Research fails to account for one of Modern Societies
greatest failures.
If you are concerned about diet
and health you probably heard of the recent study published in the New England
Journal of Medicine touting the positive effects of the Mediterranean Diet on
Cardiovascular disease. For your
reference, The Mediterranean Diet refers to the traditional dietary
patterns of southern Italy, Greece and Spain.
The principal aspects of this diet include relatively high consumption
of olive oil, legumes, unrefined cereals, fruits and vegetables, and moderate
to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as
cheese and yogurt), moderate wine consumption, and low consumption of meat and
meat products. Now, to some this bit of news may be a
revelation while to others simply another pseudo solution presented in the
media that surely will be opposed by the next great study.
Obviously the content of our diet
is very important to our survival but did our ancestors spread throughout the
world concern themselves with dietary questions? Wasn't diet more a question of what was
available and edible versus heart healthy?
And given today’s culture that replaces physical activity with emotional
stress, can we afford to focus so intently on diet without paying as much
attention to our physical and emotional well-being?
Interestingly, these questions
were answered some 50 years ago but like many discoveries that go counter to beliefs,
they were buried only to become part of the lore of a small clan of
Italian-Americans in Pennsylvania.
 |
| Nicola Rosato |
In 1882 a group of men from Roseto Valfortore (Valley of Roses), a town of 1300
located near the Province of Foggia in the Southern Italy, set sail for New
York. Because they had experience working in the marble quarries back in Italy,
they migrated 75 miles west of New York City to work in the Slate quarries of
Bangor Pennsylvania. The experience was
not as positive as they had expected.
The conditions were harsh and they were treated just as poorly as they
were in Roseto Valfortore. But, they
persisted and in 1912 established their own community. The Borough of Roseto was
the first 100% Italian community in the USA.
In the early 60’s a
local physician conveyed to Dr Stewart Wolf, Head of Medicine at Oklahoma
University and a summer resident of the region, that the people of Roseto were
practically immune to heart disease. He
had treated much of the population of Roseto and surrounding villages for the
past 17 years and had not seen in the Rosetans a case of heart disease in
anyone under the age of 65 years. To
confound this finding, the Rosetans were heavy smokers and drinkers, ate fatty
meats cooked in lard and generally battled obesity.
Intrigued, Wolf
along with sociologist John Bruhn opened the Tott Gap Medical Research Facility
for the purpose of conducting a study of people of Roseto. The results were astonishing. Virtually no one
under 55 died of a heart attack; for men over 65, the death rate from heart
attack was half that of the United States as a whole; and the death rate from
all causes was 35% lower than the National average. There was no suicide, no
alcoholism, no drug addiction, and little crime to speak of. These people died of old age.
That’s it!
 |
| Dr Stewart Wolf |
By the time the
study was published, Dr Wolf had determined that it wasn’t diet that gave this
population such resilience to disease. Their
native diet was altered over the years due to availability. Genetics had also been ruled out as was the
region of Pennsylvania where they resided.
The secret to their health and longevity was their Community. People of Roseto communicated with each other
on a daily basis, were perpetually visitors in each other’s homes and were
genuinely interested in their neighbor’s well-being. Multiple generations lived under one roof and
the Grandparents were revered by all. They
socialized with each other, worshiped together and were united in the ideal of
creating a better life for their children.
In essence, they created the culture that they all desired without
respect for what the rest of the world was doing.
Sadly, by the
late sixties the world caught up with the next generation of Rosetans. Some of the families became more prosperous
causing tension in the community. Others
became more educated and if they weren’t pulled away from Roseto they abandoned
the cultural habits that had benefited their ancestors. For the next generation, heart disease rose
above the national standards as they became enmeshed in the American
dream.
 |
| Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, Roseto PA |
A recent
article in the Wall Street Journal noted that 37% of educated Americans move
away from their town of origin for work.
This is the highest rate of migration in the world. Couple that with the increase pace of life,
the diminished art of face to face communication and the ever decreasing
leisure time, is it any wonder for the waning of the sense of belonging to a
Community?
 |
| The Orlandi's-Giovanni, Florinda Maria his wife, and Agata his daughter-arrived in America 100 years ago (June 13,1913). Four generation of Orlandi's later the family is still going strong and growing |
Personally, I can
relate to both sides of this dilemma. My
maternal grandparents immigrated to Roseto Pennsylvania 100 years ago this
June. I was raised in the same culture
that Dr Wolf documented. I miss people
knowing me through my family tree; I was always known as the Shoemaker’s son or
one of the Orlandi’s. The last 23
years I have lived in Cincinnati, long enough to establish roots but never
developing the type of connectedness that comes about from living in ones
hometown. I’m not recommending we try to
recreate a Community like Roseto. But, I
do hope all who read this take note that as humans we thrive when we establish
a balance between our physical, chemical and emotional beings; no one part is
more important than the other.
David J. Marcon is a Chiropractor
and resident of Anderson Township. He
Recommends reading “The Power of Clan: The Influence of Human
Relationships
on Heart Disease” By Wolf and Bruhn to learn more about the story
of Roseto.
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