Mediterranean Diet Makes Urban Asians Healthier November 12, 2002 (The Jerusalem Post) -- Cooperation between researchers here and in India has led to the discovery that urban residents of poor Asian countries can significantly reduce their risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) by eating a Mediterranean diet almost as effectively as by taking expensive cholesterol-lowering medications. The study, published in Friday's issue of The Lancet, proves that people can comply with the new diet inexpensively (about a dollar a day) and without difficulty. Prof. Elliot Berry, head of the department of human nutrition and metabolism at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and the Braun School of Public Health, was corresponding author of the research. The study was actually conducted by Prof. Ram Singh and his wife Dr. Reema Singh of the center of nutrition and heart at the Medical Hospital and Research Center in Moradabad, India. Berry and Prof. Singh met at a conference in Florence two years ago, and Singh told Berry he and his team had tested a Mediterranean diet over two years on 499 urban residents who had chest pains, a heart attack, or risk factors for CAD. They compared the results with those of a control group of 501 who ate a typical Indian diet. The volunteers were professional men and women, 28 to 75, in 17 cities around the country, and most lived sedentary lives. Before beginning the study, all the participants followed a similar diet. Two-thirds were vegetarians, while the rest ate two to five eggs and meat once or twice a week. They all consumed milk, butter, potatoes and refined carbohydrates, ghee, and vegetable ghee from partially hydrogenated oils. Both the interventional and control groups were advised to continue eating their regular diet, but to reduce their consumption of foods that raised their cholesterol level. However, the interventional group was told to supplement what they ate with Mediterranean-diet foods containing double the amounts of alpha-linolenic acid as that eaten by the control group. Singh told Berry no one was available to computerize the data and conduct statistical analyses. Berry volunteered to have his student transfer the data to a computer and run statistical analyses. CAD, Berry told The Jerusalem Post, is a major public-health problem for South Asian people, especially those living in cities, but it is not explained by conventional Western risk factors, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels. The so-called Mediterranean diet, enriched with fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains, and mustard or soy oil, is rich in beneficial alpha-linolenic acid. Olive oil is also part of the Mediterranean diet, but was unavailable to the Indians. The first group were found to have half as many fatal and non-fatal heart attacks (39 compared with 76) after two years follow-up. A halving of sudden cardiac deaths and in the proportion of non-fatal heart attacks was also reported among those who supplemented their diet with whole grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and healthful oils. "Our trial in a non-Western population has shown that, over two years, a diet enriched with these foods is associated with a pronounced decline in CAD morbidity and mortality, without an increase in deaths from non-cardiac causes, and the long-term benefits may be even more substantial," Berry said. Thanks to Intelihealth.com JAMA, 9/04 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.