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Mediterranean Diet May Help Prevent Heart Disease

Researchers analyzed the diets of more than 15,000 adults at risk of heart disease from 39 countries to see if their eating habits were more representative of the Mediterranean diet or the Western diet. In those most closely following a Mediterranean diet, each 1 point increase on the Mediterranean Diet Score was linked with a 7% lower risk of a major heart problem (heart attack, stroke, or death) over the 4 year follow up. Similarly, researchers also calculated a simplified Mediterranean Diet Score for the participants (based only on daily consumption of fruits and vegetables, and weekly consumption of fish and alcohol), and found that each 1 point increase in the simplified Mediterranean Diet Score was linked with a 10% lower risk of major heart problems. Fish and tofu/soybeans were the only individual food groups that were significantly associated with a lower risk of heart problems after adjusting for education, health, and lifestyle factors. Consumption of specific foods common to the Western diet was not significantly linked with heart disease risk in this analysis, leading the scientists to conclude that “Greater consumption of healthy foods may be more important for secondary prevention of coronary artery disease than avoidance of less healthy foods.”
European Heart Journal. 2016 April 24. [Epub ahead of print.] (Stewart RAH et al.)

Plant Based Diets Can Better Feed a Growing Population, without Deforestation

Forests are an important harbor of biodiversity and carbon storage, so cutting into forests to create more cropland could be very harmful to the ecosystem. To see how we can feed a growing world without cutting into forests, Austrian researchers analyzed 500 different scenarios with varying levels of cropland expansion, dietary patterns, and crop yields.  They found that “a large range of options exist to feed a no-deforestation world,” by 2050, but greatly varied based on what types of foods we’d choose to eat. For example, their models found that if the current North American diet (lots of meat and highly processed foods) continues to expand globally, only 15% of the scenarios involving this eating pattern are feasible. However, “all vegan scenarios and 94% of the vegetarian scenarios are feasible,” indicating the overall sustainability of plant based diets.
Nature Communication. 2016 Apr 19;7:11382. (Erb KH et al.)

Med Diet & Diets with Whole Grains May Lower Risk of High Blood Pressure After Gestational Diabetes

Women who have had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) are at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure. To see how diet might relate to this trend, researchers monitored the eating patterns and health records of more than 3,800 women who had previously been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. After adjusting for BMI, age, and other demographic factors, the women most closely following a Mediterranean diet had a 30% lower risk of developing high blood pressure over the 18-year study. Similarly, women following other healthy eating patterns (such as the DASH diet) that emphasized fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and were low in red and processed meats, had a 24-28% lower risk of developing high blood pressure.
Hypertension. 2016 April 18. [Epub ahead of print.] (Li S et al.)

Mediterranean Diet Better than Low Fat Diet for Weight Loss, Blood Sugar Control

Those looking to drop the pounds need not eliminate fat from their diet, especially if they follow a Mediterranean diet. To evaluate the Mediterranean diet’s effect on weight loss, researchers reviewed data from 5 randomized controlled trials (one of the strongest types of research studies) encompassing a total of 998 participants. In each of the studies, overweight and obese adults (most having type 2 diabetes or heart disease) were assigned to either a Mediterranean diet, or another diet (low fat, low carbohydrate, or American Diabetes Association diets) for at least a year. Those in the Mediterranean diet groups lost between 9-22 pounds, in line with the results from the low carbohydrate or the American Diabetes Association diet. However, those in the low fat group lost significantly less weight, between 6-11 pounds total. Participants with type 2 diabetes also saw better improvements in blood sugar control on the Mediterranean diet than in other diets.
American Journal of Medicine. 2016 Apr;129(4):407-415.e4. (Mancini JG et al.)

Eating Fruit While Pregnant May Help Your Baby's Memory & Brain Function

The current recommendation for pregnant women is to eat 2 cups of fruit per day (3−4 servings). However, a recent study suggests that eating as many as 3 cups of fruit per day (6−7 servings) during pregnancy is linked with improved memory and brain function of infants. In this study, Canadian researchers looked at how eating fruit during pregnancy affects babies. In a group of more than 650 babies, the researchers found that eating more fruit during pregnancy was associated with beneficial effects on babies’ brains, regardless of the mother’s level of education, socioeconomic status, other eating habits, and daily vitamin intake.
EBioMedicine. 2016 April;EBIOM−00578;No of Pages 10. (Bolduc FV et al.)

Eating Fresh Fruit Linked with Lower Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Levels, and Lower Risk of Heart Disease

New research suggests that the old adage rings true: An apple a day may in fact keep the doctor away. In a study of more than 450,000 Chinese adults, people who ate fresh fruit daily had a 34% lower risk of heart attack, a 25-36% lower risk of stroke, and a 40% lower risk of death from heart disease than those who never or rarely ate fresh fruit (less than once per month). Additionally, the systolic blood pressure (the top number in the blood pressure reading) of the daily fresh fruit eaters was 4 mm Hg lower than that of the people who never or rarely ate fresh fruit. The researchers report that “There was a strong log-linear dose-response relationship between the incidence of each outcome and the amount of fresh fruit consumed,” meaning that the more fresh fruit someone ate, the less likely they were to have heart disease.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2016 Apr 7;374(14):1332-43. (Du H et al.)

Mediterranean Diet May Slow Down Aging

For the past 5 years European researchers have been conducting a study to see how following the Mediterranean diet affects aging among older adults. The study (known as the NU-AGE consortium) recently ended and the preliminary findings are impressive. Following a Mediterranean diet was linked not only with significantly improved inflammatory markers in the body (which are linked to the aging process), but also with reduced bone loss in people with osteoporosis. A more in-depth analysis of the study is expected to yield further support that following a Mediterranean diet is highly beneficial to our health.
Presentation at the NU-AGE Final Conference. Brussels, Belgium. April 5, 2016.

Sprouting Brown Rice Improves Eating Quality & Cooking Properties

Sprouting grains, by soaking them and allowing them to germinate, is a popular practice among health conscious consumers and a growing number of food manufacturers. In this review, scientists summarized what we know about how the sprouting process affects brown rice (increases GABA, decreases amylose, slightly increases protein, and other bioactive changes), as well as common practices (time/temperature) for producing these results. Most interestingly, the researchers found that sprouting brown rice “increases the rate of water absorption and softens the cooked [brown rice] kernels, improving eating quality,” and that “stickiness and blandness decreased.” They also report that sprouted brown rice is “easier to cook and required less cooking time” than regular brown rice.
Food Chemistry. 2016 Apr 1;196:259-71. (Cho DH et al.)

Pulses May Help Aid Weight Loss

Dietary changes are a key target in obesity prevention programs, so many foods are being studied for their affect on body weight. To see if eating more pulses (the food group that includes beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas) might help reduce obesity, researchers analyzed 21 randomized control trials looking at pulses’ role in weight, body fat, and waist circumference in overweight and obese adults. Diets that included dietary pulses did not significantly reduce waist circumference. There was a trend in reduction of body fat (-0.34%), but it was not significant as well. Overall, the researchers found that those eating about 1 serving of pulses per day lost, on average, about 0.75 pounds over six weeks. Not surprisingly, results were stronger in weight loss diets (3.8 pounds over 6 weeks) than weight maintenance diets (0.6 pounds over 6 weeks). Although the weight loss was small, this study indicates that a modest serving of pulses may help produce weight loss, even without cutting calories.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2016 Mar 30. [Epub Ahead of Print] (Kim SJ et al.)

Med Diet Linked With A Lower Risk for Hip Fractures

While Mediterranean cuisine regularly includes low to moderate amounts of dairy (often from traditional cheeses and yogurts), milk is not as prominent as it is in other eating patterns. Therefore, scientists are very interested in learning more about the bone health of those who follow a Mediterranean diet. To study this relationship, researchers analyzed the diets of 90,000 older women (ages 50-79) from the Women’s Health Initiative cohort for 15 years. They found that those most closely following a Mediterranean diet had a 20% lowered risk for hip fractures than those who did not eat a Mediterranean diet.
JAMA Internal Medicine. 2016 Mar 28. [Epub ahead of print] (Haring B, et al.)

Culturally Tailored Lifestyle Program Improves Health of Hispanic Americans with Diabetes

Heritage is a powerful motivator for change, as healthy habits are most sustainable when they are culturally relevant, with the support  of friends and family. In this study, researchers recruited 36 adults with diabetes and their families to an 8-week culturally tailored diabetes education program (which integrated cultural foods, beliefs, and values) taught in Spanish. One month after the program ended, the participants showed significant improvements in systolic blood pressure (the top number in your blood pressure reading), fruit and vegetable intake, diabetes knowledge, and dietary management. Their family members also benefited from the program, with significant improvements in BMI and diabetes knowledge.
The Diabetes Educator. 2016 Mar 8. [Epub ahead of print.] (Hu J et al.)

5 Years of Healthy Lifestyle Advice Can Have Lifelong Benefits

Even a few years of healthy lifestyle advice can leave a lasting impression on long-term health. European researchers randomly assigned a large group of middle-aged Norwegian men (who were healthy, but at high risk of heart disease) to either a 5-year program with healthy lifestyle advice (specifically, advice to stop smoking, eat less saturated fat, and eat more fish and vegetables), or a control group without the advice. The researchers then followed over 1,200 of these men for 40 years, to monitor any lasting effects on mortality. The scientists conclude that “Receiving advice about a healthy lifestyle led to a long-term reduced risk of coronary mortality during the following 40 years,” and they suggest that “systematically providing effective counselling for a healthy lifestyle for 5 years can lead to lifelong benefits.”
Journal of Internal Medicine. 2016 Feb 29. [Epub ahead of print] (Holme I et al.)

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