Strict Mediterranean Diet Offers Big Health Boost

The researchers also developed an `adherence` score to rate how well people followed the Mediterranean Diet.

Sticking strictly to a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits and vegetables offers substantial protection against cancer, heart disease and other major chronic illnesses, Italian researchers said on Friday.

People who did this had a 9 percent drop in death from heart disease, a 13 percent reduction in incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease and a 6 percent reduction in cancer compared to those who were not as diligent, their study found.

"These results seem to be clinically relevant for public health, particularly for encouraging a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern for primary prevention of major chronic diseases," wrote Francesco Sofi, a clinical nutrition researcher, and colleagues at the University of Florence.

The traditional Mediterranean diet is full of vegetables, fish and healthy fats such as olive oil, and low in red meat, dairy products and alcohol.

Sofi and his team reviewed 12 international studies which included more than 1.5 million people whose eating habits and health were tracked for follow-up periods of three to 18 years.

The researchers also developed an "adherence" score to rate how well people followed the Mediterranean diet, a tool they said doctors could use to help improve people's health and encourage them to eat better.

"The adherence score...could be an effective preventative tool for reducing the risk of mortality and morbidity in the general population," they wrote.


Source Javno Health News

Copyright 2009

Mediterranean Diet Fights Depression

People who practice the Mediterranean diet have 30% less chances of getting depressed than those who don’t.

People who practice the so-called Mediterranean diet, that is, people whose menus are rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and fish, are at a lower risk of developing depression, Reuters writes.

The research conducted by Spanish scientists, found that those who ate the Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of depression by as much as 30 percent compared to those who didn’t.

Mediterranean Diet reduces the risk of diabetes

- The specific mechanisms that prevent the occurrence of depression, are still not known - Almudena Sanchez-Villegas from the University of Las Palmas, which conducted this study, said.

However, she states that elements of the diet can greatly improve cardiovascular function, restore damaged cells in the body, and reduce the development of depression.

The advantage of the Mediterranean diet, the experts note, is also that it reduces the risk of diabetes, asthma and cancer. Scientists obtained this data by analyzing the questionnaire that was filled by 11,000 persons.


Source Javno Health News

Copyright 2009