What is the Mediterranean Diet? – Deseret News

The Mediterranean diet is associated with a 23% lower overall mortality rate in women, as well as a lower risk of death from cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital. These are just some of the benefits, and researchers believe they may have identified an underlying mechanism that explains the health benefits.

The new study followed more than 25,000 initially healthy American women for 25 years to detect physical evidence of diet-related changes in metabolism, inflammation and biomarkers of insulin resistance. JAMA.

“Our study is a message to women who want to live longer: watch your diet. The good news is that following a Mediterranean dietary pattern reduced mortality risk by about a quarter over 25 years, potentially benefiting both cancer and cardiovascular disease mortality, the leading causes of death for women (and men) in the U.S. and around the world,” said lead author Samia Molla, M.D., a cardiologist and director of the Lipid Metabolism Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. news release.

The Mediterranean diet is primarily plant-based and includes nuts, legumes, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Healthy fats, especially extra virgin olive oil, and moderate consumption of fish, poultry, dairy products, and eggs are generally permitted. Red meat, sweets, and processed foods can be eaten occasionally.

“Our study provides important public health insights: even small changes in established risk factors for metabolic disease, particularly those related to small molecule metabolites, inflammation, triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, obesity and insulin resistance, confer significant long-term benefits from adhering to a Mediterranean diet. This finding highlights the possibility that encouraging healthier eating habits may reduce overall mortality risk,” lead author Shafqat Ahmad, associate professor of epidemiology at Uppsala University in Sweden and a researcher in the Center for Lipid Metabolism and Department of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said in the release.

“In this study, adherence to the Mediterranean diet was an indicator of diet quality: those who adhered most closely ate more beans, vegetables and fruit, and less meat and processed meat,” says Dr David Katz, an expert in preventive and lifestyle medicine who founded the nonprofit. True Health Initiativea global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine, He told CNN.

“While this is an observational study and therefore cannot demonstrate direct causation, the findings are entirely consistent with many other studies of the Mediterranean diet, which is now known to have health benefits,” Katz, who was not involved in the study, told CNN.

The researchers noted that a limitation of the study was that it was limited to middle-aged, highly educated female health care workers. Women's Health Research Participants were primarily non-Hispanic and white. The study used food frequency questionnaires and self-reported measures such as height, weight, and blood pressure. However, strengths of the study were its long duration and large number of participants.

The findings are the latest to show the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. BMC Medicine A study conducted by Queen's University Belfast, University of Exeter, University of East Anglia, and University of Edinburgh on data from 60,000 older people in the UK showed that those who adhered to the Mediterranean diet had a 23% lower risk of developing dementia over a nine-year period compared to those who did not.

The authors of the new study point out that different regions have their own versions of the Mediterranean diet that are similar to the Mediterranean diet but incorporate more locally sourced ingredients. Atlantic DietIt emphasizes fish, milk, fruit and vegetables.