Israel’s Diet: Room for Improvement, or a Diet to Emulate?

Diets are consuming the world. Instagram is thrusting models into the spotlight, and people have an almost impossible image to uphold. Staying slim is so important to some people that they risk their lives going into surgery to stop from being “fat.”

But Israel’s diet may hold the secret to health — potentially.

A huge proportion of Israel’s diet is filled with:

• Unsaturated fats
• Fish
• Vegetables

The Volcani Center found that 80% of Israeli’s consume fruits and vegetables every day. In the United States, it was found that only one-in-10 adults ate enough fruits and vegetables. That’s just 10% of the population eating enough fruits and veggies.

The report from the CDC suggests that a lack of fruits and vegetables in these individuals’ diets will lead to chronic diseases. Heart disease and diabetes are among the two major concerns as well as vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

To make matters worse, 70% of deaths in the United States comes from chronic diseases.

WHO provides an in-depth analysis of life expectancy for every country. The following is true:

• Israel’s life expectancy in 2015 was 82.5, with women living 84.3 years and men living 80.5 years on average.
• United States’ life expectancy during the same year was 79.3 years (over 3 years less than Israeli’s), with men living 76.9 years and women living 81.6 years.

Greece’s life expectancy is 81 years, while Italy’s is 82.7 years. This is important because both countries also follow a Mediterranean diet and have a longer life expectancy than the U.S. You’ll also find that a lot of foods are grown locally in these countries.

There are also reports that an Israeli diet helps prevent frailty in old age. A study conducted by the University College London found that people that follow a Mediterranean diet are at a much lower risk of becoming frail.

The study looked at over 5,000 people from China, Italy, Spain and France during a four-year period.

And people that followed a diet similar to the typical Israeli diet had a much better life in their old age. No one wants to become frail and have their kids worry about them.

Yet there are also other studies on varying diets, including the Keto diet, that show a low-carb, high-fat diet may prevent diseases and even ward off Alzheimer’s disease. Heart diseases and even some forms of cancer are also combated.

“A keto diet (also known as a ketogenic diet) is a low carbohydrate, high fat diet. It’s a great tool for weight loss and, even more importantly, it helps reduce risk factors for diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, and more,” claims Tasteaholics.

Which diet is better?

This might depend on your lifestyle. Mediterranean diets include healthy fats, lots of fruits and vegetables, and carbohydrates. Studies suggest that this diet results in lower-than-expected heart disease risks, and it may even prevent diabetes. But there’s also the factor that is often ignored: activity. Italians, Israelis, Greeks and others following this diet are more active, have great social support and follow regular meal patterns.

For me, it makes sense to stick with what has worked for centuries: a Mediterranean diet.