London, UK: A global evaluation of the evidence reveals that a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of a heart attack, stroke, or early death for hundreds of millions of individuals who are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.

A diet high in olive oil, almonds, fish, whole grains, and vegetables has been linked to several advantages in the past, and it is generally known that it can help healthy people live longer. There hasn’t been much research on how it might benefit people who are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, though. They include the hundreds of millions of people who are physically sedentary, smoke, or drink excessive amounts of alcohol, as well as those who have high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity, or high cholesterol.

Currently, guidelines suggest different diets for people who are more likely to develop heart problems, but they frequently rely on evidence with a low degree of reliability from non-randomized research. The world’s largest study to date, which included 40 randomised controlled trials involving more than 35,000 participants, has now produced strong evidence.

According to the first comparative assessment of seven programmes, which was published in the BMJ journal, Mediterranean and low-fat diets lower the risk of death and heart attack in persons who have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers from the US, Canada, China, Spain, Colombia, and Brazil examined 40 trials involving 35,548 participants who were tracked for an average of three years over seven diet programs.

The researchers acknowledged that their study had many limitations, including the inability to assess diet programme adherence and the potential that some of the benefits might have come from other aspects of the programmes, such as medication and assistance with quitting smoking. Nonetheless, the BMJ said that it was a thorough review.

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