Traditional Greek diet and coronary heart disease.

The traditional Greek diet is strongly inversely related to the risk of developing coronary heart disease. Consequently, Greek men have a longer life expectancy than men from other European countries or from North America. Several aspects of the traditional Greek diet may contribute to its beneficial role in countering the development of coronary heart disease. They include the high intake of olive oil that tends to increase the ratio of high- to low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, the regular consumption of fibre-rich legumes and vegetables in meals cooked using olive oil, the high intake of vegetables and fruits and the associated anti-oxidant compounds, and the moderate consumption of wine with meals that tends to increase high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol without posing major risks of intoxication.