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Med Diet More Effective Than Low-Fat Diet

Researchers at University Hospital in Basel, Switzerland systematically identified randomized controlled trials comparing Mediterranean to low-fat diets for overweight or obese subjects. Only those studies with a minimum follow-up of six month, and that included data on cardiovascular risk factors were included. The researchers concluded that, in the six studies examined, people assigned to the Med Diet group showed more weight loss, lower BMI, lower blood pressure, better blood sugar control, reduced cholesterol, and lower C-reactive protein than those following a low-fat diet in these interventions.

The American Journal of Medicine. September 2011; 124(9):841-851 e2

Med Diet Successful Against Metabolic Syndrome

In a study conducted by the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut, twenty-five women with Metabolic Syndrome and elevated plasma LDL (“bad”) cholesterol followed a Mediterranean-style low-glycemic-load diet for 12 weeks.  All women experienced favorable impacts on metabolic syndrome factors, with decreases in waist circumference, plasma triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure compared with baseline.  Participants also saw reductions in LDL cholesterol, in plasma insulin and in expression of the HMG-CoA reductase gene – a key regulatory gene in cholesterol.
Nutrition Research 2011 Sep; 31(9): 659-64 (Jones et al.)

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Risks from Atrial Fibrillation

In a case-controlled study at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, scientists compared 400 subjects with known atrial fibrillation to 400 matched controls with no evidence of this type of abnormal heart rhythm. They found that those with atrial fibrillation scored lower on the Mediterranean Diet score, and had fewer antioxidants in their diets. Researchers think that the hearts of the controls, with their healthier Med-style diets, were more likely to experience “spontaneous conversion” – a quick self-correction –of any arrhythmias that did occur
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Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Disease, July 26, 2011 [Epub ahead of print]

Risk of Diabetes Reduced with Greater Med Diet Adherence

As part of Europe’s EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) Project, scientists based in London studied almost 12,000 cases of Type 2 diabetes and their correlation to Mediterranean Diet adherence. After scoring subjects on nine dietary components characteristic of the Med Diet, they found that those adhering most closely to the Mediterranean Diet were 12% less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes; those with medium adherence reduced their risk by 7%.

Diabetes Care, July 25, 2011 [Epub ahead of print]

Countering the Effect of Depression in Elderly Heart Attack Patients

Many studies have found links between heart disease and depression. Researchers in Greece set out to study whether elderly patients (mean age 75 years) admitted to the hospital for acute heart disease were more likely to suffer another cardiovascular incident within 30 days if they exhibited symptoms of depression. The scientists did, in fact, find that depressive symptoms heightened the risk of this type of relapse, but that higher adherence to the Mediterranean Diet erased the association.

Cardiology Research and Practice, 2011: 429487 [Epub May 9, 2011]

Cardiac Rehab Program: Med Diet Treats Metabolic Syndrome

People with any three of five common symptoms – high blood pressure, high blood sugar, large waist circumference, low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides – are said to have Metabolic Syndrome, a condition associated with many health risks, including diabetes and heart disease. Because Metabolic Syndrome usually leads to serious disease, researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School set out to design a lifestyle program to combat Metabolic Syndrome. 126 obese over-50 adults with Metabolic Syndrome followed a program consisting of 12 weekly ninety-minute sessions, evenly divided between exercise and nutrition education focusing on the Mediterranean Diet. At the end of the program, patients had lost on average 6.2kg (13.6 lbs), with significant reductions in waist circumference, body fat, blood pressure, triglycerides, and depression. About 20% of those finishing the program no longer had Metabolic Syndrome, and 42% had lost at least one symptom, thanks to the Med Diet and exercise.

Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention, July 4, 2011 [Epub ahead of print]

Metabolic Syndrome Factors Improve with Med Diet

In a 12-week randomized trial, 89 women with Metabolic Syndrome were divided into two groups, one consuming a Mediterranean-style low-glycemic-load diet and the other receiving the same diet with the addition of a “medical food” containing phytosterols, soy protein, hops and acacia. At the end of the trial, researchers at the University of Connecticut noted that both groups had similar decreases in waist circumference, blood pressure and plasma triglycerides. Cholesterol levels also improved in both groups, though slightly more in the Med Diet + medical food group.

Journal of Clinical Lipidology, May-June 2011; 5(3):188-96. Epub 2011 Mar 11.

Med Diet Improves Health Markers of Kids with Type 1 Diabetes

Italian researchers at the University of Piemonte Orientale studied the diets of 96 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, before and after these young people and their families attended training with a dietitian on how to follow a traditional Mediterranean Diet. After six months, the children’s dietary lipids and cholesterol improved, while fiber consumption increased.

Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, May 27, 2011 [Epub ahead of print]

Med Diet Reduces Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

To assess the Mediterranean Diet’s effect on metabolic syndrome, scientists in Greece and Italy conducted a meta-analysis of 50 peer-reviewed Med Diet studies (including 35 clinical trials) involving more than half a million people. Metabolic Syndrome is considered to be present if someone has three or more of the following: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, large waist circumference, low HDL cholesterol, and high triglycerides. The researchers found that the Med Diet improved all five risk factors, and overall reduced the risk of Metabolic Syndrome. They concluded that “this dietary pattern can be easily adopted by all population groups and various cultures, and cost-effectively serve for primary and secondary prevention of Metabolic Syndrome and its individual components.”

Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 15 March 2011; 57:1299-1313.

High-Phenolic Olive Oil Protects Arteries Best

Oxidized LDL (low-density lipoprotein, or “bad cholesterol”) has been shown to increase the risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Oxidized LDL antibodies (OLAB) have been shown, in studies, to protect against atherosclerosis. Scientists in five European countries working as part of the EUROLIVE Study Group designed a crossover study to see whether higher polyphenol levels in different olive olis would generate more OLABs. 200 healthy men were randomly assigned to consume, in three week stints, 25mL a day (just under two tablespoons) of each of three olive oils with high, medium, and low phenolic content. The researchers found that the protective OLABs increased in direct relationship to the phenolic content of the olive oils.

Clinical Nutrition, March 3, 2011 [Epub ahead of print]

MUFAs are Protective Against Heart Disease and Metabolic Syndrome

Our understanding of the role of fats in our diet is shifting from a focus on the total quantity of fat to one emphasizing the quality of fats. Scientists at the University of Manitoba carried out a thorough review of research detailing the association of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) with cardiovascular disease and with metabolic syndrome. They concluded that MUFAs are cardioprotective and reduce the risk of obesity, particularly when they are substituted for saturated fats.

Lipids, February 10, 2011 [Epub ahead of print]

Brain MRIs show Less Disease with Med Diet

Scientists at the Taub Institute for Research in Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain (at U.C. Davis) collected high-resolution MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) data on the brains of 707 elderly New Yorkers. They then studied dietary assessments of these people from the past 5.8 years (on average), and divided the participants into three groups according to Mediterranean Diet adherence. They found that participants in the top-adherence group had 36% less evidence of cerebrovascular disease, and those in the middle group had 22% reduced odds, and concluded that “higher adherence to the Mediteranean Diet is associated with reduced cerbrovascular disease burden.”

Annals of Neurology, February 2011; 69(2): 257-68

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