Mediterranean Diet Is Good for Your Heart-Study

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Health - Reuters

 

Mediterranean Diet Is Good for Your Heart-Study

Sun Nov 9, 4:22 PM ET Add Health - Reuters to My

 

 

By Lisa Richwine

 

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A " Mediterranean diet " rich in olive

oil and lean on meat reduced signs of inflammation that raise the

risk of heart disease, researchers reported Sunday.

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The finding was among the newest evidence, presented at an annual

meeting of the American Heart Association (news - web sites), that

diets low in fat and rich in fruits and vegetables may prevent heart

disease - the leading killer of Americans.

 

 

A Mediterranean diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fish and olive

oil, and very little meat, and has been linked to lower heart

disease rates.

 

 

In the new study, researchers tracked the eating habits of about

3,000 men and women in Greece, aged 18 to 89, who did not have

cardiovascular disease.

 

 

The closer people adhered to the Mediterranean diet, the lower their

levels of various measures of inflammation, which recent research

shows plays a major role in development of heart disease.

 

 

Some have speculated that other factors, such as exercise and stress

levels of Mediterranean countries, may account for the heart

benefits.

 

 

But Demosthenes Panagiotakos of Harokopian University of Athens,

Greece, lead researcher of the new study, said his findings held

true even when differences in body mass index, physical activity,

age, sex and education level were accounted for.

 

 

" The effect of this diet was independent " he said.

 

 

He added that he believed the benefits " were from the diet as a

whole, not specific items consumed. "

 

 

EAT FISH

 

 

A separate study, at Tufts University in Boston, helped explain why

eating fish is good for the heart. It showed eating at least two

servings of fish each week was linked to slower worsening of heart

lesions.

 

 

The findings were particularly true for tuna and dark meat fish such

as salmon, sardines and mackerel and for diabetic women. Researchers

are unsure why white fish did not seem as beneficial, said Arja

Erikkila, the lead researcher.

 

 

Other researchers at Oregon Health & Science University set out to

discover how fish oil supplements prevent sudden cardiac death. One

theory is that they reduce the occurrence of dangerous irregular

heart beats, or arrhythmias.

 

 

Looking at 200 patients who had implanted defibrillators that

recorded arrhythmias, the researchers found the fish oil supplements

did not decrease the frequency any more than placebo capsules.

 

 

Still, strong evidence remains that fish oil and other sources of

Omega-3 fatty acids such as flaxseed oil, reduce death from

cardiovascular disease, and people should not abandon them, said Dr.

Raymond Gibbons, chairman of the American Heart Association's

scientific sessions committee.