Johns Hopkins University researchers followed more than 6,200 men and women, age 44-84, from white, African-American, Hispanic, and Chinese backgrounds for an average of more than 7 years. People who exercised regularly, ate a Mediterranean-style diet, kept a normal weight, and did not smoke had an 80 percent lower death rate over the study’s time period compared to participants with none of the healthy behaviors. Roger Blumenthal, M.D., a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, director of the Ciccarone Center, president of the American Heart Association’s Maryland affiliate, and senior author of the study says the findings “bolster recent recommendations by the American Heart Association, which call for maintaining a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish, keeping a BMI of less than 25, being physically active and not smoking.”
American Journal of Epidemiology. Epub 2013 June 10. [Ahmed, et al.]

If you want your teens to make it through their formative years with as few road bumps as possible, a good place to start just might be the kitchen table. In a large research review, scientists at Tufts University in Boston found that family meals may be protective against various risky behavior in teens, including alcohol use, tobacco use, disordered eating, aggression or violence, and sexual activity. The results varied largely by gender, with females often being more influenced by their family environments.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2013 July;42(7):943-63. (Skeer MR et al.)

The Mediterranean Diet is well-studied for its role in preventing dementia, but researchers wonder if a diet rooted in Asian culinary traditions might also be effective. Researchers analyzed the eating habits of 1,006 elderly Japanese adults and monitored them for any signs of dementia. Those eating a diet with lots of soy, vegetables, algae, and dairy, which the researchers note is “roughly correspondent to a customary Japanese diet,” were 44% less likely to develop all-cause dementia, 35% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, and 55% less likely to develop vascular dementia.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2013 May;97(5):1076-82. (Ozawa M et al.)

Hot flushes and night sweats are two common yet unpleasant symptoms during menopause, but no dietary recommendations have been identified to prevent them. To better understand the relationship between food and menopause, researchers in Australia followed over 6,000 middle-aged women for over 9-years, collecting information on their diet, hot flushes, and night sweats.  The scientists found that a Mediterranean style diet (characterized by garlic, peppers, mushrooms, salad greens, pasta, and red wine) and a diet high in fruit significantly decreased night sweats and hot flushes, while high-fat and high-sugar diets (characterized by sweet biscuits, cakes, jam, meat pies, and chocolate) significantly increased these symptoms.  
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2013 May;97(5):1092-9. (Herber-Gast GC et al). 

Data was collected from participants of the Multiethnic Cohort Study in Hawaii using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire in order to identify major sources of grains and their contribution of B vitamins in five ethnic groups. The main sources of whole grains for all ethnic-sex groups were whole wheat and rye bread, followed by popcorn and cooked cereals. The only exception being Native Hawaiian men and Japanese Americans for whom brown/wild rice was the second most important source of whole grains. For all ethnic-sex groups with the exception of African American Women the consumption of refined grains was greater than that of whole grains. An important contribution to the intakes of niacin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and folic acid was made by grain consumption.  
Nutrition Journal. 2013; 12:65. (Sharma et al.)

A group of investigators from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago conducted a study among participants of the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP) into the relationship between the Mediterranean diet and depression among older adults. They found that in this large, biracial community greater adherence to a Mediterranean pattern of eating including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish and legumes, was associated with a decreased likelihood of developing depressive symptoms over time. The link between the Mediterranean diet and mental health may be found in a number of dietary components of the diet like B-vitamins, antioxidant nutrients, and fat components.

The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. 2013; 17(5):441-445. (Skarupski et al.)

Researchers from Greece, the Czech Republic, and the United States collaborated to follow more than 17,000 individuals for approximately 4 years to evaluate the effects of the Mediterranean Diet on cognitive status. Using Food Frequency Questionnaires, they determined that higher adherence to the Mediterranean Diet was associated with lower likelihood of incident cognitive impairment, even after adjusting for demographic characteristics, environmental factors, vascular risk factors, depressive symptoms, and self-reported health status. Although higher adherence to the Mediterranean Diet reduced risk of incident cognitive impairment in nondiabetic individuals, it did not yield the same results in patients with diabetes.

Neurology. 2013 Apr 30; 80(18):1684-1692. (Tsivgoulis et al.)

Using data from the prospective Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Observation Study investigators in the US analyzed the relationship between whole grain consumption and the incidence of Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM). Over a median follow-up period of 7.9 years a strong relationship was found between increased whole-grain consumption and reduced risk of T2DM. The findings from this study also provide support for the hypothesis that the association between whole grain consumption and the incidence of T2DM is modified by weight loss and smoking. 
Annals of Epidemiology. 2013; 23: 321-327. [Epub April 22, 2013] (Parker et al.)

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to affect 20-46% of the population in Westernized countries, and 90% of obese people. With obesity rising, it’s essential to provide dietary guidelines for those at risk for, or diagnosed with, NAFLD. Because research shows that diets rich in whole grains reduce many of the risk factors for NAFLD, scientists working with the Nestlé Research Center recommend that “people with or at risk of NAFLD should choose whole grains over refined grains in their diet.”
International Journal of Endocrinology. 2013; 2013: article ID 585876 (Ross et al.)

A group of researchers from the University of Illinois set out to evaluate the impact of the changes to the WIC food packages in participants of the Chicago Family Food Survey. A natural experiment was conducted to assess if the changes made to WIC food packages had immediate impact (in 6 months) on dietary intake, food availability and other various life-style measures. Six months after the new rules were implemented modest changes were observed including increased fruit intake among Hispanic mothers and increased low-fat dairy intake among Hispanic mothers, Hispanic children and African American children. Availability of low-fat dairy and whole grain foods in homes increased yet changes in food availability were not correlated with changes in dietary intake. Dietary changes varied by racial/ethnic group in this sample that was comprised of Hispanic and African American mother-child dyads. 
Public Health Nutrition. [Epub April 2, 2013] (Odoms-Young et al.)

A group of investigators in Europe looked at the relationship between risk for colorectal cancer and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) and Nutrition study. For the EPIC study about 520,000 apparently healthy people were recruited from 1993-2000 in 23 research centers in 10 European countries. After an average follow-up of around 11 years the researchers found evidence that suggests that adherence to a Mediterranean Diet is associated with moderately reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

European Journal of Epidemiology. 2013;(28:317-328. (Bami et al.)

A group in the UK conducted a systematic review of the literature currently available concerning the possible relationship between the Mediterranean diet, cognitive function and dementia. After analyzing the available research they found that most published studies (9 out of 12) suggest greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with slower mental decline and decreased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. More research is needed to clarify the relationship of the Med Diet with vascular dementia and mild cognitive impairment.

Epidemiology. 2013; 24(4):479-489. (Lourida et al.)