Cretagen: Learn the Mediterranean Secret of the Cretan-style Diet

It is Tuesday, 7:45 p.m., in Provarma, Crete

It’s been a long day, but now I’m back in my small hotel room on this picturesque Greek island.  I’ve come here to the village of Provarma to review some fascinating research findings sponsored by the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation and other organizations, plus get a first-hand look at the remarkable Cretan lifestyle – world-renowned for its healthy diet and the astounding longevity of its residents.

After double-checking the conclusions reached in these research reports, I now understand why the anti-aging breakthrough to be revealed in these pages is now rocking the foundations of the U.S. medical establishment.

In fact, this stunning natural breakthrough – virtually ignored by the big drug companies – has a growing number of my fellow physicians scratching their heads and wondering where they missed the boat. 

Because the truth is finally coming out:

If you’re the type of person who is determined to enjoy a longer, healthier life – a life that’s free of the new aches and pains that seem to pop up with each passing year…

If you’re the type of person who would rather forget about debilitating health problems, the need for expensive prescription drugs, as well as terrifying midnight visits to the emergency room…

Then it’s critical that you learn about a major new advance – recently approved for distribution to the general public by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration – that’s been described as today’s most important health and longevity breakthrough. 

Actually, even that is a bit of an understatement. 

Because speaking as a medical doctor – and, after having had the opportunity to study and evaluate all the research in front of me – it’s quite clear to me that trying this discovery for yourself is maybe the easiest way to stay youthful and active up into your 80s, 90s and 100s.   
   
And the reason why I say this is because that’s exactly what it’s been doing for centuries for people on the island of Crete!

As you’re soon going to discover, this breakthrough is a completely natural way to restore the most important biochemical relationship in your body to optimum levels.  And by doing so, it… 

√  protects against heart attacks and strokes

√  restores healthy blood pressure and cholesterol

√  keeps blood sugar at a healthy level  

√  guards against more than 60 common age-related afflictions   

√  supports healthy immune function

√  infuses every cell in your body with a surge of energy

√  even helps make excess body fat vanish safely and naturally

However, there’s another aspect of this discovery which makes it especially important for anyone who eats processed food, convenience-type food or so-called fast food – either occasionally or on a regular basis. You see, this powerful discovery is so good at rebalancing the essential fatty acids in your diet to optimum levels that it literally helps make any kind of food healthier. Even better, if you’re already paying careful attention to maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle, this new discovery can very likely give you 30, 40, maybe even 50 MORE years of vibrant, active living!

I’m talking about an amazing nutrient that is virtually rewriting the history of health and healing. It is Cretagen.

But first, let me share with you the fascinating story of this remarkable discovery and how it first came to my attention. For years, it’s been widely accepted that the traditional Japanese diet – with its simple emphasis on fish, vegetables, rice and soy products – is the best approach to eating for maximum health and longevity.

The evidence of this viewpoint has always been Japan’s extremely low rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer, in comparison to those of other countries.

But now, according to recent, more detailed data provided by the World Health Organization, there’s a new “health and longevity capital of the world”.

It’s the Mediterranean island of Crete, where the rate of cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases is approximately one-quarter that of Japan’s!

Which means the people in Crete are 4 times healthier than what was previously considered to be the healthiest population in the world!   

Even more shocking is when you make the same health comparison between Crete and the United States.  Because when you do, you’ll discover that the incidence of these diseases is 20 times greater in the U.S. than in Crete. Maybe that explains why native Cretans regularly live to their 90s and well into their 100s…and why they look so young and stay so active. 

But exactly how do the Cretans enjoy this relative freedom from disease?

Is there some mysterious biocellular secret behind their exceptional longevity?

Even more important…

Is there anything that people in the U.S. and other countries can learn from the native Cretan diet and lifestyle that will show us how we can actually slow down, reverse and even prevent the development of heart disease, cancer and other debilitating, even fatal diseases?

As a physician, these were just a few of the questions I started asking myself. 

And when you learn the answers as I did, you’ll know why I’m now so enthusiastic about this new all-natural approach for eliminating so many of the problems associated with aging – and why I feel it is my obligation as a medical  doctor to share the good news with you.  

For example, using the official data provided by the World Health Organization, I estimate that if the U.S. public adopted the Cretan approach to living, we could easily improve our health by up to 2,000%! 

And that’s what I’d like to discuss with you next.

While the fact that the island of Crete has the lowest mortality rate on earth is still surprising news for most people in the U.S., the health benefits of the foods that make up the Cretan diet have been well known to the people throughout the Mediterranean region for thousands of years.

In the ancient world, where Crete was regarded as a magical place of healing and regeneration, the eating habits of the Cretans was living proof of the value of the ancient Greek ideal of “everything in moderation”.

Today, we know that one important secret of the traditional Cretan diet is its diversity, which incorporates literally hundreds of different plants and herbs – some grown on farms, even more harvested wild, and each offering a multitude of unique nutritional qualities.

In addition to this abundance of plant nutrition – seasonally fresh from local sources and virtually free of pesticides and other toxins– the native Cretans also use olive oil as the prime dietary fat, and consume moderate quantities of bread, cheese, nuts, yogurt and small amounts of local red wine.  Only small amounts of meat and eggs are eaten, and the typical dessert is simply a piece of fruit.            

On the surface, there’s nothing revolutionary about this diet – just a common sense approach to eating.  Yet, on the island of Crete, it continues to provide a degree of health and longevity that is simply astounding. 

However, it wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that medical researchers finally began a serious scientific inquiry to determine the REAL secret of the traditional Cretan diet.

During World War II, the population of Crete suffered greatly under four years of German occupation.  Constant shortages of meat and fish, along with other vital foodstuffs forced the Cretans to survive principally on wild greens, olives, home-made olive oil and bread (when flour could be found), perhaps a bit of goat cheese on occasion, and other types of food which could be obtained naturally or produced themselves. 

Once the war was over, a team of Rockefeller Foundation researchers arrived on Crete to investigate how this “bare subsistence” diet had affected the health of the islanders.

After weeks of measuring the food intake of families in the remote mountain villages and examining the health of the people, the Rockefeller Foundation scientists were shocked to discover no evidence of malnutrition. 

On top of that, incidences of cardiovascular disease and cancer were virtually non-existent.

In fact, the Rockefeller Foundation scientists could only wonder just how these poor, deprived victims of wartime suffering turned out to be dramatically healthier than the U.S. population!

But that’s just the beginning of the story.

Because a few years later, after the results of the Rockefeller research were studied in more detail, a pioneering American heart specialist, Dr. Ansel Keys, began an ambitious study that continues to make history.
        
In 1956, inspired by the startling results of the Rockefeller Foundation research, Dr. Keys began a comprehensive, cross-cultural research project of his own involving seven different countries.  His objective was to compare the diet and lifestyle factors in these countries with their rates of cardiovascular disease. 

This now-famous “Seven Countries Study” was concluded in 1986.  Since then, the resulting data has been thoroughly evaluated by the World Health Organization and the results published in professional medical journals.

This is the same study I referred to earlier, the one that showed the people on Crete had 20 times less risk of developing cardiovascular disease than people in the U.S. – and only HALF the risk of developing cancer!

In fact, during the first 10 years of this study, during which hundreds of thousands of Americans back home were dropping dead with heart problems, not one Cretan died because of this!

However, a huge question still loomed in the background: While the “Seven Countries Study” showed the traditional Cretan diet could dramatically lower the risk of developing cardiovascular and other diseases, could the same diet help reverse these problems in people who were already ill? 
 
As the French medical researcher Dr. Serge Renaud soon proved, the answer was a resounding “YES!”

Dr. Renaud’s plan – known as the Lyon Diet Heart Study – was to observe the effect of two different types of diet on the health of more than 600 people who already suffered from heart disease.  Over a planned five-year period, the first group would eat the typical low-fat diet endorsed by the American Heart Association, while the second group would eat a sumptuous Cretan-style diet consisting of olive oil, whole grain breads, fresh vegetables and fruit, plus occasional portions of meat, eggs and fish.

Within just a few months, the group eating the Cretan-style diet already began showing a dramatic improvement over the group eating the low-fat American Heart Association diet. 

Finally, after the study had run just two years, the improvement was so great with the Cretan-style diet – an amazing 76% reduction in the risk of dying from heart problems or stroke – that Dr. Renaud called an end to the project, having proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the native Cretan diet actually does reverse cardiovascular conditions! 
 
But even as the results of Dr. Renaud’s research were being hailed in such prestigious peer-reviewed journals as The Lancet, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, one question remained unanswered: Exactly what is it about the traditional Cretan diet that is responsible for all of its amazing therapeutic qualities?       

Is it the olive oil…or something else?

There is wide consensus among everyone from the World Health Organization to the Harvard School of Public Health that this revolutionary approach to eating – centered around the use of lots of olive oil – offers a “new” path to healthier living.

This good news is even beginning to reach the mass media, with a recent TIME magazine cover story praising the virtues of the olive oil-rich Cretan-type diet.  Today, entire cookbooks are written about it.  And, of course, I use lots of olive oil in the preparation of my own food.  

But the truth is, olive oil isn’t entirely responsible for all the benefits of the Cretan diet.

After all, even the prominent Harvard School of Public Health physician, Dr. Dimitrios Trichopoulous, has said that “Olive oil plays a central role, but it is not alone.”

The question first arose during the Rockefeller Foundation-inspired “Seven Countries Study” in a review of the comparative death rates in Italy and Crete.  While Italians and Cretans follow a similar Mediterranean-style diet, the mortality rate in Crete was 50% less! 

What could possibly account for such a dramatic difference?
   
After almost 20 years of  research, the missing link was finally discovered on the steep, rocky Cretan mountainsides – in a leafy herb whose ability to relieve heart conditions and other health problems was first recognized by the ancient Greek physician Dioskorides more than 2,000 years ago!

The Power of Purslane

Long taken for granted as one of the many wild edible plants that are staples of the traditional Cretan diet, purslane is now recognized as an exceptionally rich source of special Omega-3 fatty acids.

In fact, the traditional Cretan diet’s high levels of Omega-3 – derived primarily from purslane – is now regarded as the prime reason for the Cretan diet’s amazing superiority in slowing down, reversing and even preventing the development of heart disease, stroke, cancer and more than 60 different health problems.
   
That means the exceptionally potent Omega-3s found in purslane are the REAL reason why the native Cretans are able to live to their 90s and 100s, while farming, climbing mountains and leading very vigorous lives.

This also explains why the Italians – who don’t eat purslane – have a much higher mortality rate. But exactly how do purslane’s “super” Omega-3 fatty acids work to keep us healthy and living longer? 

The answer lies in their remarkable ability to get the most important biochemical relationship in your body back in balance.
 
Because researchers have learned that most age-related health problems are linked to a dangerous imbalance between the different kinds of fatty acids in the diet.

Health problems are more prevalent when there’s too much of any of the following 3 villains in your diet:  saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids and trans-unsaturated fatty acids.
   
Unfortunately, you’ll find these “bad” fatty acids in a wide variety of today’s most popular foods:  Meat and all dairy products.  Baked goods and snack foods.  Fast food and junk food.  Hydrogenated as well as partially-hydrogenated oils and margarines.  Plus all kinds of commercially-prepared and processed foods.

The truth is, these “3 fatty troublemakers” are so much a part of the modern diet that, unless you read your labels very carefully, it’s very common to eat 20 or 30 times more of them than you should – and not even know it!

However, correcting the problem – and restoring your ability to live a longer, healthier life – means more than just cutting back on the “bad” stuff.   

Medical scientists now realize that its even more important to balance your intake of these “bad” fatty acids with “good” fatty acids.  Like the monounsaturated kind that’s found in olive oil.  And especially the “super” Omega-3s found in purslane.

You see, a wealth of new research now suggests that these extremely potent Omega-3s function as a natural fatty acid rebalancer that helps keep the  the other potentially harmful, artery-clogging fats in proper proportion and      restores all of the other fatty acids in your diet to optimum levels.

That means, no matter what kind of food you like to eat…no matter whether it’s hamburgers and fries or a big plate of pasta… steak and eggs or tuna salad…meat loaf and mashed potatoes or a low-calorie vegetarian plate…the special fatty acid-balancing Omega-3s in purslane are actually able to make any kind of food healthier!       

But what’s the best way to get enough of purslane’s special Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet? 

Until recently, it wasn’t easy.  I mean, purslane is not exactly the kind of thing you can expect to find in your local grocer’s produce department. 

After checking with a wholesale produce distributor, I was surprised to learn that purslane is only available for a few weeks a year in the U.S. – unlike Crete, where it grows wild the whole year round. 

And while you can use purslane for salads, for a main green dish, or simply to add a delicious new taste to soups, stews and other recipes you have to eat it in large quantities on a regular basis – like the Cretans do – to get enough of the special Omega-3s to make the kind of dramatic difference in your health that we’ve been discussing.

That’s why I want to tell you about a convenient new way to enjoy the life-enhancing benefits of the traditional Cretan diet.

Some time back, after first learning about the original Rockefeller Foundation research and all the subsequent studies on the traditional Cretan diet, I began looking for a natural purslane formula that I could give to my patients – as a way of helping them experience all the healthy benefits that we’ve been discussing in this special report.

After months of looking for just such a formula, I was disappointed that nothing even close to what I wanted was available.  While there are LOTS of so-called longevity products on the market today, none of them offer the proven power of purslane.

So I took at big step and contacted the Bio Group, one of the world’s most advanced nutritional laboratories, and made an appointment to meet with their research director and key members of the research staff. 

Because of my background as a physician and my credentials as an anti-aging researcher, I was confident that anything I said would be taken quite seriously. 

At our meeting, I expressed my wish to help them develop a new type of health and longevity formula that combines the power of purslane with other powerful phytonutrients that would enhance purslane’s benefits even more.  

Judging by the enthusiastic reception I received, it was clear they hadn’t considered this direction yet.  So I continued.  Because when I think of all the millions of people in this country alone who needlessly die each year from heart disease, strokes and other completely avoidable problems I didn’t want to let this opportunity for good fall through the cracks. 

In order to assure that my formula would actually deliver all the health and longevity benefits that the traditional Cretan diet provides, I specified that concentrated purslane extract be used – in a dosage that matches the amount of purslane that one would receive by actually going to Crete and eating the Cretan way.    

But I didn’t stop there.

I also recommended that two other concentrated phytonutrient extracts be included in the formula – honeydew and cantaloupe.  The reason why is simply all the powerful antioxidant nutrition that these two types of melons offer. 

You see, from my own experience treating patients, I know this kind of extra plant nutrition is critically important for older adults who, for a variety of reasons, often have trouble getting all the plant nutrition they need. 

Fortunately, my efforts were successful.  Because the Bio Group decided to make my “dream formula” a reality – just the way I described it. 

The name of this revolutionary product is Cretagen.  And even though it has only been available to the general public for an extremely limited time, the Bio Group has already received many, many letters from thankfulpeople who were now using it – and experiencing all kinds of wonderful results.
 
Imagine…being able to benefit from the healthiest part of the traditional Cretan diet without having to deal with the inconvenience and expense of preparing the Cretan cuisine on a daily basis at home!

Even if you’re already taking a multivitamin or other supplement, Cretagen gives you something that no other supplement can.  That’s the power of purslane’s natural fatty acid balancing action – and all the healthy benefits that it alone can provide.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the revolutionary Cretagen formula is how quickly it starts helping your body achieve its optimum health and maximum longevity potential. 

Of course, each person’s biochemistry is different, but based on my own medical experience as a physician and anti-aging researcher…and now, my own personal experience as an actual user…you should be prepared for the following:

In just hours…you’ll begin restoring the most important biochemical relationship in your diet to optimum levels.

In just days…you’ll start feeling younger and more energetic as your  body automatically begins correcting more than 60 common health problems.

In just a few weeks…excess body weight will begin to melt away as the essential fatty acids in your diet finally get into balance.
     
And, in just a few months…your personal physician will start complimenting you on your healthy cholesterol, healthy blood pressure and your excellent prospects for a long and healthy life.

That’s why I now enthusiastically recommend the Cretagen formula to anyone who is truly interested in doing everything you can right now to help reverse the aging process, dramaticaly lower your risk for chronic diseases,   once again perform favorite activities with the kind of vigor and vitality you haven’t experienced in years!  You can learn more about Cretagen on the Insider's Health.