Mediterranean Diet Research Paper

Highlighting from the research publication, “A Prospective Study of Dietary Fiber Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Among Women” from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers developed a food-frequency questionnaire assessing 39,876 female health professionals with no previous history of CVD or cancer to support the concept. Women were followed for an average of six years for incidence of various CVD or death confirmed by medical records or death certificates. Evidence from epidemiological studies suggests a strong inverse association between dietary fiber and coronary disease, high intakes of fiber and 20% to 40% in reductions to risk, as well as increased intake of fiber and reduction of plasma cholesterol. The data generally support current dietary recommendations to increase the consumption of fiber-rich whole grains and vegetables as a primary preventive measure against Cardio vascular disease.

Dairy should not be a primary food group on the dietary guidelines set by the government because of its many negative effects on human health (given that people care about their health and the health of those around them). Dairy and other animal products are the only food sources which contain cholesterol. Arguments have been made saying that humans need to consume cholesterol in order to have a healthy balance of fats; these arguments fail to acknowledge that our bodies naturally produce all the cholesterol that it needs. And many studies have been conducted to support the theory that consumption of dietary cholesterol overloads arteries and can cause heart disease, artery disease, as well as sudden heart attacks. The Department of Community Health and Preventative Medicine at Northwestern University Medical School worked to interpret an international study based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization. The overall conclusion was that “…dietary cholesterol levels are consistently related to CHD (coronary heart disease) mortality rates” (Stamler). A study conducted by Lena Ohlsson at the Laboratory of Gastroenterology and Nutrition within the prestigious Lund University in Sweden also linked dietary cholesterol and milk fat with artery disease and other metabolic disorders. In short, the abstract of her lab report said that low-density lipoprotein (LDL)—“bad” cholesterol—was found to be directly associated with coronary artery

It is a known fact that other countries eat healthier than here in the United States. For example, the Mediterranean diet contains many fruits and vegetables. It also replaces fattening oils with olive oil. In the article “Mediterranean Diet Shown to Ward Off Heart Attack and Stroke”, Gina Kolata states, “About 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even drink wine with meals, a large and rigorous new study has found” (nytimes.com). Many people who have gone on the Mediterranean diet have decreased their risk.

The purpose of this article is to review the proposed health benefits of the Mediterranean diet to patients with Type 2 Diabetes through randomized clinical trials, and see if a cause ad effect relationship can be deduced. The cause and effect health benefits to Type 2 diabetics consuming a Mediterranean diet to be explored include improvement of blood glucose levels, hypertension, cholesterol, decrease in risk of cardiovascular disease, decrease in bodyweight for overweight individuals, decrease in inflammatory milieu.

The American Heart Association recommends aiming for a dietary pattern that achieves five percent to 6 percent of calories form saturated fat which is about thirteen grams of saturated fats a day. To get the nutrients you need you need a diet of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, and nuts. Research shows that the dietary antioxidants including Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Provitamin A have contributed to the prevention of coronary heart disease. High blood pressure is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease. Many people are at risk for developing health problems related to salt consumption including people over age 50, people who have elevated blood pressure, people who are diabetic, and African Americans. In your body your kidneys have trouble keeping up with the excess sodium in the bloodstream. This leads to increased blood volume which means more work for the heart and more pressure on the blood vessels. Over time, this can leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. High salt intake increases blood pressure and high potassium intake can help relax blood vessels and excrete the

Foods that are fried, high in sodium and with saturated fats all contribute the risk of getting cardiovascular

In “Dr. Ornish's Intensive Healing Diet,” Dean Ornish( 1990) states that a vegetarian diet ( the Ornish diet), which Only contains ten percent of fat, twenty percent of protein, and seventy percent of carbs, can prevent or reverse heart disease and lose weight. He also indicates that drinking caffeinated coffee, tea, and wine may cause irregular heartbeats and promote stress by making some people jittery. In addition, “The American Heart Association” and “The National Research Council” both agree that further reduction in fat intake may offer greater health benefits like, a low-fat diet can reduce elevated blood cholesterol. Moreover, although the Ornish diet restricts lots of meat,

Cardiovascular disease is a life threatening disease. Some persons may know that eating certain foods can increase their heart disease risk but it is tough to change these eating habits. In this paper I will explain the necessary dietary practices that can be use to prevent cardiovascular disease. Once you know which foods to eat more of and which foods to limit, you will be on your way toward a heart-healthy diet.

In 2009, the American Heart Association scientific advisory concluded that obtaining at least five to ten percent of total caloric intake from ɳ-3 PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) was associated with a thirteen percent lower risk of coronary risk (“Essential”). A 2011 analysis of seven-hundred showed supplementation with ɳ-3 fatty acids lowered blood levels of homocysteine, a byproduct of protein metabolism, which damages the epithelium and increases the risks of cognitive decline (Sears 51). Likewise, a 2012 meta-analysis of seven randomized control trials (RCTs) estimated that a ten percent reduction in coronary heart disease was linked to each five percent energy increase in PUFA consumption (“Essential”).

Diseases like diabetes and heart attacks have increased due to the over consumption of processed fats and animal products. The average American consumes more than enough protein and not enough essential fatty acids to balance

After World War II heart-disease-related deaths increased dramatically and study called Framingham Heart Study established by the US Government. The researchers recruited 5209 men and women between the ages of 30-62 from the town Framingham, Massachusetts. During the study, the subject were required to give a detailed medical history, underwent a physical examination and laboratory every two years. In 1960 the evidence from The Framingham Heart Study was published showing that smoking increases the risk of heart disease. Results that dietary fat increased the risk of heart disease have been far less conclusive, and still studies today don’t show any connection.

Age related Macular Degeneration or AMD is a disease that affects millions of Americans every year. There are several factors that contribute to this disease, those being: exposure to bright light, diet, hereditary factors and gender. The main ones that can be controlled consist of exposure to bright light and diet. Those that cannot be controlled are hereditary factors and gender. Prevention of macular degeneration consists of reducing the eyes exposure to bright light and the daily diet of the person at risk. What I seek to explore is if adopting to the Mediterranean diet will create the needed health benefit to prevent the onset of AMD. The Mediterranean diet is one which focuses on eating seafood, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and healthy fats from things such as olive

You lounge on your couch and watch your favorite sitcom on the television. An ice cream commercial comes up, and all of a sudden you feel like having some ice cream too. You reach for a spoonful of ice cream in your freezer, but find yourself finishing half the tub in the next moment. Coronary heart disease has become a worldwide epidemic; with its major causative factors including diet and lifestyle. A statistic provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that in the United States, about 610,000 people die of heart disease annually– that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. More than half that amount of death is caused by coronary heart disease.

For centuries, the people living around the Mediterranean have enjoyed robust health and long lives. Scientists beginning from the late 19th century were baffled by this phenomenon and only began to unravel this mystery in the late 1980s. It had always been suspected that the health and vitality of the Mediterranean people could be attributed to their traditional diet. In fact, the most recent research that sampled over 20, 000 people in a Greek village confirmed these suspicions.

The Mediterranean diet receives so much attention because it is valued for its contribution to a healthy cardiovascular system. Studies have indicated that adherence to such a diet is a significant protective factor against the development of chronic diseases, specifically cardiovascular diseases, degenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease), and cancer (Sofi, Cesari, Abbate, Gensini, & Casini 337).