What is a green Mediterranean diet?

A “greener” form of the Mediterranean diet that contains more plant material and far less red meat and poultry than the traditional version, could be even healthier for the heart, especially in men, according to a study published Monday in Heart magazine.

The original version of the diet has been linked in numerous studies to a lower risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Its impact is believed to be linked to a higher dietary intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and lower consumption of red meat.

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“The main message of this study is that a Mediterranean diet even more restricted in the consumption of red meat and with a parallel increase in green plant-based proteins with a high content of polyphenols and phytosterols may offer better cardiometabolic protection compared to a healthy Mediterranean diet and helps lower LDL cholesterol, ”said Iris Shai, study co-author, professor of epidemiology and public health at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, Israel and professor assistant at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

“This was particularly noticeable in the unusual and significant 4% reduction in ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL) and a 20% regression of low-grade systemic inflammation,” Shai said in an email.

To explore whether the green form of the Mediterranean diet might be superior to the original, Shai and his colleagues gathered 294 sedentary, moderately obese adults whose average age was 51 and randomly assigned them to one of three groups.

The first group received advice on stimulating physical activity and achieving a healthy diet; the second, received the same encouragement to increase physical activity and advice to follow the traditional Mediterranean diet with calories limited to 1,500 to 1,800 per day for men and 1,200 to 1,400 per day for women; and the third group received the same physical activity advice plus advice on how to follow the green Mediterranean diet with the same calorie restrictions as the second group.

The third group was encouraged to avoid red and processed meats, consume 28 grams / day of nuts (about 7-8 nuts), drink three to four cups / day of green tea, and eat more plant materials, including 100 grams of cubes of wolffia globosa frozen in a shake to replace the meat.

Wolffia globosa, also known as duckweed, “has been consumed as human food for hundreds of years, mainly in Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, where it is called ‘meat for the poor’ thanks to its high protein content, ”explained Shai. You can buy it as a supplement in powder or frozen form.

When Shai and his colleagues compared the three groups, they found that participants in both Mediterranean diet groups lost more weight than the healthy eating group. On average, those who followed the green Mediterranean diet lost almost 14 pounds (6.3 kg), those who followed the traditional Mediterranean diet lost almost 12 pounds (5.4 kg), while those who followed a diet healthy lost just over three pounds (1.5 kg).

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Participants of the green Mediterranean diet lost just over 8.6 cm (3 inches) in height, compared to just under 3 inches (6.8 cm) among those on the traditional Mediterranean diet and less than 2 inches (4 , 3 cm) among those on a healthy diet. Participants of the green Mediterranean diet also saw greater drops in LDL cholesterol.

People on the green Mediterranean diet also experienced greater improvements in blood pressure, insulin resistance, and C-reactive protein, an important marker of inflammation.

While the green Mediterranean diet may appeal to some people, “I don’t think there are enough advantages over the traditional Mediterranean diet for everyone to do,” said Julia Denison, coordinator of the clinical nutrition for UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh. “It would depend on the person. If a person was able to follow the traditional Mediterranean diet well and wanted to do more, it might appeal to him.

Denison was intrigued by the Wolffia Globosa. “What’s interesting is that it contains all nine amino acids,” she says. “A lot of plants don’t. You usually need to eat two of them together to achieve this, such as rice and beans. It is also very high in protein compared to other plant sources.