Med Diet — Scientific Studies

Scientists have intensely studied the eating patterns characteristic of the Mediterranean Diet for over 50 years.

The first study examined the health status of the people of Crete at the end of the 1940’s.  It reached the startling conclusion that even after the deprivations of World War II, the cardiovascular health of Crete residents exceeded that of US residents.  Researchers attributed the differences to diet.

Shortly after World War II, Ancel Keys and colleagues (including Paul Dudley White, President Eisenhower’s heart doctor) organized the remarkable Seven Countries Study to examine the hypothesis that Mediterranean-eating patterns contributed directly to improved health outcomes.  This long-running study proved the diet-health hypothesis and spawned several related studies – all of which reached similar conclusions.

Out of this extensive work came an understanding that certain Mediterranean-eating patterns were remarkably connected with good health.  From this understanding emerged the concept of a “Mediterranean Diet” that was found to promote lifelong good health.

In subsequent years the body of scientific evidence supporting the healthfulness of the traditional Mediterranean Diet continues to grow, and it is now referred to as the “Gold Standard” for healthy dietary patterns.

The following excerpts from medical and scientific journals show the enormous amount of evidence supporting the “Gold Standard” status of traditional Mediterranean eating patterns, which have been shown to:

1. Lengthen your life (1-5)

2. Defend you from chronic diseases (6-12)

3. Fight cancer (13-16)

4. Lower your risk for heart disease along with your blood pressure and "bad" cholesterol levels (17-25)

5. Protect you from diabetes (26-28)

6. Aid your weight loss and management efforts (29-32)

7. Keep away depression (33)

8. Safeguard you from Alzheimer's disease (34, 35)

9. Ward off Parkinson's disease (36)

10. Improve rheumatoid arthritis, and (37, 38)

11. Help you breathe better (39-42)

    

Lengthen Your Life

¹ These results provide strong evidence for a beneficial effect of higher conformity with the Mediterranean dietary pattern on risk of death from all causes, including deaths due to CVD and cancer, in a US population.

² The findings of the present study in a northern European population of young women indicate that closer adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern reduces mortality even among young persons.

³ In this large, population-based cohort study, we found that a higher degree of adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduction in total mortality (17%) ... with respect to both deaths due to coronary heart disease and deaths due to cancer.

⁴ Trichopoulou et al. report the results of a population-based study involved 22,043 apparently healthy adults in Greece, in which adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet was associated with significantly lower total mortality, mortality from coronary heart disease, and mortality from cancer.

⁵ Adherence to the principles of the traditional Mediterranean diet is likely to be associated with lower overall mortality. Moreover, key features of this diet appear to be transplantable to other dietary cultures and cuisines, and may have a substantial beneficial impact on the general mortality of elderly people who have the Westernized dietary habits. We conclude that a diet that adheres to thee principles of the traditional Mediterranean diet is associated with longer survival.

Defend you from chronic diseases

⁶These results provide strong evidence for a beneficial effect of higher conformity with the Mediterranean dietary pattern on a  risk of death from all causes, including deaths due to CVD and cancer in a US population.

⁷ During the past decades a large body of evidence has related adherence to a Mediterranean diet with reductions in all-cause mortality, the prevalence of metabolic disorders such as obesity and high blood pressure, and the incidence of coronary heart disease and various types of cancer.

 

⁸ Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced odds of having hyper-cholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes and obesity among elderly people.

⁹ Together with regular physical activity and not smoking, our analyses suggest that over 80% of coronary heart disease, 70% of stroke, and 90% of type 2 diabetes can be avoided by healthy food choices that are consistent with the traditional Mediterranean Diet.

¹⁰ Patients who followed a Mediterranean-type diet had reduced combined all-cause mortality, nonfatal cancer, and myocardial infarction compared with those who followed an approximate American Heart Association Step 1 diet. The Mediterranean-type diet also showed a trend toward a decreased risk for cancer.

¹¹ The Mediterranean diet or its elements have repeatedly been shown to provide remarkable protection against chronic diseases.

¹² Efforts to combat nutrient deficiencies have centered on supplemental nutrient administration and addition of selected nutrients to the food chain in the form of food fortification. In addition to supplementation or forti-fication with specific nutrients, the consumption of certain dietary patterns (such as the Mediterranean diet) is associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases.”

 

¹³ In conclusion, in a general population-based prospective cohort investigation, we have found evidence that adherence to the traditional MD is associated with markedly and significantly reduced incidence of overall cancer, which is appreciably larger than predicted from examining individual MD components.

¹⁴ This provides therefore additional evidence that the combination of various food items reflecting the Mediterranean diet favourably affects the risk of several common cancers.

¹⁵ The Mediterranean diet is not a specific diet plan or diet program but a collection of eating habits that are traditionally followed by the people of the Mediterranean region. There are at least 16 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and food habits vary between these countries according to culture, ethnic background and religion. The Mediterranean diet, containing olive oil, fish, fruits and vegetable is associated with a low rate of cardiovascular and cancer diseases.

¹⁶... an optimal diet for the prevention of both coronary heart disease and cancer is likely to extensively overlap with the traditional Mediterranean diet. It is not yet clear which components in the Mediterranean diet are more important for its apparent health effects, but olive oil, plant foods and moderate wine consumption are likely candidates.

Lower your risk for heart disease and your cholesterol and blood pressure levels

¹⁷ Consuming a Mediterranean-type diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and reduced in sodium and saturated fats represents an ideal eating pattern. Weight loss and increased physical activity contribute to ideal lifestyle conditions.

¹⁸ Experimental and epidemiological studies indicate that eating patterns, such as the traditional Mediterranean or Okinawan diets, that incorporate these types of foods and beverages reduce inflammation and cardiovascular risk. This anti-inflammatory diet should be considered for the primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease and diabetes.

¹⁹ Our results suggest that the more frequent consumption of foods from the Mediterranean pattern may reduce CVD [cardiovascular disease] and IHD [ischemic heart disease] risks and may be most beneficial for persons with diabetes.

 

²⁰ Individuals at high cardiovascular risk who improved their diet toward a traditional Mediterranean Diet (TMD) pattern showed significant reductions in cellular lipid levels and LDL oxidation.  Results provide further evidence to recommend the TMD as a useful tool against further risk factors for coronary heart disease.

²¹ Our results suggest that the healthy effects of the Mediterranean Diet observed in epidemiologic studies are exerted partly through plausible mechanisms: improved lipid profiles and reductions in blood pressure, insulin resistance, and systemic markers of inflammation… an increasing body of knowledge supports the Mediterranean diet as a useful tool in managing individuals who are at high risk for CHD (coronary heart disease).

 

²² The SUN study and the accompanying case – control study support the benefits of a Mediterranean diet and olive oil against coronary heart disease and hypertension.

²³ The present study provides a pathophysiologic explanation to the growing scientific evidence for the beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet on human health and, especially, atherosclerotic disease. We found that greater adherence to this traditional diet was independently associated with a reduction in the inflammation and coagulation indexes that are believed to have an important role in CVD. The World Health Organization reports that the three major components involved in preventing atherosclerotic disease are smoking, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet, as they are factors that can be changed. Our findings emphasize the need for actions from public health care professionals in order to prevent the development and progression of atherosclerotic diseases through the adoption of low animal fat diets, like the Mediterranean diet.

 

²⁴ In the Lyon Heart Study, higher ALA [a type of healthy fat] consumption in the context of a Mediterranean diet dramatically reduced total and cardiovascular mortality as well as nonfatal MI. These trials strongly support the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids, including both ALA and fish oil, in secondary prevention of CHD. Mediterranean diet enriched with ALA reduced death by more than 70%.

 

²⁵ The traditional Mediterranean diet as outlined in this article is an ideal eating pattern for prevention of cardiovascular disease. We believe that current understanding and scientific evidence are adequate to recommend this diet widely as a practical, effective, and enjoyable strategy – the new “gold standard” – in heart disease prevention.

 

Protect you from diabetes

²⁶ Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of diabetes.

²⁷ The lower risk associated with a Mediterranean-type diet suggests that diet could help reduce incidence of pre-diabetes after a myocardial infarction.  Many, though not all, trials have indicated that a Mediterranean-type diet lowers risk factors linked to insulin resistance and diabetes, including serum triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, systemic inflammation, endothelial function, and insulin sensitivity.

²⁸ Several mechanistic links offer potential explanations of the Mediterranean diet’s protective effect on obesity and type 2 diabetes. High consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, fish, cereals and olive oil, together her with moderate consumption of alcohol, predominantly, wine, leads to high ingestion of dietary fiber, antioxidants, magnesium and unsaturated fatty acids. Additionally, this diet is characterized by a low degree of energy density overall, which might be particularly important for the prevention of weight gain.

 

Aid your weight loss and mangement efforts

²⁹ We found that a simple but targeted nutrition intervention promoting the Mediterranean food pattern can be effective in modifying food habits and can contribute to a reduction of energy density of the diet.  The current study also shows that the adoption of a Mediterranean food pattern in a North American context can be achieved without significant increase In food cost or food energy.

³⁰ The main finding of this study is that high adherence to the traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern, characterized by high intakes of vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, cereals, and nuts and low and moderate consumption of meat and wine, respectively, is associated with a lower prevalence of obesity in men and women in this Mediterranean population. This association held even after controlling for age, leisure time physical activity, educational level, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

 

³¹ Long-term success in weight loss with dietary treatment has been elusive.  A moderate-fat, Mediterranean-style diet, controlled in energy, offers an alternative to a low-fat diet with superior long-term participation and adherence, with consequent improvements in weight loss.”

 

³² ... our findings emphasize the importance of the consumption of a dietary pattern “close” to the Mediterranean diet and the adoption of even light-to-moderate physical activity to reduce the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome at the population level.

Keep away depression

³³ The adherence to a Mediterranean Dietary Pattern ensures an adequate intake of fruits, nuts, vegetables, cereals, legumes or fish, important sources of nutrients linked to depression prevention.

Safeguard you from Alzheimer's disease

³⁴ The Mediterranean Diet… has been associated with lower risk for several forms of cancer, obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, abnormal glucose metabolism, coronary heart disease, and overall mortality.  In a recent study, we demonstrated that higher adherence to the Mediterranean Diet at baseline evaluation was associated with lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease during follow-up. Similarly to our previous findings, in this different Alzheimer’s disease population we observe that higher adherence to the Mediterranean Diet is associated with reduced disease odds. Similarly to our previous report, we note a gradual reduction in Alzheimer’s disease risk for higher tertiles of Mediterranean Diet adherence, suggesting a possible dose-response effect. Additionally, in accordance with our previous results, the associations between Mediterranean Diet and Alzheimer’s disease remain unchanged and significant even when simultaneously adjusting for the most commonly considered potential confounders for Alzheimer’s disease, such as age, sex, ethnicity, education, APOE genotype, caloric intake, and BMI. Higher adherence to Mediterranean Diet reduced risk for probable Alzheimer’s disease either with or without coexisting stroke.

 

³⁵ Recent findings showing that elderly African Americans and Japanese living in the USA have a much higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (6.24% and 4.1%, respectively) than those still living in their ethnic homelands (< 2%) suggest that the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease is more strongly influenced by diet and nutrition, environment and/or lifestyle than by genetics... In conclusion, the Mediterranean diet pattern based on complex carbohydrates, fibre and non-animal fat appears to protect against age-related cognitive decline and cognitive decline of vascular or degenerative origin.

 

Ward off Parkinson's disease

³⁶ In conclusion, the results of this large prospective study suggest that dietary patterns with high intake of fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, fish, and poultry and a low intake of saturated fat and a moderate intake of alcohol may protect against PD [Parkinson’s disease].

 

Improve Rheumatoid arthritis

³⁷ This study has shown that female patients with RA [rheumatoid arthritis] following a Mediterranean-type diet derive modest benefits across a range of areas [dietary lifestyle, disease activity and cardiovascular risk].

³⁸ The results indicate that patients with rheumatoid arthritis, by adjusting to a Mediterranean diet, did obtain a reduction in inflammatory activity, an increase in physical function, and improved vitality.

Help you breathe better

³⁹ High adherence to traditional Mediterranean diet increased the likelihood of asthma to be under control in adults.

Barros R, Moreira A, Fonseca J, et al. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and fresh fruit intake are associated with improved asthma control. Allergy. 2008; 63(7):917–23.

⁴⁰ Our results support a protective effect of high level of adherence to the Mediterranean Diet during pregnancy against asthma-like symbols and atopy in childhood.

Mediterranean Diet in pregnancy protective for wheeze and atopy in childhood.
Chatzi L, Torrent M, Romieu I, et al.
Thorax. doi:10.1136/thx.2007.081745.

⁴¹ In the large prospective cohort of US men, two distinct dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis: the prudent [Mediterranean-style] pattern (loaded by a high consumption of fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains) and the Western pattern (loaded by a high intake of refined grains, cured and red meats, desserts and sweets and French fries). During 12 years of follow-up, the risk of newly diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) decreased as the prudent [Mediterranean-style] pattern score increased, whereas the risk of newly diagnosed COPD increased as the Western pattern score increase.

 

⁴² We showed a general protective effect of a high level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on allergic rhinitis, asthma and atopy.

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