Mediterranean diet reduces risk of recurrent heart attack, claims study

During the study, half of the patients were told to follow a Mediterranean diet, based on using plenty of virgin olive oil, eating fruit and vegetables every day, and having three servings of legumes, three of fish and three of nuts a week. In addition, they were told to cut down on eating meat, especially red meat, and to avoid additional fats such as margarine and butter as well as food that is high in sugar.

In contrast, the other group was told to follow a low-fat diet, based on limiting all kinds of fat, both animal and plant, and increasing their intake of complex carbohydrates. They were told to cut down on red meat, to choose low-fat dairy products, to avoid eating nuts and to reduce their intake of sweets and pastries.

In the first place, the vasodilation capacity that the patients' arteries had was analyzed, which is very important in order to adapt to different circumstances, like exercise or stressful situations. Secondly, the degree of permanent endothelium damage was assessed. Lastly, the reparation ability of the arteries by means of endothelial progenitor cells, or stem cells, was measured.

"We observed that the Mediterranean diet model induced better endothelial function, meaning that the arteries were more flexible in adapting to different situations in which greater blood flow is required. Besides, the endothelium's ability to regenerate was better and we detected a drastic reduction in damage to the endothelium, even in patients at severe risk", explains José López Miranda.

Though the Mediterranean diet, rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, had already been proven to be a good strategy in order to improve endothelial function in overweight patients as well as patients with high cholesterol, this is the first time that the benefits of following a Mediterranean diet have been shown among patients with heart disease, helping them to reduce the likelihood of having another heart attack.