For many people here in the cold, Canada (and much of the US), adopting a Mediterranean dietary model (Meddp) sounds as realistic as swimming with penguins in Antarctica.
If it feels impossible for you too, I have good news! It is a very flexible food approach and can be adapted to various cultures and kitchens.
This is the first part of a series of two parties. Since we focus on heart health here, we will begin by examining the nutritional guidance given on three significant randomized controlled tests (RCTs) by studying the effect of Meddp on heart effects so you can see what was studied and how a big difference it made.
Next week I will share practical ways to adopt a meddp, even if you have no walnut and olive trees on the doorstep.
Why the Mediterranean “Nutrition Plan” against diet?
Although the word “diet” is less cumbersome, for many people it causes painful memories of limitation, short -term thinking and pressure and not sustainable, pleasant way of eating. It is often associated with weight loss, which is not our focus here.
And Meddp is not a diet, with strict rules and portions. Focus is food, in general, against nutrients such as fat, carbohydrates and proteins. There is no calorie measurement and does not result in weight loss. But if you read below, you will see that it can do something even better in the long run.
What are we are family of meat and potato?
MEDDP also is not necessarily Mediterranean kitchen. If you like Hummus, Falafel, Tzatziki and Tabbouleh, great! But if you just know what these things are, don’t worry.
While MEDDP was first observed by researchers in Crete (Greece), modern research is based on food practices shared by the 22 countries bordering the Mediterranean, from France to Israel, Spain in Turkey.
So let’s see what researchers told volunteers on three RCTs who showed a cardiovascular benefit. You will see, you can even customize it to a meat and potato household.
The Heart Diet Diet Lyon study
For my readers with heart disease (that is, you had a heart attack, stents, bypass or otherwise have established vascular diseases), we will be happy to know that the first two studies were “secondary prevention” tests, which means they are studying people like people You, at least healthy.
THE Lyon Dietary Study took place in France in the late 1990s. Low fat of the day.
Read again. This is a huge difference. Given how high the fat is the Meddp, the experts at that time were incredible.
Mediterranean team in this study was invited to eat (Brace yourself) a lot bread, vegetables, fish, fruit, and poultry instead of red meat. Butter and cream were replaced with a specialist margarine (!) rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
(Ala is the omega-3 fat we get from plants — large springs include Lin, chia, cannabis, walnuts, soybeansand rolling oil.)
The Indo-Mediterranean Nutrition Study
This took place in India, with 1000 people who had “angina pectoris, myocardial infarction or risk factors”. They reported a 52% reduction in total heart points in the group assigned to the “Indo-Mediterranean” diet.
For this study, Indo-midwifery meant a diet rich in Fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and mustard seed or soy oil. (Again, the control group was asked to follow a healthy low fat diet.)
I like to include this because it shows that Meddp is not just for people who live near the Mediterranean or is able to eat as they do.
Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with Mediterranean Diet (Predimed)
Had heart nutrition experts Concerns to design these two studies (See page 8), including the lack of olive oil, which is so dominant in the Mediterranean region.
They also felt a primary Prevention study is required – one who looked at people who have not yet had heart disease.
Thus, a team of researchers in Spain carried out a huge RCT called Predimed, which includes nearly 7500 people at high cardiovascular risk, but without cardiovascular disease.
To them final reportPublished in 2018, they showed about 30% decrease in major cardiovascular events (heart attacks, strokes or death from cardiovascular causes) in the Mediterranean nutrition groups.
(There were two or one-one free extra virgin olive oil, and one received mixed nuts. The results were similar to both.)
The foreseeable protocol
Here are the “positive recommendations” given to the volunteers of the study (almost taken exactly from the study protocol)
- abundant use of olive oil For cooking and dishwashing
- consumption> = 2 daily portions of vegetables (at least one of them as fresh vegetables in salad)
- > = 2-3 daily service of fresh fruit (including natural juices;
- > = 3 weekly portions of legumes
- > = 3 weekly portions of fish or seafood (at least one serving fatty fish;
- > = 3 weekly portions of Kelma or seeds
- Choose white meats (poultry with no skin or rabbit) Instead of red meats or processed meats (burgers, sausages)
Gofter
Also the volunteers were invited to make a gofter at least twice a week. Sofrito is a late -late sauce by simmering olive oil with chopped tomato, garlic and onionOften with aromatic herbs and other ingredients. It can be used to dress vegetables, pasta, rice, fish and other dishes.
Researchers have suggested That cooking tomatoes and other vegetables in this way increase the availability of bioactive compounds in ingredients and contributes significantly to the positive results!
Food to restriction
Participants were also informed to “eliminate or drastically limit” the consumption of the following foods:
- cream
- Butter, margarine
- cold meat, potato, duck
- carbonated and/ or sweetened drinks
- Sweets, industrial bakery products (such as cakes, donuts or cookies), industrial desserts (puddings, cream)
- Fried potatoes or potato chips
- Outside of pre-trained cakes and sweets.
To help with consistent monitoring, the MeddP teams had individual and group sessions with a study dietitian every three months.
Other Recommendations:
- Eat 2 main meals a day (sitting on a table, lasting more than 20 minutes). (Isn’t it interesting?)
- For ordinary drinkers, the main source of alcohol should be wine (maximum 300 ml / 11oz, 1-3 glasses of wine per day). If wine intake is common, a recommendation is given to drink a glass of wine a day (larger for men, 150 ml/ 5 oz, rather than women, 100 ml/ 3.5 oz) during meals.
- Eat as much as you want nuts (raw and salts), eggs, fish (recommended daily), seafood, low fat cheese and whole grains.
- Consumption of boundaries (= <1 serving per week) with cured ham, red meat (after removing all visible fat), chocolate (only "black" chocolate, with over 50% cocoa), healed or fatty types of cheese.
Dime. This is the last one is difficult. Of course, it is impossible for this study to know which of the recommendations made the difference. 😉
I’m just laughing. The consistent theme in the Mediterranean and other cardiac nutrition studies is a diet rich in unprocessed vegetable foods.
Other studies show that full fat cheese and black chocolate are okay in larger quantities than above, but I diverge.
Which study is better?
Do not get too stuck to the smaller reductions in cardiovascular events in pre -pre -pre -pre -two studies. They are different populations and study plans.
The point is that RCT is a more specific level of evidence than the typical observation study we see so often in the diet. RCTS can really show cause and effect.
They also looked at hard heart end spots, which lasts for at least several years. It is rare to see it in a RCT diet. That is why the recommendation to follow Meddp for heart health is so strong.
How to do it where you live?
In practice, if you are away from Greece, Spain or France, what does it look like?
Just like the people who perform the study in India, you need to adapt these recommendations to your local foods and preferences. What if you can’t eat so much fish? What if you are not used to cooking with lentils or beans? What if there is no good fruit in your grocery store this time of year?
We will dive into them and more practical strategies for the average Canadian or American in next week’s post. Stay tuned!
