A major study reveals that the Mediterranean diet cuts the risk of disease.
A new study shows that eating a Mediterranean style diet can lower the risk of strokes, heart attacks and deaths associated with heart disease.
The study used 7,447 people in Spain, chosen because of their high risk for heart disease due to things like smoking, being overweight or having diabetes.
Two test groups followed a Mediterranean diet, with one group consuming a minimum of four tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil daily, and the second, a portion of mixed nuts daily. Both groups ate fruits and vegetables each day, along with legumes like beans, peas and lentils, and fish weekly. White meat was eaten instead of red and at least one glass of wine drunk with a daily meal.
A control group was instructed to follow a low fat diet, and the results showed that the two test groups following a Mediterranean diet experienced a reduction of approximately 30 percent of heart disease.
Some experts are skeptical of the study.
The author of the best seller “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure,” says: “the Mediterranean diet and the horrible control diet were able to create disease in people who otherwise did not have it.”
What do you think? Is the Mediterranean diet an effective way of preventing health problems?
