Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet

     This is another great research study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that again confirms the benefits of increasing our fruit and vegetable intake.
     Please, lets help ourselves, our families, and our communities simply by eating more fruits and veggies and less junk food, sweet drinks, and sodas.

DISCUSSION

In this trial, an energy-unrestricted Mediterranean diet supplemented with either extra-virgin olive oil or nuts resulted in an absolute risk reduction of approximately 3 major cardiovascular events per 1000 person-years, for a relative risk reduction of approximately 30%, among high-risk persons who were initially free of cardiovascular disease. These results support the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for cardiovascular risk reduction. They are particularly relevant given the challenges of achieving and maintaining weight loss. The secondary prevention Lyon Diet Heart Study also showed a large reduction in rates of coronary heart disease events with a modified Mediterranean diet enriched with alpha-linolenic acid (a key constituent of walnuts). That result, however, was based on only a few major events.4,19,20

The risk of stroke was reduced significantly in the two Mediterranean-diet groups. This is consistent with epidemiologic studies that showed an inverse association between the Mediterranean diet2,34or olive-oil consumption22 and incident stroke.

In conclusion, in this primary prevention trial, we observed that an energy-unrestricted Mediterranean diet, supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts, resulted in a substantial reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events among high-risk persons. The results support the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1200303?query=OF&#t=articleDiscussion