Mediterranean Diet cuts risk of lung disease

[Guest guest]

A good article, apart from the mention of fish...

 

 

The Mediterranean diet contains a lot of fruit

Eating a Mediterranean diet halves the risk of serious lung disease

like emphysema and bronchitis, a study says.

Grouped under the umbrella term chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

(COPD), they are expected to become the world's third leading cause

of death by 2020.

 

French researchers tracked almost 43,000 men for 12 years.

 

The Thorax study suggests the key could be that the Mediterranean

diet is rich in anti-oxidants, which reduce the risk of tissue

inflammation.

 

Alternatively, lower levels of sugar and nitrates in the diet - both

of which have been linked to impaired lung function - may play a

role.

 

People in the Mediterranean eat lots of fruit, vegetables, whole

grains and fish.

 

A more standard Western diet tends to include higher levels of

processed foods, refined sugars, and cured and red meats.

 

The researchers, from the French research institute Inserm, found

that a Mediterranean diet was associated with a 50% lower risk of

developing COPD than the Western diet - even after taking factors

such as smoking and age into account.

 

And men who ate a predominantly Western diet were more than four

times as likely to develop COPD.

 

Other benefits

 

The study showed that the higher the compliance with a Mediterranean

diet, the lower the risk of developing COPD over the 12-year period.

 

Conversely, the higher the compliance with the Western diet, the

higher was the risk of developing COPD.

 

Last month, an international study reported that a Mediterranean diet

helped prevent the development of asthma and respiratory allergies in

children.

 

And last year, US researchers found that eating a Mediterranean diet

could reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's.

 

Dr Keith Prowse, chairman of the British Lung Foundation, said: " COPD

is a hugely disabling illness and we welcome the findings of this

large study which provide an interesting insight into a possible link

between diet and the disease.

 

" COPD is the only major cause of death whose incidence is on the

increase in the UK and we urgently need more research into all

aspects of the disease so that health services can prevent and treat

it more effectively. "