Researchers for the PREDIMED study reviewed data that followed about 7,500 adults aged 55 to 80 who had a high risk of developing heart disease. The people were divided into 3 groups: one was assigned to eat a Mediterranean Diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil; one was assigned to eat a Mediterranean Diet enriched with nuts; and one was assigned to a control group that received advice on following a low-fat diet. Over five years a total of 89 participants developed peripheral artery disease (PAD), which deposits plaque in the arteries of the legs, restricting blood flow, and can cause pain during walking. Participants in the control group developed PAD at a rate of about 0.5% per year. The Med Diet with nuts group experienced half that rate, and the Med Diet with olive oil group experienced an even lower rate of 0.15% per year. Researchers believe this is the first randomized primary prevention trial to suggest an association between diet and reduced rates of PAD.
JAMA. 2014; 311(4):415-417 [Ruiz-Canela M, Estruch R, Corella D, Salas-Salvadó J, Martínez-González MA].
Researchers reviewed data collected during the PREDIMED study in which more than 3500 patients aged 55 to 80 years with high cardiovascular risk were randomly assigned to eat 1 of 3 diets: Mediterranean Diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, Mediterranean Diet supplemented with nuts, or a control diet (patients received advice on a low-fat diet). None of the diets were calorie restricted. Over the course of the study 16% of the participants on a Med Diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil and 18.7% of those on the Med Diet plus nuts developed type 2 diabetes, compared to 23.6% of the participants on the control diet, leading researchers to conclude that a Mediterranean Diet enriched with olive oil but without calorie restrictions can reduce diabetes risk for people with high cardiovascular risk.
Annals of Internal Medicine. 2014; 160(1):10-10-10. [Salas-Salvadó, et al].
Researchers assessed the dietary habits of more than 1000 pregnant women in 10 Mediterranean countries to determine their adherence to a Mediterranean Diet. The women were screened for gestational diabetes between their 24th and 32nd weeks of pregnancy. The researchers found that adherence to a Mediterranean Diet is associated with lower incidence of gestational diabetes. They call for further testing of the use of the Mediterranean Diet for the prevention of gestational diabetes.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2014; 68:8-13. [Karamanos, et al].
The Mediterranean diet has long been associated with healthy people, but new research indicates that it can also help improve the health of the planet. Spanish researchers assessed how the environmental impact might change if the current Spanish diet (measured using food availability data and population surveys) shifted to a Mediterranean diet or a Western diet. They found that switching back to a Mediterranean diet could cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 72%, land use by up to 58%, energy consumption by up to 52%, and water use by up to 33%. On the other hand, switching from the current Spanish diet to a more Western diet could increase all of these factors by 12-72%. As nations look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, the researchers conclude that encouraging a Mediterranean diet “would be beneficial from both a health and environmental perspective.”
Environmental Health. 2013 Dec 30;12:118. (Saez-Almendros S et al.)
Different Mediterranean soffritos (sautéed vegetables and spices, usually a combination of tomatoes, garlic, and onions cooked in olive oil) were analyzed for their content of healthy antioxidants. Researchers identified 40 different types of polyphenols, including some never previously reported in Mediterranean soffrito. Polyphenols are associated with low incidence of cardiovascular disease. The soffritos also contained other beneficial compounds such as carotenoids and vitamin C. The amount of the antioxidants differed among soffritos according to the type of vegetables or olive oil used to make them. Researchers also discovered that the health benefits obtained from soffrito are better than the benefits obtained from eating each ingredient separately.
Food Chemistry. 2013 Dec 15; 141(4): 3365-3372 (Vallverdú-Querald, et al.) [EPub ahead of print]
The foods we eat and the times at which we eat them can both affect blood sugar management, according to a very small randomized cross-over study carried out in Sweden. Researchers at Linköping University identified 19 people with type 2 diabetes, then observed their post-consumption response to three different breakfast-lunch combinations: low-fat (~50% of energy from carbohydrates), low-carbohydrate (~20% of energy from carbohydrates), and Mediterranean Diet (~33% of energy from carbohydrates). The low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets consisted of breakfast and lunch, whereas the Mediterranean Diet offered only black coffee at breakfast and a large lunch with red wine that equaled the number of calories in both the breakfast and lunch of each of the other two diets – an approach followed in many Mediterranean countries. After the Mediterranean lunch, subjects had greater insulin release, which kept glucose levels lower despite the larger meal. Researchers noted that their results are consistent with other research that shows that obese subjects show greater insulin-sensitivity when carbohydrates are concentrated at a single meal, and that most people are more insulin-resistant earlier in the day than at mid-day or in the evening.
PLOS ONE. 2013 Nov 27; 8(11): e79324 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079324 (Fernemark, et al).
Since inflammation is one of the factors leading to cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis, Italian researchers explored whether extra-virgin olive oil could help protect joints from the ravages of inflammation. They found that consumption of extra-virgin olive oil, coupled with mild exercise on a treadmill, lowered inflammation markers and can help prevent osteoarthritis and preserve cartilage.
Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 2013 Dec;24(12):2064-75. Musumeci et al.
Researchers examined the eating patterns of more than 76,000 women and more than 42,000 men over 24 to 30 years to assess the health effects of eating nuts. They discovered that eating nuts is associated with a reduced risk of mortality overall and specifically from cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease. As nut consumption increased (from none at all, to weekly, to daily), the incidences of mortality also decreased. Researchers noted that all types of nuts appear to have the same health benefit and did not see a difference between individual types, including peanuts and tree nuts.
The New England Journal of Medicine. 2013 November 21; 369:2001-2011 (Bao, et al.)
Researchers analyzed the food intake and cognitive function in a group of 3,831 older adults in Utah over 11 years. Those most closely following a DASH diet (a healthy diet used to treat hypertension that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, and limited sweets and salt) or Mediterranean diet at the start of the study were found to have consistently better cognitive function than those not following those diets. In particular, whole grains, nuts, and legumes were all linked with better cognitive function, and the researchers concluded that these “may be core neuroprotective foods common to various healthy plant-centered diets around the globe.”
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2013 Nov;98(5):1263-71. (Wengreen H et al.)
A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine demonstrates that eating a Mediterranean Diet is associated with greater health and well-being in older age. The study analyzed food frequency questionnaires collected between 1984 and 1986 from 10,670 women in their late 50s and early 60s with no major chronic diseases. Fifteen years later researchers again collected data from the same women and found that those who had adhered to a Mediterranean Diet in middle age were about 40% more likely to live past 70 and to have avoided 11 chronic diseases measured in the study including many cancers, type 2 diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. Those who most closely followed a Med Diet also were more likely to age without physical disabilities, signs of cognitive impairment, or mental health problems.
Annals of Internal Medicine. 2013; 159(9): 584-591. (Samieri, et al.)
Researchers in Quebec measured an anti-inflammatory component of HDL (“good cholesterol”) in ten young adults and ten elderly adults, and found that the older people had less anti-inflammatory activity. After 12 weeks of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) consumption, anti-inflammatory activity increased in both groups and reduced the age-related difference between the two groups.
British Journal of Nutrition. 2013 Oct;110(7):1272:84. Loued et al.
