-6 pathway: LA .....-> DGLA ---(d5d)--> AA ---> baaad PG
> while there is
> omega-3 pathway: LNA  --------------(d5d) --> EPA (good)
>
> So, if you have relative much LNA , compared to LA then  d5d is drawn
> away from making AA.
> IMO the real reason for the omega-3 ratio rule.
> Somehow I noticed: there's the omega-9 pathway:
>
> omega-9 pathway: OA  --------------(d5d) --> omega-9 LC oils
>
> Olive oil has a *lot* of OA. See, OA *also* draws some of the d5d
> attention , therefore further limiting AA production.
> Even better than only a 1:1 omega-3:6 ratio, isn't it?
> Helps also to explain studies which come to recommend MUFA (OA).
>
> If AA is the real culprit (I think so) then particularly olive oil fits
> in reducing it's production.
>
> Todd, if you read this: we talked about dietary AA. You said you
> wouldn't worry about dietary AA
> -- if I recall right mainly because of the example of a man who ate a
> lot of eggs (very high in AA) who lived to old ages, apparently without
> problems.
> I noticed that eggs are rich in AA, but on the other side they also have
> a lot of *EPA*.
> Maybe dietary EPA can outbalance dietary AA:
> Here's a table of AA food items I made: http://fett-falle.de/AATab.html
> (sorry, in german. Egg yolk is "Eidotter")
>
> ... and pasta elevates insulin quite little -- compared to other food
> items... Insulin activates d5d.
>
> Besides this AA stuff: Olive oil has a lot of Vitamin E per PUFA. This
> would explain better cancer statistics.
>
> regards
>
> Amadeus
>