The Omega Diet
by Dr. Artemis Simopoulos and Jo Robinson

Scientific Foundation for The Omega Diet

"One of the few modern diets with a balanced ratio of EFAs is the traditional diet of the Greek Island of Crete. The unique health properties of this particular version of the Mediterranean diet was not known until the 1970s, when international researchers conducted a health survey of thousands of middle-aged men living in seven quite different countries, including the United States, Japan, Italy, and Greece. During the course of the 15-year study, it became apparent that the men from Crete maintained a better health status when compared to the men from the other countries. This was puzzling to the researchers because the Italian men appeared to be eating a similar diet. There was something unique about the Crete diet, but at the time, no one knew what it was.

Medical researchers gained new insight into the Crete diet in the early 1990s when two French scientists observed that the diet was low in omega-6 fatty acids and relatively high in Omega-3 fatty acids---paralleling the diet of our early ancestors. To see if eating a balanced ratio of EFAs was one of the missing keys to good health, they designed a clinical trial to compare a slightly modified Crete diet with the standard, low fat heart diet. After three years, the people on the modified Crete diet had substantially superior cardiovascular health. (de Lorgeril, MD, Salen, P., Monfaud, I., Delaye, J. (1997). European Heart Journal 18: 13-18)"*

Information about this diet (including recipes, shopping lists, and a 21 day menu planning guide) may be found in the book The Omega Diet by Artemis Simopoulos, MD and Jo Robinson (1999: HarperCollins Publishers, NY, NY) To order The Omega Diet visit the following web site: www.amazon.com

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease