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Mediterranean diet reduces heart disease risk

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.
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Eating a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of heart disease, researchers have confirmed in an issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study, conducted by Dr. Denis Lairon of the Faculty of Medicine Timone in Marseille, France and colleagues, found that eating a Mediterranean diet for three months can lower the cardiovascular risk by 15 percent.

Mediterranean diets contain a plentiful of whole grains, fruits, beans and other vegetables, nuts, fish, and olive oil, but much less meat.

In the study, 212 men and women at moderate risk were assigned a Mediterranean diet or a standard low-fat diet for three months.

The study group was instructed to have fish four times a week and red meat once a week. Researchers recommended two glasses of red wine daily for men and one drink a day for women.

The control group ate poultry rather than beef, pork and other mammal meats, ate fish twice or three times a week, but did not use animal fat-rich products, and ate fruit and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and vegetable oils.

Overall, both groups had a lower calorie intake and consumed more proteins and carbohydrates, but less total fat and saturated fat. As a result, both groups showed a small, yet significant decrease in body mass index.

The total cholesterol was measured before and after meals. Among those using the Mediterranean diet, the total cholesterol dropped by 7.5 percent compared with 4.5 percent in the low-fat group. This reduction can be translated, according to the authors, into a 15 percent cut in the cardiovascular disease risk in the Mediterranean diet group and 9 percent in the low-fat diet group.

The researchers conclude that eating good diets can significantly reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

Mediterranean diet benefits may be attributed in part to its unique profile of fatty acids such as monounsaturated fatty acids in olive oil and omega-3.

Reference: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/88/5/1364.abstract