The knowledge that the Mediterranean diet has many health benefits is something that is certainly not lost on The French
Photo by Flickr user Kai Hendry (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hendry/2848365145)
Paradox, nor many of our readers. From reducing the risk of diabetes and cancer to weight loss and to cardiovascular benefits, the Mediterranean diet is certainly a lifestyle choice that many people should consider.
A new study in the journal Public Health Nutrition aimed to add to the already long list of studies examining the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular health, particularly in regards to non-fatal myocardial infarction (a.k.a. “heart attack”).
760 non-fatal heart attack patients admitted to various hospitals in and around Milan, Italy (580 men and 180 women, between the ages of 19 and 79) were recruited for this study. An additional 682 patients (439 men and 243 women, between the ages of 16 and 79) with non-cardiovascular related ailments also admitted to the same Italian hospitals were recruited as controls.
Adherence to the Mediterranean diet for each participant was determined via interview and assigned a Mediterranean Diet Score.
Photo by Flickr user whity (https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitefield_d/6685238885)
is associated with increased all-cause mortality, diabetes, and certain types of cancer (including pancreatic and colorectal).
What is not exactly known is what the effect of poor adherence to the Mediterranean diet in the form of excess meat intake is on breast cancer risk in women.
A new study published in the journal Meat Science aimed to add a little more clarity to this issue by studying the effect of meat consumption on breast cancer in Greek women.
250 newly-diagnosed women with breast cancer (average age 56+/-12 years) were recruited for this study, as well as 250 age-matched controls without breast cancer.
Face-to-face interviews were conducted to obtain information regarding: socio-demographics, clinical, lifestyle, and dietary habits. For meat consumption habits, data for red, white, processed, and grilled meat were collected. Dietary habits were assigned scores based adherence to the Mediterranean diet using the MedDietScore.
