Tag Archives: Mediterranean diet

Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Mixed Nuts May Be Critical to Healthy Mediterranean Diet

Posted on April 6, 2013 | Comments Off on Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Mixed Nuts May Be Critical to Healthy Mediterranean Diet

Remember that PREDIMED study published a couple months ago. It showed significant health benefits from a Mediterranean diet supplemented with EVOO and/or nuts. The general press simply focused on the Mediterranean diet angle, which helped with my book sales (thank you!).

Lawrence Appel and Linda Van Horn have an editorial on PREDIMED in New England Journal of Medicine, from which I quote:

Policymakers already recommend consumption of a Mediterranean-style diet on the basis of a persuasive body of evidence from observational studies. Our sense is that the policy implications of the PREDIMED trial relate primarily to the supplemental foods. Specifically, in the context of a Mediterranean-style diet, increased consumption of mixed nuts or substitution of regular olive oil with extra-virgin olive oil has beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease.

Read the rest.

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Heart-Healthy Lifestyle Also Cuts Cancer Risk By Half

Posted on March 19, 2013 | 1 comment

…according to a report in MedPageToday.

I'm still not convinced that severe sodium restriction is necessary or even possible for most people

I’m still not convinced that severe sodium restriction is necessary or even possible for most people

The American Heart Association has published guidelines aiming to reduce premature death and illness caused by cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, high blood pressure, and strokes.

The guidelines focus on seven factors critical to cardiovascular health:

  • smoking
  • blood sugar
  • blood pressure
  • physical activity
  • total cholesterol
  • body mass index (BMI)
  • ideal diet

Using data from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities study (almost two decades’ follow-up), researchers found that those who maintained goals for six or seven of the American Heart Association critical factors had a 51% lower risk of cancer compared with those meeting no goals.

For detailed information about the specific goals, click here.

As you might expect, I was curious about what the American Heart Association considered a heart-healthy diet.  I quote the AHA summary:

The recommendation for the definition of the dietary goals and metric, therefore, is as follows: “In the context of a diet that is appropriate in energy balance, pursuing an overall dietary pattern that is consistent with a DASH [Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension]-type eating plan, including but not limited to:

  • Fruits and vegetables: ≥ 4.5 cups per day
  • Fish: ≥ two 3.5-oz servings per week (preferably oily fish)
  • Fiber-rich whole grains (≥ 1.1 g of fiber per 10 g of carbohydrate): ≥ three 1-oz-equivalent servings per day
  • Sodium: < 1500 mg per day
  • Sugar-sweetened beverages: ≤ 450 kcal (36 oz) per week

Intake goals are expressed for a 2000-kcal diet and should be scaled accordingly for other levels of caloric intake. For example, ≤ 450 calories per week represents only up to one quarter of discretionary calories (as recommended) coming from any types of sugar intake for a 2000-kcal diet.

Diet recommendations are more complicated than that; read the full report for details.  Only 5% of study participants ate the “ideal diet.”  The Mediterranean diet easily meets four out of five of those diet goals; you’d have to be extremely careful to reach the sodium goal on most any diet.

Cardiovascular diseases and cancer are among the top causes of death in Western societies.  Adhering to the guidelines above may kill two birds with one stone.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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Posted in Cancer, Coronary Heart Disease, Diet-Heart Hypothesis, Exercise, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure

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Does Diet Affect Age-Related Memory Loss and Dementia Risk?

Posted on March 9, 2013 | Comments Off on Does Diet Affect Age-Related Memory Loss and Dementia Risk?
dementia, memory loss, Mediterranean diet, low-carb diet, glycemic index, dementia memory loss

Don’t wait to take action until it’s too late

High blood insulin levels and insulin resistance promote age-related degeneration of the brain, leading to memory loss and dementia according to Robert Krikorian, Ph.D.  He’s a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center.  He has an article in a recent issue of Current Psychiatry – Online.

Proper insulin signaling in the brain is important for healthy functioning of our brains’ memory centers.  This signaling breaks down in the setting of insulin resistance and the associated high insulin levels.  Dr. Krikorian makes much of the fact that high insulin levels and insulin resistance are closely tied to obesity.  He writes that:

Waist circumference of ≥100 cm (39 inches) is a sensitive, specific, and independent predictor of hyperinsulinemia for men and women and a stronger predictor than body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and other measures of body fat.

Take-Home Points

Dr. Krikorian thinks that dietary approaches to the prevention of dementia are effective yet underutilized.  He mentions reduction of insulin levels by restricting calories or a ketogenic diet: they’ve been linked with improved memory in middle-aged and older adults.

Dr. K suggests the following measures to prevent dementia and memory loss:

  • eliminate high-glycemic foods like processed carbohydrates and sweets
  • replace high-glycemic foods with fruits and vegetables (the higher polyphenol intake may help by itself)
  • certain polyphenols, such as those found in berries, may be particularly helpful in improving brain metabolic function
  • keep your waist size under 39 inches, or aim for that if you’re overweight

I must mention that many, perhaps most, dementia experts are not as confident  as Dr. Krikorian that these dietary changes are effective.  I think they are, to a degree.

The Mediterranean diet is high in fruits and vegetables and relatively low-glycemic.  It’s usually mentioned by experts as the diet that may prevent dementia and slow its progression.

Read the full article.

I’ve written before about how blood sugars in the upper normal range are linked to brain degeneration.  Dr. Krikorian’s recommendations would tend to keep blood sugar levels in the lower end of the normal range.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Speaking of dementia and ketogenic, have you ever heard of the Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet?  (Free condensed version here.)

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Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., Disputes That Mediterranean Diet is the Best

Posted on March 8, 2013 | Comments Off on Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., Disputes That Mediterranean Diet is the Best

From his article at the Huffington Post: 

My own personal opinion is you could design a dozen diet studies showing the superiority of a dozen different diets (from Atkins to Ornish to the Zone) as long as you compare each of them to the crap we’re eating now.

Read the rest.

As for Dr. Bowden’s repeated claim that there’s no specific Mediterranean diet, here’s one!  It’s as specific as any other mainstream named diet out there.

 

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Swedish Study Confirms Longevity Benefit of the Mediterranean Diet

Posted on February 26, 2013 | Comments Off on Swedish Study Confirms Longevity Benefit of the Mediterranean Diet

From a research report in the journal Age:

“In conclusion, we can reasonably state that a higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern, especially by consuming wholegrain cereals, foods rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, and a limited amount of alcohol, predicts increased longevity in the elderly.”

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Regular Exercise Linked to Lower Prostate Cancer Risk

Posted on February 11, 2013 | Comments Off on Regular Exercise Linked to Lower Prostate Cancer Risk

…according to an article in MedPageToday.  The association was not noted in black men, however.

In a prospective study, Caucasian men suspected of prostate cancer and scheduled for biopsy were less likely to have the disease if they were at least moderately active, according to Lionel Bañez, MD, of the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham N.C., and colleagues.

If they did have cancer, they were significantly less likely to have high-grade disease if they had been working out regularly, Bañez and colleagues reported online in Cancer.

Another way to reduce your risk of prostate cancer is to follow the Mediterranean diet.  Other cancers reduced by the Mediterranean diet are breast, colo-rectal, and uterus.

 

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Dietitians Weigh In On Mediterranean Diet for Diabetes

Posted on January 27, 2013 | 1 comment

An eating pattern similar to the traditional Mediterranean diet can be integrated with existing national guidelines for the management of diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Existing data suggest that the Mediterranean diet has health benefits, including improved glycemic control and reduced cardiovascular risk, and may offer benefits to diabetes patients and clinicians alike in terms of palatability, ease of explanation and use, and promotion of improved health.

Olive oil and vinegar

Olive oil and vinegar

This excerpt is from an article by three dietitians writing in Diabetes Spectrum in 2009.  Click through for details if interested.

—Steve

Reference:  doi: 10.2337/diaspect.24.1.36 Diabetes Spectrum January 1, 2011 vol. 24 no. 1 36-40

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Book Review: The Oldways 4-Week Mediterranean Diet Menu Plan

Posted on December 5, 2012 | Comments Off on Book Review: The Oldways 4-Week Mediterranean Diet Menu Plan

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I’ve been an admirer of Oldways for many years. They tirelessly advocate for a way of eating that demonstrably lengthens lifespan while reducing rates of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and dementia. Especially when compared to the standard American diet.

I’m very pleased to see Oldways present a four-week plan that helps the average person incorporate Mediterranean diet principles into daily life. These recipes are simple, practical, and delicious. No need for exotic ingredients or culinary classes!

Get started soon. You won’t regret it.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Disclosure: Olways provided me with a free pre-publication review copy of the book.

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Huge U.S. Study Confirms Health and Longevity Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

Posted on September 3, 2012 | Comments Off on Huge U.S. Study Confirms Health and Longevity Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

This is a reprint of the very first blog post I ever did, from December 24, 2007, at my old Advanced Mediterranean Diet Blog.  

We now have results of the first U.S. study on mortality and the Mediterranean dietary pattern.  380,000 people, aged 50-71, were surveyed on their dietary habits and scored on their conformity to the Mediterranean diet.  They were visited again 10 years later.  As you would expect, some of them died.  12,105 to be exact: 5985 from cancer, 3451 from cardiovascular disease, 2669 from other causes.  However, the people with the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet had better survival overall, and specifically better odds of avoiding death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.  Compared to the people with low conformity to the Mediterranean diet, the high conformers were 15-20% less likely to die over the 10 years of the study.  The study authors, funded by the National Institutes of Health, noted eight similar studies in Europe and one in Australia with similar results.

Nothing to do with this post…I just like this picture

Once again, my promotion of the Mediterranean diet is vindicated by the scientific literature.  I’m not aware of any other diet that can prove anywhere near this degree of health benefit.  If you are, please share. 

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference: Mitrou, Panagiota N., et al.  Mediterranean Dietary Pattern and Prediction of All-Cause Mortality in a US Population,  Archives of Internal Medicine, 167 (2007): 2461-2468.


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In U.S. Adolescents, Diabetes and Prediabetes Doubled in the Last Decade

Posted on August 29, 2012 | Comments Off on In U.S. Adolescents, Diabetes and Prediabetes Doubled in the Last Decade

In June, 2012, the journal Pediatrics had an article stating that the incidence of diabetes and prediabetes in U.S. adolescents increased from 9% in 1999 to 23% in 2008.  The finding is based on the NHANES survey of 12 to 19-year-olds, which included a single fasting blood sugar determination.

The investigators offered no solution to the problem.  I’m no pediatrician, but my guess is that the following measures would help prevent adolescent type 2 diabetes and prediabetes:

I’m sure many of the adolescent type 2 diabetics and prediabetics are overweight or obese.  A 2010 study out of Colorado found a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet safe and effective for adolescents.  Fortunately, the decades-long ascent of the adolescent obesity rate in the U.S. seems to have peaked for now.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: I scanned the article quickly and don’t remember if the researchers broke down the diabetes cases by type 1 and type 2.  I’d be shocked if type 1 diabetes rose this much over the last decade.

Reference: Martinez-Gonzalez, M.A., et al.  Adherence to Mediterranean diet and risk of developing diabetes: prospective cohort study.  British Medical Journal, BMJ,doi:10.1136/bmj.39561.501007.BE (published online May 29, 2008).

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