To Your Health June, 2012 (Vol. 06, Issue 06)

Share |

Eat Meditteranean For Your Health

Every year one diet is touted as the next best thing. But, how many of these diets actually help people improve their overall health and not just cut calories? One of them is well known – the Mediterranean diet.

This diet has been linked to a number of health benefits from lowering the risk of cancer to diabetes. A recent study also found that eating this type of diet, which includes lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, lean protein and monosaturated fats such as olive oil and nuts also decreases the chances of small vessel damage in the brain.

In the study, released in the Archives of Neurology, researchers analyzed diet information on 966 people, average age 72, who answered a food questionnaire to see how close they came to consuming a Mediterranean diet. The participants also underwent magnetic resonance imaging to measure white matter hyperintensity volume. White matter hyperintensity, according to the authors, is an indicator of small vessel damage. That damage can be part of the normal aging process but is also linked with risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking.

The consequences can be serious, increasing the chances of stroke and dementia in more serious cases.

Overall, researchers found that adhering more closely to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower incidence of white matter hyperintensity volume, and that remained after controlling for risk factors such as smoking, physical activity, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Among other findings: More men than women stuck to a Mediterranean diet, and those who were more physically active were also more apt to eat more foods associated with the diet.

So, if you are looking to improve your overall health and lose some calories in the process talk to your chiropractor about trying this new diet.