 If you’re frustrated by all the diets out there—confused about which, if any, are right for you—I understand your frustration. But I can help.
Long ago, I concluded that the best approach to food is the one taken by people from Asian and Mediterranean countries—Japan, Thailand, Spain, Italy, Greece, Tunisia, Turkey, and Morocco, to name a few. In fact, there are a remarkable number of large studies to back Asian and Mediterranean people's healthy and delicious approach to nutrition.
So, how can this help you? The key here is that the Pan Asian Modified Mediterranean Diet—or PAMM— is not a "diet" in the restrictive sense of the word. It's a lifestyle choice that's the foundation of my entire approach to health and healing.
Click here to learn how the PAMM diet can change how you think about food, or select below for more information on any of the following:
Click on any section to learn more about that specific
food category in the PAMM diet.
Bright Spots in the Research
One of the most fascinating studies I’ve read is the 1995 Lyon Heart Diet Study. In the Lyon, France, trial, 605 patients who’d had heart attacks were assigned to either a Mediterranean-style diet or the “prudent” Step 1 diet recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA). The AHA Step 1 diet is the low-fat, high-carbohydrate model that many cardiologists, including me, once recommended.
The clear winner was the Mediterranean diet. After four years, the heart attack survivors following the Mediterranean-style diet were 50 to 70 percent less likely to experience repeat cardiac events, including a second heart attack, unstable angina, heart failure, and cardiac-related death than the AHA group. These findings were very exciting to me, because they confirmed what I had already begun to understand about low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets—they are far less healthful than once believed.
I was even more impassioned after a separate analysis of the Lyon study revealed that deaths from all causes were also significantly lower among those following the Mediterranean diet (14 deaths in the Mediterranean group versus 24 for those following the AHA low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet). When researchers looked at cancer development in the third and fourth year of the study, they found similar advantages to the Mediterranean-style diet: two people on the Mediterranean diet developed cancer versus 12 in the AHA group.
These results were amazing! The Lyon study and other research, along with my own observations, have led me to conclude that the unique protective effects of the Mediterranean diet come from foods high in antioxidants, essential fatty acids (EFAs), and carotenoids and flavonoids.
Dr. Sinatra's Recipe of the Month
Italian Cauliflower
If you’re looking for heartier cooking with more intense flavors, this savory cauliflower dish fills the bill.
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup green olives, chopped
2 Tbsp. capers
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
In a large pan or pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and cook just until sizzling. Add the tomatoes, white wine and season with salt, pepper to taste. Add the cauliflower, and stir to mix. The liquid should just cover the cauliflower. If not, add a little water. Cook for 5–7 minutes until cauliflower is almost tender. Remove the cauliflower from the pot and place it on a warm serving dish. Turn the heat to high, and cook the tomato sauce mixture until thickened. Add the olives, parsley and capers and cook another minute or two. Pour this mixture over the cauliflower, and mix, coating the cauliflower. Serve warm.
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