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The Mediterranean diet garners praise once again. In addition to preventing cardiovascular accidents, this diet can also help slow the deterioration of the kidneys. It is a benefit that, for the first time, has been demonstrated in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes. The key lies in compounds called advanced glycation end products, better known as AGEs. These are molecules with an inflammatory and oxidizing capacity. The study analyzed the levels of these harmful compounds in more than 500 diabetics, comparing, over a period of five years, how two types of healthy diets affect the body: the Mediterranean diet and...

A collaboration between researchers has shown the classic Mediterranean diet with added dairy has the potential to change the composition of gut bacteria for the better, triggering a variety of health benefits. The study assessed how the classic Mediterranean diet, supplemented with milk, cheese and yogurt, can affect gut microbiome. Adult trial participants at risk of heart disease who followed the diet for an eight-week period showed a sizeable increase in beneficial microbes associated with positive effects on overall gut health, alongside a simultaneous decrease in bad bacteria linked to heart disease risk. Dr. Karen Murphy says that gut microbiota...

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who follow a Mediterranean diet may have a lower risk for problems with memory and thinking skills than those who do not follow the diet, according to a preliminary study. The Mediterranean diet includes a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, fish and healthy fats such as olive oil, and a low intake of dairy products, meats and saturated fatty acids. The study involved 563 people with MS. They were assigned a score of zero to 14 based on their responses with higher scores given to those who more closely followed the diet. Participants took...

Young men with a poor diet saw a significant improvement in their symptoms of depression when they switched to a healthy Mediterranean diet, a new study shows. The 12-week randomized control study was recently published. Lead researcher Jessica Bayes, said the study was the first randomized clinical trial to assess the impact of a Mediterranean diet on the symptoms of depression in young men (aged 18-25). "We were surprised by how willing the young men were to take on a new diet," Bayes said. "Those assigned to the Mediterranean diet were able to significantly change their original diets, under the...

Key to living past 100 may hinge on your gut health, study of centenarians shows TOKYO — Centenarians have unique gut bacteria that enables them to live to a ripe old age, according to new research. Scientists in Japan say this unique gut makeup fuels bile acids that protect against disease. The discovery could lead to yogurts and other probiotic foods that increase longevity. “In people over the age of 100, an enrichment in a distinct set of gut microbes generate unique bile acids,” says lead author Professor Kenya Honda of Keio University in a statement per South West News...

I need some help from my Freeper friends. My doctor has advised me to try the Mediterranean Diet. I have tried searching online for a cookbook but I do not have time to go through the 48,000 results I have gotten. Have any of you tried this diet and if so do you have a cookbook you could recommend??

Comment Now Follow Comments Earlier today I summarized the important new PREDIMED study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing the cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet. This study– a rare and much welcome instance of a large randomized controlled study of a diet powered to reach conclusions about important cardiovascular endpoints– has been widely praised and will undoubtedly have a major effect in the field of nutrition and will influence lots of people to adopt some form of a Mediterranean diet. The study’s major potential weakness appears to be that the control group didn’t get a fair...

Diets lean on meat and rich in healthy fats like olive oil were most effective at promoting weight loss and lowering blood sugar among people with diabetes in a review of evidence from the last 10 years. Benefits were also seen with diets low in carbohydrates, high in protein or low in simple sugars. "If you look at different types of diets, these four can improve various aspects of diabetes control," lead author Dr. Olubukola Ajala, a diabetes specialist at Western Sussex Hospitals in the UK, told Reuters Health. More than 24 million Americans have type 2 diabetes. People with...

Studies of gut bacteria are beginning to untangle how diet affects health in old age — but determining cause and effect is tricky. Almost everything about eating gets more difficult with age. Elderly people typically cannot taste or smell as well as they used to, decreasing the appeal of some foods. Dental issues or a dry mouth can impede chewing; loss of muscle tone in the pharynx can make swallowing difficult; constipation and the side effects of medication can make digestion uncomfortable; and decreased mobility makes a chore of grocery shopping or cooking complex meals. Little wonder that older people...

The Mediterranean diet, already thought to protect against heart disease and cancer, may also help to prevent depression, Spanish researchers say. They found depression was more than 30% less likely to develop in people who followed a diet high in vegetables, fruit and cereals, and low in red meat. They studied 10,094 healthy adults over four years, the Journal of the American Medical Association reports.....

Vital Signs Sticking to the Mediterranean diet — rich in olive oil, grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables and fish, and low in meats and dairy — may lower the risk for diabetes. Scientists followed 13,380 healthy Spanish university graduates for an average of four and a half years, tracking their dietary habits and confirming new cases of diabetes through medical records. The study was published online May 29 in The British Medical Journal. The researchers ranked the strictness of adherence to the diet on a 10-point scale, and found that those with the highest scores reduced their relative risk of diabetes...

Will the Modified Mediterranean Diet Extend Your Life?   Evidence has been gathering in support of the Mediterranean diet's health benefits. In fact, many health experts consider the Mediterranean one of the healthiest diets around, which was why the most recent news was not at all surprising ... Following a modified version of the Mediterranean diet -- high in fish, fruits and vegetables -- could extend one's life, according to a study.The Mediterranean Diet's Effect on the ElderlyResearchers surveyed a diverse group of some 75,000 men and women, aged 60 and over, from nine European countries based on following...

A natural component of rice bran oil lowers cholesterol in rats, and ongoing research also shows it may have potential as an anti-cancer and anti-infection agent in humans, according to a University of Rochester scientist who has studied the antioxidant since 1996. The latest findings from Mohammad Minhajuddin, Ph.D., and colleagues, are reported in the May 2005 Food and Chemical Toxicology journal. They show that total cholesterol levels in animals dropped by 42 percent, and LDL or "bad cholesterol" levels dropped up to 62 percent, after their diets were supplemented with a concentrated form of Vitamin E called tocotrienol rich...

The Mediterranean diet is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans, finds a study published online by the BMJ today. The Mediterranean diet is characterised by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals; a moderate to high intake of fish; a low intake of saturated fats, but high intake of unsaturated fats, particularly olive oil; a low intake of dairy products and meat; and a modest intake of alcohol, mostly as wine. Current evidence suggests that such a diet may be beneficial to health. The study involved over 74,000 healthy men and women, aged 60 or more,...