Tag Archives: diet

Wine, Mediterranean Diet, and Your Health News for 02/06/2015

Please click on the links below to read the full articles.

Photo courtesy pixabay.com
Photo courtesy pixabay.com

Wine

Alcohol

Mediterranean Diet & Healthy Eating

Nuts & Beans

Daily Nut Consumption Reduces Risk of Peripheral Arterial Disease

Consumption of nuts has been linked to many health benefits, including benefits to memory, appetite, and cardiovascular health.

Photo by Flickr user  Iain Buchanan (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaeden/111015656)
Photo by Flickr user Iain Buchanan (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaeden/111015656)

Part of the Mediterranean diet, nuts are considered an important part of daily consumption, and is frequently recommended to those without specific allergies.

A new study in the journal Preventative Medicine has examined the effect of nut consumption on. peripheral arterial disease. While nut consumption is linked to lower risk of certain cardiovascular diseases, the association with the specific cardiovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, is unknown.

This study followed 3,312,403 Americans between 2003 and 2008 who had voluntarily undergone vascular screening tests. Average age was 63.6 +/- 10.6 years, with 62.8% of participants being women, and 86.2% being white.

Nut consumption, diet, and other lifestyle habits were determined for each participant using self-reported questionnaires.

Diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease for participants was determined using systolic blood pressure measurements in both ankles.

Hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension were determined by physician diagnosis.

Important Findings:

  • Out of 3,312,403 participants, there were 219,527 cases of peripheral arterial disease (6.7%).
  • About half of the study population ate nuts fewer than once per week.
  • There was a negative association between nut consumption and presence of peripheral arterial disease.
  • Daily nut consumption was associated with 21% lower odds of developing peripheral arterial disease compared with folks consuming nuts less than once per month.

The results of this study suggest that nut consumption reduces the risk of peripheral arterial disease. Specifically, eating nuts every day lowered the risk of developing peripheral arterial disease by 21%

Photo by Flickr user  Gilles Gonthier (https://www.flickr.com/photos/gillesgonthier/507725888/)
Photo by Flickr user Gilles Gonthier (https://www.flickr.com/photos/gillesgonthier/507725888/)

compared with people who ate nuts less than once per month.

The huge sample size in this study strengthens the results, though the self-reporting nature of these kinds of lifestyle questions could skew the results slightly. Regardless, these results show promise that a daily nut regime might help reduce the risk of peripheral arterial disease.

Source:

Heffron, S.P., Rockman, C.B., Gianos, E., Guo, Y., and Berger, J.S. 2015. Greater frequency of nut consumption is associated with lower prevalence of peripheral arterial disease. Preventative Medicine 72: 15-18.

Wine, Mediterranean Diet, and Your Health News for 01/29/2015

Please click on the links below to read the full articles.

Wine

Alcohol

Olives & Olive Oil

Mediterranean Diet & Healthy Eating

Nuts

Wine, Mediterranean Diet, and Your Health News for 01/28/2015

Please click on the links below to read the full articles.

Wine

Photo William Hogarth [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo William Hogarth [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Alcohol

Olives & Olive Oil

Mediterranean Diet & Healthy Eating

Nuts

Mediterranean Diet May Significantly Reduce Fatty Liver Disease Risk

Fatty liver disease is a metabolic condition that has been liked to type 2 diabetes as well as cardiovascular diseases. Specifically, fatty

Photo courtesy pixabay.com
Photo courtesy pixabay.com

liver disease is a known risk factor for these diseases, making care and prevention of the disease of utmost important in a world where type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are all too prevalent in society.

A healthy diet, like a Mediterranean-style diet, has been often cited as a way to reduce the risk of fatty liver disease and associated diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

A new study published in the journal Current Opinion in Lipidology reviewed published research on the effects of diet on the risk of fatty liver disease from March 2013 through August 2014. A total of 5 peer-reviewed studies were published during this time period and used for analysis.

Important Findings:

Continue reading Mediterranean Diet May Significantly Reduce Fatty Liver Disease Risk