One study published in the British journal Lancet examined the life expectancy in Albania. Albania is considered the most impoverished European country, with one of the highest infant mortality rates in Europe. Yet Albanian adults have a life expectancy about equal to that of adults in other central and eastern European countries, and male deaths from coronary heart disease are about the same level as those in Italy. Mortality rates were lowest in southwest Albania, along its Mediterranean shore, where people consumed the greatest quantities of olive oil, fruits, and vegetables, and the lowest levels of meat and dairy products. The study concluded that diet was the most likely explana tion for Albania’s surprisingly low mortality rates, even though reliable dietary information on Albania wasn’t avail able.
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