I'VE LIVED IN A MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRY FOR 10 YEARS. HERE'S WHAT PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT THE MEDITERRANEAN LIFESTYLE

Life in the Greek world is set up in a way that makes healthy eating and social connection effortless. In America, not so much.

More than 10 years ago, I gave up a long run of living in big cities like New York, San Francisco, and London and moved to Cyprus, a small, mostly Greek-speaking island in the Eastern Mediterranean. I didn't do it for health reasons -- my husband is Cypriot and his work brought us here -- but as a writer who often covers health and wellness trends, I knew my move to sunny southern Europe was likely to be excellent for my health.

Science says the Mediterranean lifestyle is one of the world's healthiest

Health recommendations have shifted often over the years. One decade butter is in and the next it's out. Intermittent fasting is the secret to a longer lifespan according to one study and increases your chances of heart disease according to another. But while scientists debate much about health and wellness, one truth seems to have held rock steady -- the Mediterranean lifestyle is among the world's healthiest.

With its focus on whole grains, healthy fats like seafood, and lots of fruits and veggies, nutritionists tout the Mediterranean diet as one of the healthiest anywhere. A recent study by Harvard researchers even concluded the health-giving benefits of this lifestyle are so great that adopting even some of its tenets can benefit people living in much chillier, more stressed-out places.

Meanwhile, journalists and TV shows like Netflix's recent Live to 100: Secrets of The Blue Zones point to the region's relatively relaxed and social lifestyle as a reason for its residents' comparatively excellent health outcomes. No wonder many Americans, including many entrepreneurs, look to the Mediterranean for ideas on how to be healthier.

Given this background, I was excited to see how both science and foreign impressions stacked up against reality. Having lived in Cyprus for just over a decade now, I can say that, in the Greek-speaking world at least, people really do live wildly differently than in the U.S. But after following the popular discussion of the subject, I also think there are several aspects to the super healthy "Mediterranean lifestyle" that most people elsewhere misunderstand.

Are people here really that healthy?

First off, how accurate are claims that people in places like Cyprus are healthier? I could point to statistics. The CIA's World Fact Book puts Cyprus's current obesity rate at just shy of 15 percent, compared to America's super-sized rate of nearly 43 percent. But claims that people here are generally healthier also pass the eyeball test.

Obesity is far from a perfect proxy for health, but I am always shocked when I go home to the States by how many extremely overweight people I see. In Cyprus, there are plenty of pudgy dad bods and lots of middle-aged spread, and a few folks are out and about in much larger bodies. But the difference between the parents on the school run here and the similarly aged people I know back in the States is glaring.

People really do eat differently too. Cyprus is not a dietician's paradise. Local customs about bringing a giant dessert to basically any social gathering mean I eat many multiples as much cake here as I ever did back home. Celebration food is usually mezze. These tapas-style meals of many small plates go on forever, feature a ton of meat, and are incredibly heavy. We have McDonald's and all the other usual fast-food fare, and they do a healthy business.

Still, the traditional diet is very plant- and legume-forward. Salads and fish feature prominently. Restaurant meals are heavy but they taste and feel like real food, not something cooked up in a chemical plant or corporate boardroom. Plates remain sized for humans, not giants.

Other aspects of the much-celebrated Mediterranean lifestyle hold up to closer inspection too. Society is close-knit, with many people living near friends and relatives. Work hours are much less than in the U.S., and life slows to a leisurely crawl in the summer when people head to the beach for extended vacations. Stress and loneliness are consequently way less of a problem.

What people get wrong about the Mediterranean lifestyle

All in all, people do actually live similarly in Cyprus to the much-celebrated Mediterranean lifestyle. So what is it that I think people outside the region often misunderstand about living this way? In a word, the Mediterranean lifestyle is systemic, making it harder to replicate elsewhere than you might think.

People eat more whole foods, for example, because supermarkets simply don't stock much in the way of prepared convenience foods. If I want pasta sauce, there is no Ragu. I have to throw some canned tomatoes in with olive oil, garlic, and oregano and wait 20 minutes. And thanks to the EU's far stricter regulations, the prepared foods that are available have fewer chemicals and preservatives.

Cypriots have time to cook (and stay physically active) because they work far fewer hours. A large portion of society is employed by either the government or large banks, both of which have traditionally worked 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., though this has changed in recent years. And every year, nearly the entire island shuts down for a week or two in August.

Would you want to live like a Greek?

I always want to tell those ogling the Mediterranean lifestyle from abroad about these realities for two reasons. First, to make it clear that if you struggle to serve fresh-cooked bean bowls every lunch, it's not just down to your lack of commitment.

Life in America, even with additional post-pandemic work flexibility, is just not set up to make that at all easy. What's on the shelves at your supermarket, how much you need to earn to afford those things, and the expectations of the employers that pay you the money to do so all make following the Mediterranean lifestyle difficult to near impossible for most.

Second, the real Mediterranean lifestyle comes with tradeoffs that many Americans might think twice about making. (Not the stricter food regulations thing -- the government should just fix that.)

People in Cyprus have lower stress and time to focus on their health because they have a more relaxed approach to work. But that is intensely frustrating from the consumer perspective. It's great that government employees can cook fresh meals for their families, but it also means no one on the island can mail a letter in the afternoon. A work culture that's so chill it sometimes verges on non-functional drives away a lot of talent too. Many ambitious young people move abroad.

Just as I am astounded by the ill health of Americans when I visit, I am also astounded by how much cool stuff and great services they have available to them. These two things are not unrelated.

It's not just time to cook and eat well that has downsides. Loneliness is a health scourge in America, according to the surgeon general, but living in a super tight-knit society can be stultifying. Just ask any kid who fled their small town the instant they graduated high school.

My larger point is that the healthy aspects of the Mediterranean lifestyle are deeply intertwined with the larger way of life here. Replicating them in America in small ways is possible, advisable, and in some cases delicious. But doing it in any thorough way is extremely hard, and might not even be something you'd want.

What living in Cyprus for the last decade has taught me is that rather than wasting mental energy idealizing the Mediterranean lifestyle, many Americans would be better served finding ways to change their lives and communities in ways that make cooking real food, spending time with loved ones, and moving their bodies regularly just a little easier.

A letter to your representative, a new remote work policy, or a collective child care arrangement with friends might get you closer to the Mediterranean lifestyle than googling another bean recipe.

This post originally appeared at inc.com.

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2024-03-28T11:35:58Z dg43tfdfdgfd