Study Shows Med Diet Better for The Heart Than Statins

Study Shows Med Diet Better for The Heart Than Statins

Spain is one of the healthiest places in the world to live

with 320 days of sunshine and its wonderful

Mediterranean diet, which helps you live longer 

It’s been shown by a new study that people who eat the Mediterranean diet are able to protect their heart better than people taking certain blood pressure correction and heart-protection medications.

The Mediterranean diet is the kind of diet that you find in countries like Spain, Italy and Greece. This Med diet involves plenty of olive oil, fresh fruit and v
eg, and fish. Don’t worry though; you don’t need to eat this diet in a bodega to get the benefits!

While there might be some health benefits to this socially inclusive way of eating the study from the IRCCS Nuromed Institute in Italy was focused entirely on the foods involved. This study showed that when heart patients were fed this Med diet their chances of dying an early death was slashed by a massive 37%, just over twice the 16% cut that heart medicine provides.

The researchers say that they can’t directly compare the figures and added many heart patients should combine the effects of both the Mediterranean diet and heart pills to get the best protection.

Even so the results were bound to draw attention in the medical world. The research would appear to back up several other studies and all of the anecdotal evidence that shows the health benefits of eating the traditional Mediterranean diet.

When people eat plenty of olive oil, fruits, vegetables and fish they ingest less fat and more beneficial nutrients. This nutritional balance has been shown to protect against diabetes, heart disease, and even some forms of cancer because of the anti-inflammatory effects of these foods and the nutrients they contain.

The study was headed by Professor Giovanni de Gaetano who went on to say that the Mediterranean diet was more effective than medication. Professor Gaetano also suggested that the government should begin subsidising fruits and vegetables and even make some fruit and vegetables freely available at doctor’s surgeries.

There are seven million adults dealing with heart disease in the UK alone.

Professor de Gaetano said that the study showed people eating a Mediterranean diet showed 37% less chance of dying from any cause compared to people who were eating poor diets. He added that the Mediterranean diet is accepted as being one of the healthiest diets there is. There have been several other studies into the Mediterranean diet that have shown how effective it is at reducing the chances of developing chronic issues and dying from any cause. Most of this research was focused on the general population though. These were people who were already healthy. De Gaetano wanted to look into the effects on people who already suffered from cardiovascular disease and if it would still be the best option for them.

The research would show that the diet is just as effective, if not more so, for people who need to control these conditions. Combining the Mediterranean diet with statin could provide the ultimate two-pronged attack to control these conditions without the negative side effects of medication such as muscle pain.

The study was done on 1,200 Italians who were followed for seven years. These participants all had heart disease and were instructed to record the foods they ate during this seven year period. How well they adhered to the Mediterranean diet was scored using a nine-point scoring system and, after other factors were considered (smoking, weight, gender, and exercise levels), the study showed that there was an average 21% reduced chance of death from heart disease with people following the Med diet. This went up to 37% for the people who strictly followed the diet.

Spain offers many chances for people to follow the Mediterranean diet as the cost of living in Spain is low and most restaurants and supermarkets make all the ingredients available at affordable prices. When you combine this diet with the outdoors lifestyle and a healthy climate it’s not hard to understand why the Spanish life expectancy is higher than most of Europe.

Why the Spanish Diet is Better Than Any Fad Diet

Why the Spanish Diet is Better Than Any Fad Diet

The Mediterranean diet is considered very healthy

It’s been discovered that a Mediterranean diet with plenty of healthy fats is a great tool to lose weight. At least according to one study. It seems obvious that removing fat is how you lose weight. A recent study from the University of Barcelona disputes the idea. In fact they believe that some fats (interestingly found in the Mediterranean diet) can help people lose weight.

The university conducted a trial in which they took 7,500 obese people and put them on a diet of healthy fats. This diet included plenty of olive oil, nuts, oily fish, and some red meats.

The results of the study showed that the people on this “fatty” diet didn’t gain more weight than the control group of people who cut out fat from their diet altogether. This study backs up claims from other studies that the Spanish Mediterranean diet, filled with fruit, vegetables, olives and fish, is great for health.

A member of the university said that the trial shows that eating a high-fat, high vegetable diet like the Mediterranean diet doesn’t cause someone to gain weight. Some people are criticising the narrow band of people in the trial. All 7,500 people were overweight, Caucasian, and aged between 55 – 80. It’s been suggested that the results, and any health advice gleaned from them, may not apply to different age groups and races.

It has been proven at least that the Mediterranean diet is lower in cholesterol in other diets and can increase your life expectancy, but it has also been suggested that some parts of the diet, particularly the fats found in Jamón Ibérico, can make certain health conditions worse. Critics have also pointed out that the lack of weight gain in the already obese patients could be due to a number of factors and may have nothing to do with the diet itself.

There is still consensus on some parts of the trial though. Even critics to the trial agree that eating too many carbohydrates can cause one to gain weight, and that the nutrition community derides fats and sugars present in processed meats, desserts, fast food and sweet drinks.
Its was also found and important form an early age that children should start with a healthy diet and carry this on throughout their lifespan to live longer than a child that eats unhealthy.

Spain is considered one of the healthiest places to live on the planet, this is due the healthily Mediterranean diet.