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Mediterranean Diet Reduces Cardiovascular Risk
Sticking to a Mediterranean diet, high in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fats, lowers levels of inflammation in the elderly, as reflected by lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), research shows. This effect should, in turn, lead to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease that has been associated with this type of diet.
CRP is a marker of inflammation that has been tied to the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Researchers from the Stanford School of Medicine in California studied the effect of diet on CRP levels in blood in 911 healthy individuals -- 326 women and 585 men -- whose average age was 66 years. Subjects were followed from January 2002 through December 2003.
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The researchers measured the various risk factors, body fat and fitness levels of the
exercising group and the control group, who were simply given a booklet encouraging
increased activity for its health benefits. The exercise group saw their aerobic fitness
increase by 16% and strength fitness increase by 17%. Fat in the abdominal region was
also reduced by 20%, while among those in the control group there was either no or
significantly less improvement compared with the exercising group.
At the American Heart Association's 46th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology, held in Phoenix, Dr. Joan M. Fair reported that Mediterranean Diet Score correlated negatively with CRP level. Each one-point increase in Mediterranean Diet Score was associated with a decrease in CRP of 0.14 mg/L in women and a decrease in CRP of 0.10 mg/L in men.
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