Mediterranean diet has been at the centre of multiple studies lately and according to findings of two recent studies, this category of food is not only good for health, it is also less of a pollutant as compared to others.
A new study involving the University Hospital Complex of Huelva, Jaume I University of Castellon and the University of Huelva has said that not only is the Mediterranean diet healthy, but is also less of a pollutant as it leaves behind less carbon footprint. Another study conducted in Greece at Harokopio University in Athens says that Adults who closely followed the Mediterranean diet were 47 percent less likely to develop heart disease over a 10-year period compared to similar adults who did not closely follow the diet.
In the first study, researchers analysed the carbon footprint of daily menus served in Spain, based on a roughly Mediterranean diet, and compared them to those eaten in English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom and the US. Data was gathered at the Juan Ramon Jimenez Hospital in Huelva, which analyzed a total of 448 lunches and 448 dinners throughout the four seasons of the year to satisfy calorific needs of 2,000 kcal.
The menus could have equally been served in any school, restaurant or Spanish household. The recipes analyzed included typical dishes such as Andalusian gazpacho soup, vegetable pisto manchego, paella or the stew-like puchero.
The differences between the average value of the Mediterranean diet and that of English-speaking countries is due to much less beef being eaten in Spain (a food item with a larger carbon footprint) and more vegetables and fruit being eaten, which have a lower carbon footprints, said Vidal. Therefore, not only it’s healthier, but the diet is also more ecological.
The second study in Greece is based on data from a representative sample of more than 2,500 Greek adults, ages 18 to 89, who provided researchers with their health information each year from 2001 to 2012. Participants also completed in-depth surveys about their medical records, lifestyle and dietary habits at the start of the study, after five years and after 10 years.
Overall, nearly 20 percent of the men and 12 percent of the women who participated in the study developed or died from heart disease, a suite of conditions that includes stroke, coronary heart disease caused by the buildup of plaque in the heart’s arteries, acute coronary syndromes such as heart attack, and other diseases. Other studies have shown Greeks and Americans have similar rates of heart disease and its risk factors.
The researchers scored participants’ diets on a scale from 1 to 55 based on their self-reported frequency and level of intake for 11 food groups. Those who scored in the top-third in terms of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, indicating they closely followed the diet, were 47 percent less likely to develop heart disease over the 10-year follow-up period as compared to participants who scored in the bottom-third, indicating they did not closely follow the diet. Each one-point increase in the dietary score was associated with a 3 percent drop in heart disease risk.
While there is no set Mediterranean diet, it commonly emphasizes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish, olive oil and even a glass of red wine. Earlier research has shown that following the traditional Mediterranean diet is linked to weight loss, reduced risk of diabetes, lower blood pressure and lower blood cholesterol levels, in addition to reduced risk of heart disease.
“Because the Mediterranean diet is based on food groups that are quite common or easy to find, people around the world could easily adopt this dietary pattern and help protect themselves against heart disease with very little cost,” said Ekavi Georgousopoulou, a Ph.D. candidate at Harokopio University in Athens, Greece, who conducted the study along with Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos, Ph.D., professor at Harokopio University.
