The Mediterranean Diet is still being touted as an excellent
way to lower the risk of cardiovascular related deaths from myocardial
infarction (heart attacks) or stroke. Recently, the prestigious New England
Journal of Medicine published findings from a study that has become known as
the PREDIMED study (which is an acronym for the Primary Prevention of
Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet study). The PREDIMED study
took five years to complete and involved 7,447 people so the findings should be
fairly representative of the general population.
The PREDIMED study showed that a Mediterranean diet
containing extra-virgin olive oil and/or tree nuts such as hazelnuts, almonds,
and/or walnuts may reduce the risk of death caused by cardiovascular disease by
30 percent. The study is explained this way because two groups, both consuming
a Mediterranean diet with either extra-virgin olive oil or tree nuts, showed
substantially less risk of suffering cardiovascular disease related death from
myocardial infarction or stroke regardless of whether they ate olive oil or
tree nuts. A similar group consuming a low-fat diet did not experience this
large of a reduction in the risk of suffering cardiovascular death.
It is surmised that these findings are related to the
ingestion of compounds called phenols, which would be fairly high in this type
of diet. The importance of consuming phenols was demonstrated by a study that
looked at people who consumed their regular diet, people who consumed their
normal diet along with olive oil low in phenols, and people who consumed their
normal diet along with olive oil high in phenols. The group consuming olive oil
high in phenols experienced a number of positive health enhancing effects
including reduced inflammation, reduced tumor production, reduced cancer risk,
and lessened potential for cardiovascular disease. Variations in phenol content
may be one explanation of why some olive oils offer a reduction in
cardiovascular disease while other olive oils do not.
Is olive oil the only food that may offer a rich source of
phenols to help prevent cardiovascular disease? Of course it is not. But many of
the other foods high in phenols are not commonly found in the typical American
diet though they definitely should be consumed on a regular basis.
Foods high in phenols include: black elderberry, black
chokeberry, black currant, blueberry, globe artichoke heads, coffee, sweet
cherry, strawberry, blackberry, plum, red raspberry, flaxseed, dark chocolate,
chestnut, black tea, green tea, apple juice, apple, whole grain rye bread,
hazelnut, red wine, soy yogurt, cocoa powder, and pomegranate juice. Other
foods having respectable amounts of phenols include: black olives, spinach,
pecans, black beans, red onions, broccoli, and soy milk.
However, consuming foods such as olive oil may offer
benefits other than the effects from phenols. It is thought that the oleic acid
found in olive oil is responsible for lowering blood pressure. Overall, it
appears that a good plan for eating a heart healthy diet may be to consume olive
oil and tree nuts along with other sources of monounsaturated fats such as
those found in avocado to help prevent cardiovascular disease.
No comments:
Post a Comment