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While the Mediterranean Diet tops the podium of the world’s best diets alongside the DASH diet, at least according to the ranking compiled by Harvard University, it can still be improved. This diet, as is well known, is predominantly based on plant-based foods, low-fat meat and fish, and olive oil as the main source of healthy fat. But, like everything in this life, it can be improved.
At least that suggests a new paper published in the journal Cor, Officials say increase the amount of plant-based foods, reducing red meat and poultry would increase cardiovascular and metabolic benefits.
It is known that the Mediterranean diet and its richness in plant foods is related to a lower risk of cardio and cerebrovascular disease, as well as diabetes. In fact, it is the basis of most current dietary guidelines the goal is precisely to prevent any type of coronary heart disease.
the benefits, Essentially, they would come from the intake of polyphenols, healthy fats, fiber, and a lower intake of animal protein in exchange for plant-based proteins.
In this case, the researchers wanted to analyze whether a greener or “greener” version of this dietThat is, richer in green foods and with less consumption of foods like red meat, would be beneficial. Even more so than the typical version of the Mediterranean diet.
Thus, they randomly assigned 294 sedentary people with a BMI of 31 (moderate obesity) and a mean age of 51 years in three different groups:
– He first group receive guidance on how to increase the level of physical activity and basic guidelines for achieving a healthy diet.
– He second group received the same guidance on physical activity, and advice on how to follow a traditional Mediterranean diet restricted in calories (between 1,500 and 1,800 kcal daily for men, and between 1200-1400 kcal daily for women). It was a diet low in simple carbohydrates, rich in vegetables, and with animal protein from birds and fish, avoiding red meat. In addition, an average of 28 grams of nuts per day was included.
– He third group receive guidance on physical activity, but also on how to follow a “green-Mediterranean diet”. This case also included the 28 grams per day of nuts, avoiding the consumption of red or processed meat, and increasing the amounts of plant foods. Also included were 3-4 daily cups of green tea and 100 grams daily of frozen cubes of Wolffia globosa, a type of seaweed rich in vegetable protein. The latter was taken as a smoothie with the aim of serving as a partial substitute for vegetable protein.
after six months, The effects of each of these diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated.
According to the findings of the study, those that followed both types of Mediterranean diet were those who they lost more weight overall: The Mediterranean-green diet group lost 6.2 kg on average, the Mediterranean diet group lost 5.4 kg on average, and the first group of the standard healthy diet barely 1.5 kg of average.
For its part, the abdominal circumference it was reduced to 8.6 cm in the ‘green group’. In the standard Mediterranean diet and healthy diet groups this parameter was reduced by 6.8 cm and 4.3 cm, respectively.
And in general all cardiovascular risk factors improved further in the green-Mediterranean diet: a 4% reduction in LDL cholesterol (compared to 1% in the standard Mediterranean diet), lower blood pressure levels, lower insulin levels, lower levels of inflammatory parameters, and a higher proportion of HDL or “good” cholesterol compared to LDL or “bad” cholesterol.
So the end result was one drop of almost twice the risk score on the Framingham scale to 10 years in individuals on a Mediterranean-green diet, a calculation used to calculate the likelihood of suffering a cardiovascular event over the next decade.
Still, researchers are cautious and acknowledge theirs limitations: Only 35 women out of the 274 individuals analyzed participated, and it was not possible to clarify which specific factors of the green-Mediterranean diet were responsible for the improvements observed
. Still, they suggest that an additional restriction on meat intake, in exchange for increasing protein of plant origin, may benefit the cardiometabolic state in general, Even more so than on a standard Mediterranean diet.