Finally, there’s hard evidence that a Mediterranean diet can prevent heart disease.
Shunning red meats and processed food in favor of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, olive oil, and even some wine can reduce heart attacks, strokes, and deaths from heart problems, according to the first study to demonstrate the diet’s benefits using the most reliable type of clinical trial.
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My MD at the South Shore Medical Clinic, Dr Gregory Smith, has been advocating the Med diet for years. And, the medical community has done the same. So, why is this news. It been common knowledge for 20 years. Or, is this just some sort of "filler" on a light news day?
In case you missed it, here is the very first paragraph:
"Consumers have, for years, been urged to eat a Mediterranean diet, which eschews red meats and processed food in favor of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, olive oil, and wine, but the advice lacked a rigorous study to prove it prevented heart disease. Now there is one."
There have been several rigorous studies in the past, but this one adds a new twist. The previous studies look at lipids, hypertension, and various other measures, but they did not look at the effect that these diets had on heart attacks. In most of these studies, low-carb yielded the best results, the Mediterranean came in second, and the low-fat or low-calorie diet (some used low-fat and some used low-calorie) did the worst. Low fat diets did partiularly poorly on triglycerides and HDL. This study found that the Mediterranean diet leads to fewer heart attacks, which is what one would expect based on previous studies. Nevertheless many doctors remain firmly opposed to new medical research that conflicts with their prejudgices. One doctor commented in the New England Journal of Medicine that he will recommeend that his patients eat a low-fat diet and avoid olive oil.
On a secondary note, have any of you been following the deaths and strokes at the "Heart Attack Grill"? Some pretty bizarre stories. Education is the key but that is a socioeconomic issue as well as a political issue. What politician has ever come out against red meat and good old processed grains? Michelle Obama gets whacked by the cranks on the right for trying to get kids to eat more vegetables. We are a crazy country!
I agree with all of you. It is not about low fat. Sugar is the culprit and has been for a long time. Yet, physicians are still prescribing statins. While cholesterol is part of and artery blockage it is not about cholesterol. It it time to reevaluate the use of Lipitor & the like. Some patients have no interest in exercising or altering their diet. They and their physicians just keep looking at the cholesterol numbers. If the cholesterol is "normal", then they can keep ingesting lots of saturated fat. Too bad the docs and the drug companies are so closely tied. Check out spacedoc.com for some interesting articles about statins.