By: Laurel Avery
Many dietitians and scores of
books have touted the health benefits of following a Mediterranean diet for
some years now, but it was only recently that scientific data has been
published to back up their claims. The results of a large-scale 5-year study
that was published by the New England Journal of Medicine has found that those
who follow the Mediterranean diet have a 30 percent lower risk of death from
the effects of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack and stroke.
The First Major Clinical Study
of the Mediterranean Diet
Researchers from the University
of Barcelona followed 7,447 people who were deemed to have significant
cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol, a family history of heart disease and being overweight. The
participants were randomized into one of three groups: the first group followed
a standard Mediterranean diet, supplemented with olive oil (at least 4
tablespoons per day); the second group followed a standard Mediterranean diet
supplemented with nuts (about an ounce per day of a mixture of walnuts, almonds
and hazelnuts); and the third group was prescribed a low-fat diet.
Those following the Mediterranean
diet were to consume two servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit
each day, in addition to eating fish and legumes (such as peas, beans and
lentils) at least three times a week. They were also instructed to substitute
white meat for red, and if they drank alcohol, were advised to drink at least
seven glasses of wine each week, during meals. Perhaps one of the most
important points of the diet was that participants were asked to reduce the
consumption of commercially baked goods to no more than three times a week, and
to limit their intake of dairy products and processed meats.
The low-fat diet group was
instructed to avoid eating nuts and any kind of vegetable oil (including olive
oil), remove visible fat from meat and limit their consumption of store-bought
desserts to less than one per week. They were encouraged to eat three or fewer
servings of a simple carbohydrate each day, such as bread, pasta, potatoes or
rice, and three servings of low-fat dairy, in addition to fruit and vegetables.
All three groups were given
counseling as to how to follow the diet, although the Mediterranean diet group
got more counseling early in the study, meeting weekly with a dietitian. The
low-fat diet group got instructions at the beginning of the diet and an annual
leaflet, but did not get the same counseling until after there had been a
significant loss of participants in the group.
There was no limit placed on the
number of calories that could be eaten by either group, nor were participants
encouraged to increase physical activity. Participants in the low-fat group had
the most difficult time sticking to the dietary guidelines and most ended up
simply eating a standard Western diet that was only slightly lower in fat than
usual. Experts agree that maintaining a low-fat diet is difficult in the
long-term, as the dieters never really feel satisfied.
The participants who followed one
of the Mediterranean diets were not only 30 percent less likely to have
suffered a heart attack, stroke or have died during the study, they were also
40 percent less likely to suffer a stroke in the study’s 4-year follow-up
period than those who followed the low-fat diet. The results were consistent
across all participants, whether they were male or female, older or younger.
The researchers were not looking to reduce the participants’ weight,
cholesterol or blood pressure, but instead were interested in counting the
number of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from any cause to evaluate the
overall effectiveness of the diet on longevity.
How the Mediterranean Diet
Benefits the Cardiovascular System
Although the researchers believe
that the primary difference between the outcomes of the Mediterranean diet
group and the low-fat diet group was the increased consumption of olive oil and
nuts, they nevertheless suggest that it is not possible to break down the
beneficial elements of the Mediterranean diet into specific components. The
researchers noted, "Perhaps there is a synergy among the nutrient-rich
foods included in the Mediterranean diet that fosters favorable changes"
in factors that lead to cardiovascular disease, such as inflammation,
oxidation, cholesterol and insulin resistance. The Mediterranean diet is
composed of many parts, all of which help to reduce your risk of death from
cardiovascular disease.
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