Conforming to a traditional Mediterranean diet may be associated with lower breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women according to a study published in the American Journal for Clinical Nutrition (2010). Additionally, the results from the study may explain, in part, the lower incidence of this disease in Mediterranean countries.
Researchers followed 14,807 women for an average of 9.8 years and identified 240 incident breast cancer cases. Increasing conformity to Mediterranean diet was not associated with lower breast cancer risk in the entire cohort or in premenopausal women, but there was a marginally statistically significant inverse association among postmenopausal women.
ATHENS, Greece—Eating according to the Mediterranean diet helped improve heart function in those who have acute coronary syndrome, according to a new study from First Cardiology Clinic School of Medicine University of Athens Greece (Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 May 19). In the study, those who adhered to the diet rich in fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts, low-fat dairy, whole grains and olive oil experienced a preservation of left ventricular systolic function and a better long-term prognosis of their disease.
Researchers sought to evaluate the relation between the Mediterranean diet, the development of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) at hospitalization, and the 2-year prognosis of patients who have had an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). During 2006 to 2009, 1,000 consecutive patients with ACS were enrolled; of these patients, 459 had LVSD at hospitalization (367 men with a mean age of 64 ± 14 years, and 92 women aged 71 ± 12 y), whereas 541 had preserved left ventricular systolic function (421 men aged 62 ± 12 years, and 120 women aged 67 ± 12 years). Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed by the validated Mediterranean Diet Score (MedDietScore; theoretical range: 0–55).
Researchers found those who stuck more closely to the Mediterranean diets had a 31-percent lower risk of suffering another heart attack or experiencing chest pain during the first month after they were discharged from the hospital, according to a Reuters article. Additionally, the Mediterranean-diet eaters were half as likely to have another heart-related event within a year, and about 40-percent less likely to experience repeat heart problems within two years.
According to Reuters, for every additional point on the 55-point Mediterranean Diet Score, a person’s risk of having another heart-related event over the next two years fell by 12 percent. When researchers looked at the separate aspects of the Mediterranean diet, they found people who ate vegetables and salad or nuts daily or weekly were at 20-percent lower risk of repeat heart problems within two years of their initial hospitalization compared to people who ate these foods monthly or less often.
Consuming a Mediterranean-style diet, rich in vegetables, fruits and nuts, olive oil, and legumes, may prevent depression, according to a new study from Spain.
Individuals who ate a Mediterranean-style diet were 30 per cent less likely to suffer from depression, compared to those who had the lowest Mediterranean diet scores, according to a study with over 10,000 people published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
“The results of our analysis suggest the possibility that the Mediterranean dietary pattern is protectively associated with depression,” wrote the researchers, led by Almudena Sanchez-Villegas from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the University of Navarra, Pamplona.
“We acknowledge that our findings must be confirmed by additional prospective studies with better control of other potential confounders and also by trials with a more objective and rigorous assessment of the outcome,” they added.
The Med diet, rich in cereals, wine, fruits, nuts, legumes and whole grains, fish and olive oil, and low in dairy, meat, junk food and fat , has been linked to longer life, less heart disease, and protection against some cancers. The diet’s main nutritional components include beta-carotene, vitamin C, tocopherols, polyphenols, and essential minerals.
Study details
The researchers analysed dietary information from 10,094 healthy Spanish participants and researchers calculated their adherence to the Mediterranean diet based on nine components, including the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids, moderate alcohol and dairy product intakes, low meat intake, and high intake of legumes, fruit, nuts, cereals, vegetables and fish.
After an average of 4.4 years of follow-up, depression had been documented in 156 men and 324 women. Closely adherence to the Mediterranean diet, indicated by higher Med diet scores, was associated with a 30 percent reduction in the risk of depression, compared to people with the lowest scores.
“The specific mechanisms by which a better adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern could help to prevent the occurrence of depression are not well known,” wrote the researchers.
Sanchez-Villegas and her co-workers indicate that the dietary components may decrease the chances of developing depression by improving blood vessel function, fighting inflammation, reducing the risk for heart disease, and repairing oxygen-related cell damage.
“However, the role of the overall dietary pattern may be more important than the effect of single components,” they wrote.
“It is plausible that the synergistic combination of a sufficient provision of omega-three fatty acids together with other natural unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants from olive oil and nuts, flavonoids and other phytochemicals from fruit and other plant foods and large amounts of natural folates and other B vitamins in the overall Mediterranean dietary pattern may exert a fair degree of protection against depression.”
Source: Archives of General Psychiatry
Volume 66, Number 10, Pages 1090-1098
“Association of the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern With the Incidence of Depression: The Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra/University of Navarra Follow-up (SUN) Cohort”
Authors: A. Sanchez-Villegas, M. Delgado-Rodriguez, A. Alonso, J. Schlatter, F. Lahortiga, L.S. Majem, M.A. Martinez-Gonzalez