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Although the Mediterranean diet climbs the podium of the best diets in the world along with the DASH diet, at least according to the ranking prepared by Harvard University, it can still be improved. This diet, as it is known, is mainly based on herbal foods, some meat and fish and olive oil as the main source of healthy fat. But, like anything in life, it can be improved.
At least that suggests a new paper published in the journal Heart, whose managers indicate this increases the amount of herbal 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 are related a lower risk of cardio-cerebrovascular disease as well as diabetes. In fact, it is the basis of most current dietary guidelines whose goal is to prevent any type of coronary heart disease.
BENEFITSwould essentially come from intake of polyphenols, healthy fats, fiber and a lower intake of animal protein in exchange for plant proteins.
In this case, the researchers wanted to analyze whether a greener or “greener” version of this diet, ie richer in green foods and with a lower consumption of foods such as red meat, would be beneficial. More, if possible, than the typical version of the Mediterranean diet.
Thus, they randomized 294 sedentary individuals with a BMI of 31 (moderate obesity) and a mean age of 51 years in three different groups:
– He the first group received guidance on how to increase physical activity and basic guidance on achieving a healthy diet.
– He the second group they received the same guidance on physical activity and advice on how to follow a traditional Mediterranean diet, with caloric restrictions (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 animal protein from birds and fish, avoiding red meat. In addition, an average of 28 grams of dried fruit per day was included.
– He the third group she received guidance on physical activity, but also on how to follow a “green-Mediterranean diet”. In this case, 28 grams of nuts were included daily, 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, a type of algae rich in vegetable protein. The latter was taken as a shake in order to serve 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 results of the study, those who followed both types of Mediterranean diet were the lost more weight overall: The group with green-Mediterranean diets decreased on average by 6.2 kg, the group with the Mediterranean diet decreased by 5.4 kg on average, and the first group on the standard healthy diet by only 1.5 kg on average.
In turn, Abdominal circumference 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 ratio of HDL or “good” cholesterol compared to LDL or “bad” cholesterol.
Thus, the end result was a Almost double the 10-year Framingham risk score in people on a green-Mediterranean diet, a calculation used to calculate the likelihood of suffering a cardiovascular event in the next decade.
However, researchers are cautious and acknowledge limitation: out of the 274 people analyzed, only 35 women participated and it was not possible to clarify which specific factors of the green-Mediterranean diet were responsible for the observed improvements
. However, they suggest that an additional restriction on meat intake, in exchange for the growth of plant-based proteins, may benefit from the general cardiometabolic condition, even more than on a standard Mediterranean diet.