Mediterranean diet benefits

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Washington Post

Page F3, Sept 23, 2008

Benefits appear to extend beyond the heart.

THE QUESTION Might the Mediterranean diet, shown to help fight heart

disease, prove beneficial against other chronic disorders as well?

THIS STUDY analyzed data from 12 studies, involving nearly 1.6 million

adults whose dietary habits were monitored for up to 18 years. The more

closely people had adhered to a Mediterranean diet (rich in fruit,

vegetables, grains, fish, nuts, olive oil and moderate amounts of red wine,

but low in red meat, dairy products and other alcohol) the less likely they

were to have developed or died from a chronic disease. Specifically, people

who most strictly followed the diet were 9 percent less likely to have died

from cardiovascular disease, 6 percent less likely to have a cancer

diagnosis and 13 percent less likely to have developed Parkinson's or

Alzheimer's disease than were those whose eating patterns were not in line

with the diet.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Adults who follow the Mediterranean diet.

CAVEATS Variations occur among people following a Mediterranean diet, and

the study did not determine whether different food and drink components had

differing effects on the outcome.

FIND THIS STUDY Sept. 11 online issue of BMJ.

LEARN MORE ABOUT the Mediterranean diet at http://www.americanheart.org and

http://www.mayoclinic.com.