"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Study: Mediterranean, low-fat weight loss plan is best for heart problems

March 30, 2023 – In individuals with heart and vascular problems, a Mediterranean or low-fat weight loss plan may reduce the chance of early death and non-fatal heart attack, a brand new detailed study shows.

Published on Wednesday within the magazine BMJThe study analyzed data from 40 previous studies involving a complete of 35,548 participants. Participants either had heart problems or had no less than two risk aspects for it, resembling hypertension, diabetes, obesity or high cholesterol. The evaluation compared how well different diets protected people susceptible to heart problems in comparison with simply giving participants a brochure about healthy eating.

The researchers said there have been “no convincing differences between the Mediterranean and low-fat” diets by way of whether one reduced the chance of death or the likelihood of a heart attack greater than the opposite. People at higher risk benefited most from the weight loss plan.

The researchers defined a low-fat weight loss plan as limiting fat intake to twenty to 30 percent of day by day calories and saturated fat intake to lower than 10 percent of day by day calories. The Mediterranean weight loss plan was defined as eating a lot of fish, fruit, vegetables and monounsaturated fats resembling olive oil.

Participants on these two diets fared higher than those on five other diets, including diets that further reduced fat, restricted sodium intake, increased plant-based foods, or used a fancy formula for a lot of predictable elements of food resembling carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. The names of the opposite diets studied were very low fat, modified fat, combined low fat and low sodium, Ornish, and Pritikin.

The other five diets “generally had little or no benefit compared to” handing out a brochure about healthy eating, the researchers wrote.

The researchers said their findings were necessary because they only checked out data from randomized controlled trials, that are the gold standard in research design because participants in these trials cannot select whether or not they are in a treatment group or a control group. Randomized controlled trials are especially necessary for locating out whether a treatment is effective and for ensuring the outcomes should not influenced by other aspects.