Mediterranean Diet Cuts Heart Attack Risk: Study
A diet rich in olive oil, nuts and other Mediterranean foods reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke or death from heart disease by up to 30 percent, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"We observed that an energy-unrestricted Mediterranean diet, supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts, resulted in a substantial reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events among high-risk persons," the study stated.
Rachel Johnson, a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont and a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, described the findings of the study as "really impressive".
"They looked at heart attacks and strokes and death. At the end of the day, that is what really matters," Johnson told The New York Times.
The Mediterranean diet includes olive oil, fruits, nuts, vegetables, fish and poultry, along with at least one glass of wine with daily meals, and reduced amounts of dairy products, red meat and sweets.
Researchers have long observed that people from Mediterranean countries tend to have lower levels of heart disease, but it was not clear if that was hereditary, linked to lifestyle or due to the difference in diet.
The study published Monday was conducted through the University of Barcelona, and involved roughly 7,500 patients at risk for heart disease but without any symptoms of it when the study began.
Some were assigned to the Mediterranean diet, and others were counselled to follow a low-fat diet.
The study found those on the low-fat diet struggled to be compliant, and did not reduce their fat intake by a notable amount.
Researchers found those assigned to follow the Mediterranean diet stuck to their eating plan and saw an overall 30 percent drop in risk of heart attacks, strokes and death from heart disease.
The results were much bigger than researchers expected, and enough to convince many of them to change their own diets, said Ramon Estruch, who led the study
Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible.
ReplyDeleteHowever, what most people don't realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.
There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.
The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that "beer belly" appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.
Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.
Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.
The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either.
The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.
Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.
Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.
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Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!
Mike Geary