Mediterranean Diets for CVD Prevention

A recent dietary study (PREDIMED*) showed that a Mediterranean diet with either extra virgin olive oil or mixed nuts reduced the risk of cardiovascular events by near 30% in people at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

PREDIMED: Oil and Nuts Over Fat Restriction

The study enrolled 7447 men and women ranging in age from 55 to 80 years, none of whom had established cardiovascular disease but who were at high CV risk. Subjects were randomized to one of two Mediterranean diet groups (one supplemented with olive oil, the other with nuts) or to a control diet wherein subjects were advised to try to reduce dietary fat.

Patients in the Mediterranean-diet groups were invited to regular dietary training sessions; by contrast, those in the control group were, for the first three years, sent leaflets explaining a low-fat diet. After a protocol amendment at the three-year mark, low-fat-diet patients were also invited to regular group sessions and offered personalized advice at the same level of intensity as the Mediterranean groups.

Of special note, subjects randomized to the Mediterranean diets were not told to reduce calories, a major barrier to success in many dietary interventions, particularly the long-supported "low-fat" approach.

Good Fat and Bad

Mediterranean diet is a diet healthier than others. A diet plan should be to increase the intake of the key foods (vegetables, fruit, nuts, fish, legumes, and extra virgin olive oil), also increase the intake of white meat, and decrease the intake of red and processed meat, soda drinks, whole dairy products, commercial bakery goods, and sweets and pastries. Animal fat should be avoided.

*PREDIMED (2003-2011) study was led by Dr Ramón Estruch (Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain) and Dr Miguel Angel Martínez-González (Clinical Universidad de Navaraa, Pamplona, Spain).

Resource: Shelley Wood, Medscape, Feb. 25th, 2013