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Mediterraan
dieet doet hartpatiënten langer leven.*
Een
mediterraan dieet met veel fruit, groente, granen, noten ,olijfolie en rode wijn
met mate laat hartpatiënten langer leven volgens een 4 jaar durend
Grieks-Amerikaans onderzoek onder 1300 Grieken. Het is niet één doch de
combinatie van alle ingrediënten die dit dieet zo gezond maken.
Best
to eat like the Greeks after heart disease - People with heart disease who stick
to a so- called Mediterranean diet -- heavy on fish and vegetables, and low on
saturated fats -- tend to live longer than those who follow different diets, new
research suggests.
Investigators
based in Greece and the U.S. found that, among a group of more than 1,300 men
and women diagnosed with heart disease, those who ate a more Mediterranean diet
were nearly 30 percent less likely to die during follow up, which lasted close
to four years.
Based
on these findings, lead author Dr. Antonia Trichopoulou at Athens Medical School
and Harvard University in Boston told that she would "absolutely"
recommend a Mediterranean diet for everybody diagnosed with heart disease.
A
Mediterranean-style diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts. It
includes few saturated fats like the ones in red meat but plenty of healthier
fatty acids like those found in olive oil. It also features moderate amounts of
red wine.
Recently,
research has shown that following this diet can provide a range of health
benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease, arthritis, cancer and
age-related memory loss.
Recently,
Trichopoulou and her team observed that following a Mediterranean-style diet
appears to reduce the risk of death among people free of heart disease.
As
part of the current study, the researchers followed 1,302 Greek men and women
for nearly four years, noting what they ate. All were diagnosed with heart
disease.
The
researchers scored how closely people followed the Mediterranean diet using a
10-point scale, with a higher score indicating a higher adherence to the diet.
Reporting
in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the investigators found that for every 2
point increase in diet scores, the risk of dying decreased by 27 percent.
No
one ingredient of the Mediterranean diet appeared to have the biggest impact on
health, the researchers note. This finding suggests that the Mediterranean-style
diet is an "integral entity," Trichopoulou noted. "The total is
much more than the constituents," she explained.
The
Mediterranean diet, Trichopoulou said, likely helps people live longer with
heart disease for the same reason the diet appears to help prevent heart disease
in the first place -- by improving cholesterol and blood pressure, for instance.
"There
is also speculation that the traditional Mediterranean foods may contain
unidentified compounds with health promoting potential," she added.
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine (mei 2005)