Advanced Mediterranean Diet

From the Science-Based Medicine blog:

“Overweight and obesity are also diseases of modern civilization which is [sic] characterized by abundance and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Further, the food industry is driven by market forces which favor tasty foods, which often means being high in fat and/or sugar.

The public, understandably, simply wants to know what diet is optimal for reducing cardiovascular risk and maintaining a healthy weight. Ironically, we already have the answer, in my opinion, at least the “90% answer.”

I also think that most people know the answer – engage in regular exercise and eat a moderate varied diet with plenty of vegetables. If you do that you are most of the way to an optimal diet, and all the controversy is essentially over that last few percentage points of minimizing risk by optimizing diet.

The people who seem to have the highest stake in those last few percent are the self-help industry and the various food industries. The self-help industry want to sell you the optimal diet, and so they have a vested interest in coming up with some diet schtick and selling it – the Atkins diet, the Zone diet, the South Beach diet, etc.The one diet that seems to have the most science behind it is the Mediterranean diet. That is probably because it is a moderate diet, nothing extreme.”

Source: Sugar Industry Research « Science-Based Medicine

From the FDA:

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a final rule establishing that over-the-counter (OTC) consumer antiseptic wash products containing certain active ingredients can no longer be marketed. Companies will no longer be able to market antibacterial washes with these ingredients because manufacturers did not demonstrate that the ingredients are both safe for long-term daily use and more effective than plain soap and water in preventing illness and the spread of certain infections. Some manufacturers have already started removing these ingredients from their products.

This final rule applies to consumer antiseptic wash products containing one or more of 19 specific active ingredients, including the most commonly used ingredients – triclosan and triclocarban. These products are intended for use with water, and are rinsed off after use.  This rule does not affect consumer hand “sanitizers” or wipes, or antibacterial products used in health care settings.

“Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread of germs, but we have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). “In fact, some data suggests that antibacterial ingredients may do more harm than good over the long-term.”

Source: Press Announcements > FDA issues final rule on safety and effectiveness of antibacterial soaps