MEDITERRANEAN DIET ALSO HELPS THOSE WITH HEART PROBLEMS
Those with cardiovascular disease should follow the Mediterranean Diet.
The Mediterranean Diet prevents serious diseases not only for healthy people, making them live longer, but also for patients with cardiovascular problems.
The study is part of the Moli-sano project, which collected data from 25 citizens of Molise. Specifically, the study on the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet on heart disease involved about 1,197 individuals with a history of heart disease.
The adherence to the Mediterranean Diet of these volunteers was scored from 0 to 9 points.
Those who adhered to the Mediterranean Diet saw their risk of death lowered by 37 percent compared to the group that followed its rules less.
By isolating individual elements, it was possible to calculate how much individual foods could affect: high vegetable intake affects 26 percent, fish provides a benefit of 23 percent, fruit and nut intake contributes 13.4 percent, and high intake of monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids 12.9 percent.
“These results,” explained Giovanni de Gaetano, head of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention at Irccs Neuromed, Mediterranean Neurological Institute in Pozzilli, Isernia, Italy, “are prompting us to investigate the mechanism by which the Mediterranean Diet may protect against the risk of death. There are several hypotheses. The foods that, as our study confirms, contribute the most are characterized by polyphenols, substances that give color to fruits and vegetables, but above all have an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and may promote health precisely by reducing inflammation and lipid oxidation, mechanisms that lead to tissue deterioration, and death.”
Alfio Lo Conte
Tecnico ed esperto degli oli extravergini di oliva, iscritto nell’Elenco Nazionale sezione Campania.
Maestro di frantoio con diploma, conseguito presso International Extravirgin Agency.
Read more articles by: Alfio Lo Conte
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