Over a decade ago, I gave up longtime lives in big cities like New York, San Francisco, and London to move to Cyprus, a tiny, mostly Greek-speaking island in the eastern Mediterranean. I didn't move for health reasons — my husband is Cypriot, and his work brought us here — but as a writer who frequently writes about health and wellness trends, I knew a move to sunny southern Europe would be extremely good for my health.
Science says the Mediterranean lifestyle is one of the healthiest in the world
Health recommendations have changed frequently over the years. Butter is fashionable one decade and out of fashion the next. Intermittent fasting is the secret to longer life, according to one study, but increases the risk of heart disease, according to another. But while scientists have much to debate about health and wellness, one truth remains unshakable: the Mediterranean lifestyle is one of the healthiest in the world.
The Mediterranean diet, focused on whole grains, healthy fats like seafood, and plenty of fruits and vegetables, is hailed by nutritionists as one of the healthiest diets in the world. A recent study by Harvard researchers concluded that the health-boosting benefits of this lifestyle are so great that adopting some of its principles could benefit people who live in much colder, more stressful places.
Meanwhile, journalists and TV shows like Netflix's recent “Live to 100: Secrets of The Blue Zones” have pointed to the region's relatively relaxed, sociable lifestyle as the reason for the relatively good health of its residents. It's no wonder that so many Americans, including many entrepreneurs, are looking to the Mediterranean for ideas on how to get healthier.
With this background, I was excited to see how science and foreign impressions overlap with reality. Having lived in Cyprus for a little over 10 years, I can say that people there, at least in the Greek-speaking areas, live quite differently than in the US. But following the general discussion on the subject also made me think that there are some aspects of the super-healthy “Mediterranean lifestyle” that most others misunderstand.
Are the people here really healthy?
First, how accurate is the claim that people in a place like Cyprus are healthy? Take the statistics: According to the CIA's World Fact Book, Cyprus currently has an obesity rate just under 15 percent, compared to nearly 43 percent in the United States. But the claim that people here are generally healthy can also be verified with the naked eye.
Obesity is far from a perfect indicator of health, but I'm always surprised by how many extremely overweight people I see back in the U.S. In Cyprus, there are plenty of stodgy dad-types and middle-aged overweight people, and a few who go out at even heavier levels, but the difference between the parents who take their kids to and from school here and the people my age I know in the U.S. is stark.
People's eating habits are also really different. Cyprus is no nutritionist's paradise. I eat many times more cake than I do back home, due to the local custom of bringing a giant dessert to basically every social occasion. The celebratory food is usually meze – a tapas-style meal with lots of small plates that last forever, use a lot of meat and are incredibly heavy. There are McDonald's and other generic fast food restaurants, and they do a healthy business.
Still, traditional meals are centered on plants and legumes. Salads and fish feature prominently. Restaurant meals are heavy, but they taste and feel like real food, not something cooked in a chemical plant or corporate conference room. Plates remain made for humans, not giants.
Other aspects of the much-admired Mediterranean lifestyle become apparent upon closer inspection: society is tight-knit, with many people living close to friends and relatives, work hours are much shorter than in the U.S., and life is at a slower pace in the summer, when people head to the beach for long vacations. As a result, stress and loneliness are far less of an issue.
What people misunderstand about the Mediterranean lifestyle
Overall, Cyprus does indeed live a lifestyle that resembles the widely admired Mediterranean lifestyle. But what are some common misconceptions people outside the region have about this way of life? In a word, the Mediterranean lifestyle is structured and much harder to replicate elsewhere than you might think.
For example, supermarkets no longer stock ready-made instant foods, which has encouraged people to eat more natural foods. If you want pasta sauce, there's no ragu; you have to put in some canned tomatoes with olive oil, garlic and oregano and wait 20 minutes. And commercially available ready-made foods contain fewer chemicals and preservatives, thanks to much stricter EU regulations.
Cypriots work much shorter hours, so they have time to cook (and exercise), most of society is employed by the government or the big banks, both of which traditionally open from 7am to 2pm but that's been changing in recent years, and every year in August almost the whole island shuts down for a week or two.
Do you want to live like a Greek?
I always like to communicate this reality to international visitors who are passionate about the Mediterranean lifestyle, for two reasons: First, to make it clear that if you struggle to serve up a fresh bowl of beans for every lunch, it's not just because you're not passionate enough.
Life in the US hasn't been designed to make that easy, even with more work flexibility post-pandemic. What's on supermarket shelves, how much you have to earn to buy it, and the expectations of employers who pay you to do so all make following a Mediterranean lifestyle difficult, or nearly impossible, for most people.
Second, living an authentic Mediterranean lifestyle involves trade-offs that would make many Americans think twice (something the government should address, not stricter food regulations).
Cyprus' relaxed attitude towards work means less stress and more time to look after one's health. But from a consumer point of view, it's deeply frustrating. It's great that civil servants can cook fresh meals for their families, but it also means that islanders can't post a letter in the afternoon. A cold, sometimes dysfunctional, work culture alienates a lot of talent. Many ambitious young people emigrate.
Just as I am astonished at the poor health of Americans I visit, I am also astonished at how many great products and great services are available to them, and the two are not unrelated.
The time it takes to cook and eat delicious food isn't the only downside: Loneliness is a health scourge in the United States, according to the Surgeon General, but living in a tight-knit society can get boring — just ask any kid who runs away from their hometown as soon as they graduate from high school.
What I'm trying to say is that the healthy aspects of the Mediterranean lifestyle are deeply intertwined with the broader way of life here, and it's possible, and sensible, and in some cases delicious, to replicate that in small ways in America. But doing it thoroughly would be very difficult, and probably not what you want.
What I've learned living in Cyprus for the past decade is that rather than wasting mental energy idealizing the Mediterranean lifestyle, many Americans would benefit from finding ways to change their lives and communities to make cooking real food, spending time with loved ones, and getting some regular physical activity just a little easier.
Writing letters to your legislators, creating new remote work policies, and forming a shared childcare agreement with a friend might get you closer to living a Mediterranean lifestyle than Googling yet another bean recipe.
Opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own and not those of Inc.com.
