Mediterranean Magic: Diet Slashes Women’s Cardiovascular Disease and Death Risk by Nearly 25%

Healthy Mediterranean Diet Food

A Mediterranean diet, rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and extra virgin olive oil, can reduce a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease and death by nearly 25%, according to the first-ever pooled data analysis published in the journal Heart. The research highlights the need for more sex-specific studies to inform clinical practice in heart health. The diet’s various components, including polyphenols, nitrates, omega-3 fatty acids, increased fiber intake, and reduced glycemic load, may contribute to a better cardiovascular risk profile. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding the sex-specific effects of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular disease and mortality.

More sex-specific research is needed to guide clinical practice, say researchers.

Sticking closely to a Mediterranean diet cuts a woman’s risks of cardiovascular disease and death by nearly 25%, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence—the first of its kind—published online in the journal Heart.

The findings prompt the researchers to call for more sex-specific research to guide clinical practice in heart health.

Cardiovascular disease accounts for more than a third of all deaths in women around the world. While a healthy diet is a key plank of prevention, most relevant clinical trials have included relatively few women or haven’t reported the results by sex, say the researchers.

And current guidelines on how best to lower cardiovascular disease risk don’t differentiate by sex.

To build on the evidence base to inform sex-specific guidance and clinical practice, the researchers trawled research databases for studies looking at the potential impact of eating a Mediterranean diet on women’s cardiovascular health and their risk of death.

The Mediterranean diet is rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, and extra virgin olive oil; moderate in fish/shellfish; low to moderate in wine; and low in red/processed meats, dairy products, animal fat, and processed foods.

Mediterranean Diet Food Portrait

The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy eating plan inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of the Mediterranean region. It emphasizes the consumption of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and extra virgin olive oil as the primary sources of fat. The diet also includes moderate amounts of fish and shellfish, low to moderate intake of wine, and low consumption of red and processed meats, dairy products, animal fats, and processed foods. Rich in nutrients, antioxidants, and healthy fats, the Mediterranean diet has been associated with numerous health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, improved weight management, and overall longevity.

From an initial haul of 190 relevant studies, the researchers included 16 published between 2003 and 2021 in their pooled data analysis.

The studies, which were mostly carried out in the US and Europe, involved more than 700,000 women aged 18 and above whose cardiovascular health was monitored for an average of 12.5 years.

The results of the analysis showed that sticking closely to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a 24% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and a 23% lower risk of death from any cause in women. 

The risk of coronary heart disease was 25% lower, while that of stroke was also lower, although not statistically significant, in those who most closely followed this diet compared with those who did so the least.

Excluding each of the studies one at a time from the analysis didn’t materially affect the findings,  “further supporting a strong inverse relationship for incident [cardiovascular disease] and total mortality with higher Mediterranean diet adherence in women,” write the researchers.

They nevertheless acknowledge various limitations to their findings, including that all the studies analyzed were observational and relied on self-reported food frequency questionnaires. And adjustments for potentially influential factors varied across the included studies. 

But the Mediterranean diet’s antioxidant and gut microbiome effects on inflammation and cardiovascular risk factors are among the possible explanations for the observed associations, say the researchers. 

And the diet’s various components, such as polyphenols, nitrates, omega-3 fatty acids, increased fiber intake, and reduced glycaemic load, may all separately contribute to a better cardiovascular risk profile, they suggest. 

“However, mechanisms explaining the sex-specific effect of the Mediterranean diet on [cardiovascular disease] and death remain unclear,” they note, adding that the findings reinforce the need for more sex-specific research in cardiology.

“Female-specific cardiovascular risk factors, including premature menopause, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes, or female predominant risk factors, such as systemic lupus, can all independently increase [cardiovascular disease] risk,” they write.

“It is possible that preventative measures, such as a Mediterranean diet, that targets inflammation and [cardiovascular disease] risk factors, impose differing effects in women compared with men,” they add.

Reference: “Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in women with a Mediterranean diet: systematic review and meta-analysis” by Anushriya Pant, Sarah Gribbin, Daniel McIntyre, Ritu Trivedi, Simone Marschner, Liliana Laranjo, Mamas A Mamas, Victoria Flood, Clara K Chow and Sarah Zaman, 14 March 2023, Heart.
DOI:

3 Comments on "Mediterranean Magic: Diet Slashes Women’s Cardiovascular Disease and Death Risk by Nearly 25%"

  1. Riskin Millaife | March 30, 2023 at 3:34 pm | Reply

    Please note, however, suggesting a diet to your wife increases your risk of death by 25%.

  2. The risk reduction does not come from the meat, fish, dairy, or oils. It comes from the vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fruit, nuts and seeds. Eliminate the former group entirely and the risk reduction will unequivocally be much more significant and attractive.

  3. Shirley Stager | March 31, 2023 at 6:57 am | Reply

    TY for this article. Since having Covid & symptoms & multiple tests, showed significant changes in my heart, in which being told irreversible; however, plan to try the Mediterranean diet, along with PX’s given. Thank you!

Leave a comment

Email address is optional. If provided, your email will not be published or shared.