Study: Mediterranean diet cuts risk of heart attack
By: Team Ifairer | Posted: 08-12-2020
Heart It
The Mediterranean diet which is high in vegetables, whole grains, fish and olive oil, not only helps you lose weight but may also help reduce the risk of having another heart attack. The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, compared the effects of two different healthy diets on the endotheliem, the walls that cover the arteries.
"We observed that the Mediterranean diet model induced better endothelial function, meaning that the arteries were more flexible in adapting to different situations in which greater blood flow is required," said study author Jose Lopez Miranda from the University of Cordoba in Spain. "Besides, the endothelium’s ability to regenerate was better and we detected a drastic reduction in damage to the endothelium, even in patients at severe risk," Miranda added.
According to the researchers, 1,002 patients who had previously had an acute myocardial infarction took part in the study and were monitored over the course of a year. The research group had previously worked on a similar study with healthy patients, however, this is the first time it has been done with ill patients, who are more likely to have other heart attacks.