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While the Mediterranean diet, along with the DASH diet, is on the podium of the best diets in the world, at least according to the Harvard University rankings, it can still be improved. This diet, as is known, is mainly based on plant foods, little meat and fish and olive oil as the main source of healthy fat. But like everything in life, it can be improved.
At least that suggests a new work published in the journal Heart, which the managers indicate increase the amount of plant foods, cutting back on red meat and poultry would increase cardiovascular and metabolic benefits.
The Mediterranean diet and richness of plant-based foods are known to be related to this a lower risk of cardio and cerebrovascular disease, as well as diabetes. In fact, it is the basis of most of the current dietary guidelines that aim to avoid any kind of coronary disease.
The Benefitswould essentially come from the absorption of polyphenols, healthy fats, fibers and a lower absorption of animal protein in exchange for protein of vegetable origin.
In this case, the researchers wanted to analyze whether a greener or “greener” version of this diet, that is, richer in green foods and with lower consumption of foods such as red meat, it would be beneficial. More if possible than the typical version of the Mediterranean diet.
For example, they randomized 294 sedentary people with a BMI of 31 (moderate obesity) and an average age of 51 years in three different groups:
– He first group received guidance on how to increase physical activity levels and basic guidelines for achieving a healthy diet.
– He second group received the same guidelines on physical activity and advice on how to follow a traditional low-calorie Mediterranean diet (between 1,500 and 1,800 kcal per day for men and between 1,200-1,400 kcal per day for women). It was a diet low in simple carbohydrates, rich in vegetables and with animal proteins from poultry and fish, avoiding red meat. In addition, an average of 28 grams of nuts per day was included.
– He third group she received guidance in physical activity as well as in following a “green Mediterranean diet”. In this case, the daily 28 grams of nuts was also included, avoiding the consumption of red or processed meat and increasing the amounts of plant foods. Also included were 3-4 cups of green tea a day and 100 grams of frozen cubes of Wolffia globosa daily, an algae rich in vegetable proteins. The latter was taken as a shake with the aim of serving as a partial replacement for vegetable proteins.
After six months, the effects of each of these diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated.
According to the study’s findings, those who followed both types of Mediterranean diet were the ones lost more weight overall: The green-Mediterranean diet group lost an average of 6.2 kg, the Mediterranean diet group an average of 5.4 kg and the first group on the standard healthy diet only 1.5 kg on average.
For his part, abdominal circumference in the ‘green group’ it was reduced to 8.6 cm. In the standard Mediterranean diet and healthy food groups, this parameter was reduced by 6.8 cm and 4.3 cm, respectively.
And in general all cardiovascular risk factors improved more in the green Mediterranean diet: a 4% reduction in LDL cholesterol (compared to 1% in the standard Mediterranean diet), lower blood pressure, lower insulin levels, lower levels of inflammatory parameters and a higher HDL cholesterol ratio or “good” in comparison with LDL or “bad” cholesterol.
So the end result was one Nearly double the drop in risk score on the 10-year Framingham scale in subjects on a Green Mediterranean diet, a calculation used to calculate the probability of a cardiovascular event in the next decade.
Still, researchers are cautious and acknowledge them restrictions: Only 35 women participated of the 274 individuals analyzed, and it was not possible to clarify which specific factors of the Green Mediterranean diet were responsible for the observed improvements
. Still, they suggest that an additional restriction of meat intake, in exchange for increasing vegetable proteins, can benefit the overall cardiometabolic statuseven more than a standard Mediterranean diet.