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Eating a Mediterranean diet rich in healthy fats made from olive oil and nuts provides better protection against heart attacks and strokes than a low-fat diet, has showed a new Spanish trial. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa, 225 South Africans are killed every day by heart disease.
"Extensive research has found a significant benefit from eating a Mediterranean diet, and separate research has shown a significant benefit for the consumption of nuts, especially nuts, which constituted the majority of nuts in this study." She is Associate Director of Women's Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.
"This study combines these two factors and shows that, in combination, this dietary modification has a significant benefit for cardiovascular health," Bond continued. "These new findings provide additional evidence for physicians to educate their patients on how beneficial dietary modifications can be in terms of heart health."
The new report was published online in New England Journal of Medicine
Beneficial Effects
In the clinical trial, led by the Dr. Miguel Angel Martinez-Gonzalez, of the Instituto de Salud in Spain, nearly 7,450 people at high risk of heart disease were badigned to one of three diets, a Mediterranean diet supplemented either with Extra virgin olive oil or with mixed nuts, or a "control" diet focused on reducing fat intake.
Participants were then followed for about five years. the diet helped protect their heart health. A Mediterranean diet focuses on replacing saturated fat with butter and fat cuts of meat with healthy unsaturated fats from sources such as olive oil, nuts and oily fish.
Approximately 3.8% of people in the nut group group had a stroke or heart attack during the follow-up period, compared to 4.4% of people on a low-fat diet. researchers found. Analyzes revealed that the Mediterranean diet with olive oil reduced the risk of stroke or heart attack by 31%, and that the diet with nuts reduced the risk by 28% , according to the authors
Colleen Chiariello is a clinical dietitian at Northwell Health's Syosset Hospital in Syosset, New York. She said: "The researchers concluded that following a Mediterranean diet with olive oil or extra nuts has beneficial effects, especially for high-risk patients who are trying to prevent cardiovascular events. . "
And Dr. Robert Eckel, director of the Lipid Clinic of the University of Colorado, Denver, said that the Mediterranean diet has long been recognized as a heart-healthy diet by the American Heart Association. But Dr. Eckel is not sure that this study adds much to the already strong evidence supporting this diet. That's because the low-fat diet control group was asked to eat less than 30% of their daily calories in fat, which is "not beneficial," he said. Is the diet affordable?
"The control group was on a low fat diet that did not correspond to current dietary recommendations," notes Dr. Eckel. In addition, a Washington DC nutritionist, Rebecca Scritchfield, pointed out that the clinical trial took place in Spain, and that there are critical lifestyle differences between this more laid-back country and the states. -United.
A man in America who literally works to death, no amount of salmon, walnuts or olive oil will save you, "said Scritchfield, author of Body Kindness . Protecting heart health primarily because it replaces saturated fats with unsaturated fats, explained Dr. Eckel and Scritchfield.People still feel the fullness badociated with fat but are not likely to
Scritchfield also worries about whether the poorest people can afford to follow the Mediterranean diet, which involves a lot of healthy food.
"Eat must be affordable, "she said." We could exclude a group of people if it is a costly way to eat because they could not afford the food. "
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