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'Mediterranean Diet' Cuts Heart Attack, Cancer Risk
Reuters
June 25, 2003 BOSTON
- A study of more than 22,000 Greeks provided further evidence on
Wednesday that the "Mediterranean diet" rich in cheese, nuts and
olive oil can protect against heart disease and cancer. The
study found that people who ate a Mediterranean-style diet had a 33
percent reduction in the risk of death from heart disease and a cancer
death rate that was 24 percent lower compared to volunteers who ate other
foods. The
diet, which varies from country to country, often includes monthly
servings of meat and weekly meals of poultry, eggs and sweets. Vegetables,
fruits, nuts, legumes, unrefined cereals, olive oil, cheese and yogurt are
eaten most days, as is fish. Wine is consumed in moderation. Although
olive oil is widely credited with many of the benefits of the diet, the
research team, led by Antonia Trichopoulou of the University of Athens
Medical School, found that no specific food in the diet appeared to be
responsible for the improvement in health. "Individual
components may have small effects that emerge only when the components are
integrated into a simple, unidimensional score," the researchers
said. In an editorial in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, in which the study was published, Frank Hu of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston said specific nutrients or foods in the diet may somehow interact to reduce the risks of cancer and heart disease. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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