Energy Express by Marilynn Preston

NOTE TO READERS: I'm floating a vacation column this week, pretty much a repeat of last year's important message. The only thing that's really changed is the entire Greek economy.

I am writing today's column from the same small, remote, magnificent Greek island I was on last year at this time. Blue sky, glorious sun, empty beaches. Be happy for me. A generous spirit is one of the marks of a healthy, happy lifestyle.

I am here, on my towel, researching quality-of-life issues. The Mediterranean style of eating is considered by many experts to be the "healthiest diet in the world." Why take Harvard Medical School's word for it when I can take a 10-minute walk to a tiny Greek taverna right on the beach, where the owner cooks a fish he bought from his brother the fisherman just after sunrise?

The much-revered Mediterranean style of eating is based on real food, locally grown, lovingly prepared by people who quote Homer. Today's field research also consisted of a slice of spinach pie and four sensational tomatoes cut into chunks, and splashed with olive oil and oregano. I can't get enough of the tomatoes. Is five tomatoes too many at one meal? Can a person overdose on lycopene?

The meals are relaxed. That's important. And they feature unprocessed foods, healthy fats, fish, vegetables, legumes, a glass of wine. Or two ...

If everyone in the U.S. followed the basic characteristics of the Mediterranean, we'd solve the heath care crisis overnight. I am serious. Eating this way — adjusting for ethnic preferences and level of activity — would be hugely helpful for preventing cancer, heart disease, strokes, asthma, allergies, Alzheimer's and more. And there's no suffering involved. The Med-as-in-medicine diet is delicious.

Pretty much.

Not everything.

Have you ever tasted a boiled zucchini?

So what are those basic characteristics of the Mediterranean style of eating? This is exactly the kind of question a person on vacation in Greece likes to hear. For more details and good recipes, visit www.mediterraneandiet.com

1. High consumption of olive oil. It's sold here by the bucket and is used to cook just about everything. Olive oil goes on beans, on greens, on cheese, on tomatoes, on fish, on bread and on many chins.

2. High intake of vegetables, fruits and legumes. "Eat your greens" was one of the first signs found at the Acropolis.

The Greeks love their veggies, their local fruits, and their peas and beans, and so should you.

3. Non-refined carbs. Rice and potatoes are part of everyday eating, made delicious without butter. The trick is to adjust your carb portion according to the amount of physical activity you get in a day.

4. Consumption of fish, especially oily or 'bluish" ones, three or four times a week. This is getting to be a challenge in the Greek Islands, since the Mediterranean seas are over-fished and increasingly polluted. Even suspect fish are expensive. At dinner the other day, a Greek friend ordered fried meatballs instead of the "fresh fish" because she knew it came from polluted fish farms. Trouble in Paradise.

5. Consumption of milk and derivatives. Greeks love their few simple cheeses — especially goat cheese — and the stores are loaded with variations on the theme of yogurt. You can't force feta into someone's life, but if I could, I would.

6. Three or four eggs a week. The West went wrong when it scared people off of eggs. Come back! Eggs from healthy, happy chickens are good for you. On this Greek island, I have a chance to taste eggs from hens I see prancing and scratching around their little houses on my late afternoon runs. It's a thrill, and the eggs can't be beat.

7. Moderate consumption of meat and saturated fat. Moderate is the key word here. Balance in life. The middle way. Avoid excess. The Mediterranean style of eating is part of the laid-back Mediterranean lifestyle that contributes to long life. (I'm saving my longevity research for a visit to nearby Ichyria.)

8. One or two glasses of wine a day, preferably red, at main meals. White wine and beer are alternatives.

9. Nuts as snacks. It's almost too good to be true, but it is. Mediterranean-style eaters love their walnuts and their almonds, and so will you, if you decide to look into this Mediterranean Diet thing a little more.

Not me. My work is over for today, and I'm so full I could faint. It might have been that second piece of spinach pie. I'm off for a long walk up, down and around the island. I have to watch for meandering goats. Opa!

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! GREEK PHILOSOPHY 101

"If you want to develop your ability to live simply, do it for yourself, do it quietly, and don't do it to impress others." — Epictetus

Marilynn Preston — fitness expert, personal trainer and speaker on healthy lifestyle issues — is the creator of Energy Express, the longest-running syndicated fitness column in the country. She has a website, http://marilynnpreston.com and welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. To find out more about Preston and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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