When researchers praised the Mediterranean diet of Crete, they documented the olive oil, fish, and vegetables—but largely overlooked that Greek Orthodox Christians fasted roughly 180 days annually. Research by Sarri found those adhering to fasting traditions had better health markers even within the same population. The modern “Mediterranean diet” exports the food list while stripping out the eating pattern.
This companion explores what researchers missed, the confounded variable, and what focusing exclusively on food composition while ignoring meal timing overlooks. (4 min read)