People who live in the Mediterranean know this, so if you are Italian, Greek, Maltese or from any other Mediterranean country you don’t need to read on. For those who don’t live in this part of the world read on and learn. That is the message coming from a Spanish research study into the pros and cons of a Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean diet with its abundance of olive oil, fish, tomato sauces and fruit and vegetables as well as beans and even a little wine has been shown to negate some of the risks factors associated with heart disease by as much as 50%

People who eat a good and varied Mediterranean diet that has healthy fats that are present in nuts and olive oil have been seen to be healthy into old age and not to suffer from arteriosclerosis (when the arteries become clogged up) and have a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease. What this research is really pointing to and saying is that a low fat diet is not always the optimum way forward and that good and healthy fats in sensible quantities can in fact help you maintain your health and heart in good condition.
Over the last few decades America has been pumping out the message that no fat is good and any fat was bad. The message is changing now and the message is that the right fat is OK and can even be good for you in limited quantities.

The Spanish research is only 3 months old and expects to last for 4 years as the researchers look at the Mediterranean diet and its link to the prevention of cardio disease. The study is going to include around 9,000 volunteers and monitor them and their diets till the end of December 2010.
The information so far comes from a smaller group of nearly 800 people between the ages of 55 to 80 who were considered to be in a high-risk category for heart disease but nevertheless had not experienced any symptoms.

It was seen that those people who were placed on a Mediterranean diet had a smaller blood sugar level, reduced blood pressure and a better cholesterol reading than those on the low fat diets. It was also noted that they had a lower C reactive protein level meaning that they had less arterial inflammation that is a sign of arteriosclerosis.
Ukmedix will be following the study and will keep you up to scratch on the results and findings.