Although we are often told we should avoid fat in order to keep from getting fat, a Spanish study throws that advice into question. Perhaps eating more fat will help you control your weight.
How Olive Oil Might Help You Control Your Weight:
The PREDIMED study of a Mediterranean diet shows that consuming a diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts does not lead to weight gain compared to a low-fat diet. The study included nearly 7,500 overweight adults at high risk of heart disease and lasted for five years. The volunteers were randomly assigned to a low-fat diet similar to the one recommended by the American Heart Association, or to a Mediterranean diet with extra olive oil or a Mediterranean diet with extra nuts. These foods were provided. The participants not advised to restrict their calories or increase their physical activity.
The Mediterranean diets that were studied were high in fat, with about 42 percent of calories from fat, but the fat was primarily from vegetable sources. Perhaps surprisingly, people in all three groups lost a little weight rather than adding pounds (or more properly kilos, since they were in Spain).
People Eating Olive Oil Did Best:
Those in the olive-oil group lost more, a difference that was modest but statistically significant. Americans should not be afraid to include nuts and olive oil in their menus, as the research shows eating a healthful diet that includes these high-fat items won’t undermine your efforts to control your weight.
Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, online June 6, 2016
Mediterranean Diets for Heart Health:
This recent study was not the main thrust of the PREDIMED trial, though it is good to know that the benefits of following a Mediterranean diet don’t have to come at the expense of keeping your figure. The investigators were primarily interested in learning whether the diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and either nuts (a handful a day of walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts) or olive oil (4 tablespoons daily) would help prevent heart attacks. The diets had fish or poultry rather than red meat and they had very little dairy products or sweet foods.
The researchers stopped the trial early because the benefits were so clear (New England Journal of Medicine, April 4, 2013). People following the Mediterranean diets had one-third the rate of heart attacks (an absolute risk reduction of 3 per 1,000 people per year). In addition, they enjoyed some protection from stroke, even if they had a genetic susceptibility (Diabetes Care, Aug., 2013).
Other Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet:
Data from the PREDIMED study have revealed many other benefits over the years. People following a Mediterranean diet, whether it has extra olive oil or extra nuts, had a lower likelihood of developing painful peripheral artery disease that can make walking difficult (JAMA, Jan. 22/29, 2014). They had better blood sugar control (Canadian Medical Association Journal, online Oct. 14, 2014) and they were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes (Annals of Internal Medicine, Jan. 7, 2014). These volunteers were less likely to experience cognitive decline during the study (Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, online May 13, 2013). An analysis of data from about 7,200 of the participants revealed that those eating walnuts or using olive oil were almost 30 percent less likely to die during a six-year follow-up; those who consumed more fish were also protected from death due to heart disease (Journal of the American Heart Association, Jan. 26, 2016). That is a large amount of health benefit from a diet that can apparently help you control your weight!
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4/25/19 redirected to: https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/can-a-mediterranean-diet-help-you-control-your-weight/
