All too often ´experts´ suggest you should follow the low calorie, low protein, low-fat diets of South East Asia without fully understanding the wider issues of the inhabitants´ lifestyles. Meanwhile, the French paradox reveals that the French eat more fat and consume more alcohol per head than anyone else in the Western World but have lower rates of cancer and heart disease. The epicenter, according to several research studies, is around Toulouse where the inhabitants eat even more fat (think foie gras) and consume even more alcohol (think red wine) than anywhere else in France, and have even lower rates of cancer and heart disease!
Much is said about the Mediterranean Diet, which is actually a Geographical misnomer. The strongest area of effect in the often stated ´Mediterranean Diet´ actually runs from roughly Barcelona to Rome. And that´s about it. It does not really include Algeria or Morocco, or Lebanon or Israel.