People have been told this for years — but now more hard evidence comes out that it’s true:
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Eating a Mediterranean-style diet for three months can reduce the risk of heart disease by 15 percent, a new study shows.
The heart-healthy effects of the Mediterranean diet — rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and fish and olive oil and light on red meat — are well documented, Dr. Denis Lairon of the Faculty of Medicine Timone in Marseille, France and colleagues note in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. But just one other study has looked at what happens when healthy people are actually put on a Mediterranean-style diet.
To investigate, the researchers assigned 212 men and women at moderate risk for heart disease to eat a Mediterranean diet or a standard low-fat diet for three months. Participants on the Mediterranean diet were instructed to eat fish four times a week and red meat only once a week. Men were allowed two glasses of red wine daily, while women were limited to one.
Recommendations for people on the low-fat diet were to eat poultry rather than beef, pork and other mammal meats; eat fish two or three times a week; stay away from animal products rich in saturated fat; and eat fruit and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and vegetable oils.
A key to health apparently is olive oil:
New York – Certain micronutrients contained in olive oil and other foods could be responsible for the Mediterranean diet’s well known heart-healthy effects, Spanish researchers report.
These compounds, known as phenols, have been shown in laboratory studies to have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and blood clot preventing powers, Dr Francisco Perez Jimenez and colleagues of the Hospital Universitario Reina Sofia in Cordoba write.
Their study is the first to show a benefit for phenol-rich olive oils on blood vessel function.”The intake of food high in phenols compounds could improve cardiovascular health and protect the heart,” Jimenez said.
“An example of these foods is virgin or extra virgin olive oil.” Their study is the first to show a benefit for phenol-rich olive oils on blood vessel function.
Two personal notes on this:
- When I lived in Spain, writing for various newspapers and as Special Correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, I used to eat a LOT…three times a day. I wasn’t thin, but I wasn’t fat or bloated. Then I came back to the U.S. and after just two weeks of eating in U.S. restaurants, I blew up like a balloon.
I have since narrowed it down to preservatives in certain foods (read Fast Food Nation) particularly when it comes to fast food. And also general diet. I now use and cook more with olive oil and follow (when I can) a diet closer to the Mediterranean diet…and it is REMARKABLE how much better you can feel (but I still love my spaghetti and meatballs..).
- My parents are in their mid to late 80s and live in Florida. Both have various ailments but they’re going strong for their ages. And for years they have basically lived the Mediterranean diet. Lots of veggies, fruits, salads, nuts, non-red meat, fish. They’ve lasted a lot longer than many of their contemporaries and are still doin’ what they always were doin’ — only at a somewhat slower pace.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.