Mediterranean diet not just for losing weight but also for health

Mediterranean diet reduces risk of heart attack and Co – despite fat

The Mediterranean diet: the Japanese diet to be the healthiest in the world. You can stop, according to the latest studies, a veritable Overeating and the life expectancy increase significantly. In this diet, the fats are actually very healthy!

The healthy Mediterranean cuisine

Experts emphasize again and again the benefits of the healthy Mediterranean cuisine. Italian, Spanish or Portuguese dishes are not only extremely delicious, but due to the ingredients often also have a positive impact on our health.

Recently, doctors reported in the journal “European Heart Journal” reported that eating a Mediterranean diet in cardiovascular-protects seizures complaints against heart attacks and strokes. And canadian scientists showed that this diet also protects the memory.

Not even fat, you will have to do without

Particularly positive: in Order to reduce the risk of heart attack, Diabetes and cancer, it is not necessary to dispense with the Mediterranean diet seem to change to bold. Scientists Hanna Bloomfield from the Minneapolis VA Medical Center have now carried out the current facts and analyses.

The “ärzte Zeitung” reported, they focused on studies that have examined the effect of a Mediterranean diet without General fat restriction in the Primary and secondary prevention. Their results were published recently in the journal “Annals of Internal Medicine”.

A high proportion of fat with nuts and olive oil supplements

In their study, the results of the PREDIMED study (“Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea were included”), a study from Spain with a 7.447 men and women aged 55 to 80 years. The percentage of fat in the Mediterranean diet that was supplemented either with nuts or extra-virgin olive oil, was up to 40 percent of the daily energy needs.

The risk of the subjects for serious cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction or stroke was reduced with this diet, relative to 29 percent in comparison to the control group that was encouraged to eat low fat. The risk for type-2 Diabetes was 30 percent lower. The total mortality rate, this type of diet had no influence.

Breast cancer risk is reduced

The Other was in the PREDIMED study Mediterranean diet also reduce the risk of breast cancer relative to 57 percent. There is also evidence to suggest that this diet can reduce the risk for other tumor types. Whether Mediterranean can diet to prevent cognitive disorders and dementia is not clear.

Although there is a study, which with the Mediterranean sea, the frequency of diet was reduced in mild cognitive impairment by approximately 50 percent, but a further study found no Association.

Better than a low-fat diet

A different analysis of the PREDIMED study in The journal “The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology“ was published, also showed that a Mediterranean style diet that is rich in vegetable fat from olive oil or nuts, reduces body weight better than a low-fat diet.

As with most diet studies, some questions remain, however, open. Since many of the new findings are from the PREDIMED study, the effect of the Mediterranean diet in high-risk patients had been investigated, it is not clear whether their results to other groups of the population to reproduce.

There is also no clear and generally accepted consensus on the Definition of the Mediterranean diet, to interpret such comparisons difficult. Also, the authors of the current study indicate that investigated whether the observed effects of diet, individual components of the Mediterranean or of the total composition. (ad)