Mediterranean-Style Diet Lowers Heart Death Risk

New Yorkers who ate a diet rich in fish, vegetables and legumes reduced their risk of a heart attack. This may sound familiar. The Mediterranean diet that has been shown to be heart-healthy is rich in vegetables and gets much of its protein from beans and fish. In this study, 2,500 people living in Manhattan were followed for nine years. About half of the volunteers were Hispanic, and approximately a quarter were African-American. All the participants were over 40 years old.
People’s eating habits were rated at the beginning of the study on a scale that measured how close the diets were to a traditional Mediterranean diet. Those who scored highest had the lowest chance of a lethal heart attack or a pulmonary embolism. Even the diets with the most vegetables and fish, however, did not provide protection from stroke. The lead investigator acknowledges that this study does not prove a Mediterranean-type diet can protect people from heart disease, but he points out that it might help and won’t hurt.
[American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online Nov. 9, 2011]