What is it about medieval times that draws avid TV viewers to medieval fantasy series like “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon”? According to author Vito Pesce, “These exciting adventures make people feel like they’re part of something amazing and magical.” They also deal with themes like power and morality. Like the Saturday morning Westerns of old, there are good guys and bad guys, fair ladies and wicked women. But unlike Stetsons and spurs, there’s something about being clad in full armor that enhances our imagination of heroic hand-to-hand battles.

Perhaps it’s because we imagine that the armor itself was incredibly heavy, with clunky joints that make movement difficult. However, that’s surprisingly wrong. The type of armor worn for battle was protective without being cumbersome. “Modern experiments with genuine fifteenth- and sixteenth century armor as well as with accurate copies have shown that even an untrained man in a properly fitted armor can mount and dismount a horse, sit or lie on the ground, get up again, run, and generally move his limbs freely and without discomfort,” says historian Dirk H. Breiding.^[i]

Medieval fantasies may be the stuff of myths and legends, but your health is not. It’s the very real story of your life, and it’s important to safeguard it. Today’s Western diet and lifestyle (fast foods, processed foods, couch-potato lack of exercise, high stress work conditions, etc.) means your body is literally doing hand-to-hand combat with disease risk factors. We’ve all heard cancer survivors who describe their journey with that disease as a battle with cancer. They are the heroes and heroines of such a personal struggle, and they need all the protection they can get. This blog is about a key source of protection.

Mediterranean Diet for cancer survivors

I was fortunate to get my hands on a pre-publication research paper entitled “Mediterranean Diet is Associated with Lower All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality Among Long-Term Cancer Survivors.”^[ii] The team of authors has been affiliated with a long-term Italian research project called the Moni-Sani Project, a cohort of over 24,000 adults ages 35 and older, from 2005-2010. The project gathered detailed health and lifestyle information on participants in order to evaluate over time the risk factors for diseases with specific regard to cancer and cardiovascular disease as well as related conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome—all things none of us would wish to have if we knew how to protect ourselves from them.

The authors have published several other papers based on the Moni-Sani data, but I find the latest one on long-term cancer survivors of special interest because of my own work with prostate cancer (PCa). I have posted numerous blogs on the Mediterranean Diet (MedDi) so this article caught my attention. Based on the dietary intake of 802 cancer survivors who are part of the project, the authors found that,

“High adherence to a traditional [MedDi] was independently associated with a substantial reduction in all-cause mortality rates among cancer survivors, specifically in cardiovascular mortality.”^[iii]

Why is that important? It’s because “patients with cancer are considered a high cardiovascular disease risk population because of shared modifiable risk factors and, potentially, molecular mechanisms of disease…”^[iv] To put it more simply, what cancer and heart disease have in common is poor lifestyle habits that generate a cumulative disease-fostering environment in the body. Bad habits pile up, leading to biochemistry that promotes chronic inflammation, unhealthy gut biome, compromised immunity, gene mutations, etc. But “modifiable” means we can do better.

If the Sperling Prostate Center had a motto, it would be “If it’s good for the heart, it’s good for the prostate, and vice versa.” The MedDi is good for both; as the authors state, it is “… abundant in foods that are natural sources of polyphenols, which are bioactive compounds with well-established anti inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor activities that may be relevant not only to cancer onset and progression but also and possibly even more to cardiovascular mortality prevention.”^[v]

In short, the MedDi is a dietary suit of armor, a suit that shines with a protective gleam for your heart, your prostate, and your entire body. It’s as if it has amazing and magical powers. Best of all, it fits each person perfectly to facilitate free movement toward optimum health and longevity. Start wearing that armor now by incorporating the MedDi into your life.

NOTE: This content is solely for purposes of information and does not substitute for diagnostic or medical advice. Talk to your doctor if you are experiencing pelvic pain, or have any other health concerns or questions of a personal medical nature.

References

[i] Brieding, Dirk H. “Arms and Armor—Common Misconceptions and Frequently Asked Questions.” Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 2004. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aams/hd_aams.htm
[ii] Bonaccio M, Di Castelnuovo A, Costanzo S, Ruggiero E et al. Mediterranean Diet is Associated with Lower All Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality Among Long-Term Cancer Survivors. Pre-publication Research Letter, JACC:Cardiooncology. 2024 (article in press) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccao.2024.05.012
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Ibid.
[v] Ibid.