Mediterranean diet

What is Mediterranean diet?

 

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 Mediterranean diet originates from Greece and Italy. The Mediterranean diet puts emphasis on eating plant-based food and making olive oil and canola oil as the main source of fat.
This diet recently rose to fame due to multiple types of research supporting its benefits against heart diseases, cancer, and many other health problems.


 


Does Mediterranean diet help in preventing heart attacks?

Following Mediterranean diet has positive effects on cardiovascular health. Just recently in European Society of Cardiology meeting, a group of researchers presented their research findings. They studied 1197 patients with heart problems and found that there was 34% lesser risk of dying from heart-related issues in those who strictly followed Mediterranean diet. 

Many other types of research also strongly support Mediterranean diet. For example, a research by Bihuniak et al focused on post-menopausal women. Post-menopausal women have reduced female hormones and thus are more susceptible to heart problems when their menopause hits. In this study after 12 weeks of following Mediterranean style diet, a significant increase in HDL (good cholesterol) and reduction in bad cholesterol “triglyceride” is observed. 

Will blood sugar level be in control with this diet?

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There are two types of diabetes mellitus. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is seen among children and due to “autoimmune” disease which means our own body starts to kill off our insulin-producing cells. In a recent research, published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition Mediterranean diet there is strong evidence to suggest Mediterranean diet improves blood glucose level in those with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

"drop in fasting blood glucose up to 2.2mmol/l (40mg/dl)"

Mediterranean diet is also proven to be effective against Type 2 diabetes mellitus, the one that commonly affect adults. In a review done by scientists from Italy, following Mediterranean diet “may help prevent type 2 diabetes” and also improved sugar control in those having diabetes. Those who followed the Mediterranean diet had a drop in fasting blood glucose up to 2.2mmol/l (40mg/dl). 
 

Does eating more olive oil, nuts and less meat prevent cancer?

There are many types of research claiming Mediterranean diet can prevent breast cancer and prevent relapses in those who had breast cancer. But most of the studies are small scaled and not strong in terms of evidence. For now, there is no enough evidence to say Mediterranean diet can prevent breast cancer, even though the evidence for prevention of heart diseases is strong.

How do I start eating the Mediterranean way?

Here are some simple steps to follow

1. Increase intake of vegetables, beans, and whole grain. 
2. Do not take red meat, substitute it with fish
3. Use olive oil for cooking and salad dressing  
4. Eat more fruits and use it for snack time
5. Red wine is allowed but not more than two glasses per day

For some delicious recipes using Mediterranean diet, visit this website

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/15486/mediterranean-chicken

For further reading

1.     European Cardiology on Mediterranean Diet

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-08/esoc-mda082616.php

2.     Post-menopausal status and Mediterranean Diet

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27568885

3.     Type 2 Diabetes and Mediterranean diet

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20546959

4.     Type 1 Diabetes and Mediterranean diet

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26908421

Benefits of Fish Oil

Fish oil capsules are widely available in the market these days. Most of it contain omega 3 such as DHA and EPA. Small fish are used to produce the fish oils and omega 3 is a type of fatty acid that is found in it. DHA and EPA are two types of Omega 3 that’s found in marine animals such as fish. Many researches are being done on benefits of fish oil.

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Heart

Omega 3 is widely believed to have beneficial effects on heart. Heart attacks normally happen in people with hardened blood vessels of the heart (atherosclerosis). Blood cholesterol plays an important role in this hardening process. Thus reducing blood cholesterol level should reduce the hardening process of the blood vessels. 

There are some evidence to suggest omega 3 helps in reducing the blood cholesterol level, especially triglyceride. Triglyceride is a type of cholesterol in our blood, LDL and HDL being the other two. A group of scientists from University of Kansas did a research on this issue. They looked at all the research done on this matter from 2005 to 2015. After looking at all the results, they concluded that omega 3 oil will reduce the level triglyceride if taken 4 g per day. 

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Omega 3 also seems to have anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is also a key role in hardening of blood vessels, so by reducing inflammation the hardening process should be dampened.

Thus theoretically taking omega 3 fish oils should help protect the heart. But does it?

Cochrane reviewers who are experts in looking for the best evidence searched researches that were done to prove benefits of fish oil in heart health. 

They concluded that “There is not enough evidence to say that people should stop taking rich sources of omega 3 fats”. It’s not clear if omega 3 helps in reducing heart attacks or deaths related to heart problems. 

More high quality evidence is needed to strongly say omega 3 helps in cardiovascular health.

Dry Eyes

Among those who are working on computers most of the time, dry eye is a very common problem. Dry eye is caused by two important groups of diseases. Our tears have two components; water and fat (lipid). One group of disease causing dry eyes is due to tear glands not producing enough water component in the tears, and another group is due to the glands not producing enough fat component. The diseases that are due to lack of fat component in tears are called evaporative dry eyes, and is the commonest cause of dry eyes.

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This research done by eye surgeons from Ohio Medical Centre looked at 105 patients with evaporative dry eyes and how they benefit from omega 3 oil. After 12 weeks of supplementing patients with re-esterized omega 3, they saw benefits in the patients’ dry eyes symptoms. But this research was done using re-esterized omega 3 oil. 

Omega 3 that is available commercially comes in two forms; as ester or triglycerides. Ester forms are not so common everywhere with most brands use triglyceride form of omega 3. So does the triglyceride form of Omega 3 helps in reducing dry eyes symptoms as well? 

According to a research done by Indian scientists, after taking 600mg of omega 3 oils (2 capsules per day of normal fish oil capsules), most patients had improvement of their dry eyes problems. This research was done mainly on those who use computers for more than 3 hours per day. They concluded that taking 2 capsules of fish oil per day with a total of 600mg DHA and EPA will cause improvement in dry eyes symptoms after 3 months. 

Another group of scientists repeated this in contact lens wearers. They chose 496 contact lens wearers, and looked at how omega 3 containing fish oil supplement twice a day helps in dry eye symptoms. After 6 months of supplement, patients’ symptoms were under control, and lens wear comfort level also improved significantly.

Mental Health

 

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Dementia is a problem that commonly affects elderly people. It is a disorder of memory, behavior and functioning. There are many causes of dementia, commonest being vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s dementia.

Omega 3 oil has been suggested to protect people from dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease. Many researches appear to support this fact, but the evidence they offer isn’t strong. Cochrane group of researchers did two different study on this matter.

In one research, they concluded that supplementation of omega 3 oil for patients with Alzheimer’s disease do not improve their mental function, nor reduce depression in them. Another Cochrane review tried to find if omega 3 can be used to prevent onset of dementia.

They concluded that there is no evidence to say omega 3 helps in prevention of dementia. 

Natural food rich in Omega 3 

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Do we have to consume omega 3 capsules to get the benefit of it? No, there are plenty natural sources of omega 3. 

There are three main types of Omega 3. ALA, EPA and DHA. Most fish oil capsules contain EPA and DHA and many studies that check the benefits of omega 3 focus on these two types of fat.

EPA and DHA are animal source of Omega 3, thus it’s rich in animals such as fish. Anchovies, and Salmon have some of the highest amount of omega 3 in them. Caviar also has high omega 3 content, especially EPA and DHA. Steaming or cooking the fish does not seem to affect the level of omega 3. 

For further reading

Heart and Omega 3

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4957330/

Cochrane Review on Fish Oil 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003177.pub2/full

Dry eyes and omega 3

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27442314

Difference between esterized omega 3 vs triglyceride

https://www.ascentahealth.com/omega-3-and-you/the-science/fish-oil-triglycerides-vs-ethyl-esters-comparative-review-metabolism-absorption-stability/

Dry Eyes among computer user

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25697893

 

Dry eyes among contact lens user

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25719253

Dementia and Omega 3

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27063583

Dementia Prevention and Omega 3

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22696350

Benefits of OatMeal

Oatmeal comes from Oat plant (Avena sativa). It’s heavily advertised as the meal of fitness and we have seen many brands adding oats to their food in order to appear healthier. How much of oatmeal we need to consume per day to achieve the benefits stated? Is there any evidence behind the health claims of oatmeal?   

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1. Does eating oatmeal reduce cholesterol level?

The short answer is yes. There are three types of cholesterol level that we are concerned about. LDL, HDL and Triglyceride. LDL & Triglyceride also known as the “bad” cholesterol are the ones responsible for accelerated hardening of our blood vessels (atherosclerosis). With the hardening of blood vessels, there is a higher chance of getting stroke or heart attack.

HDL on the other hand, is the “good” cholesterol. It helps in preventing the hardening.

So, the aim is to increase HDL and reduce LDL along with Triglyceride. Many claim that oatmeal is capable of doing that. A research by Thongoun et al proved that eating oats everyday for 4 weeks, reduced the total cholesterol level by 5%, and LDL by 10%. That sounds promising. Patients included in the study were all those with high cholesterol level, thus it’s more applicable for those with the problem.

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Researchers from Cochrane Heart group looked at 10 studies done on this matter, and made scientific calculations on how beneficial oatmeal really is in reducing cholesterol level. These sort of “calculation” is known as meta analysis, and it’s regarded as the highest level of evidence.

They concluded that people who eat oatmeal   had lower level of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. But they cautioned that “many of the studies done on this matter were short term, of poor quality and doesn’t have sufficient power. Most of the trials were funded by companies with commercial interests in wholegrains.”

Another group of scientists from Chengdu, China specifically looked at how oatmeal helps in people with diabetes mellitus. They included 16 articles on studies that looked at oatmeal’s ability to reduce cholesterol and blood sugar level in people with diabetes mellitus. They discovered that oatmeal consumption is able to reduce blood sugar level, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol as well as slightly reducing Triglyceride.

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2. Oatmeal and colon cancer

Oatmeal helps in reducing constipation, simply because it’s an soluble fibre.  It is not well absorbed by our body, so it stays longer in the colon. In colon it absorbs water and makes the stool heavier,thus helping in preventing constipation. But is there evidence that soluble fibre prevents colon cancer?

Oatmeal and other wholegrain food have shown some benefits in patients with colon problems as well. A paper published by British nutritionists looked at 28 articles on benefits of oatmeal in colon patients. The group of scientists concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that oatmeal and other wholegrain meals can prevent colon cancer or reduce symptoms in other bowel disorders.

How to prepare oatmeal to benefit maximum from it?

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Researchers from China looked into the best method of oats preparation. After studying the effect of oatmeal, they concluded that boiling oatmeal makes the oat better at reducing blood cholesterol level compared to brewing. There are many ways to prepare oatmeal, some prefer to add fruits, or milk for flavor and additional nutrients. 

In conclusion, small scale studies with short follow up time do show some benefits for oatmeal in reducing cholesterol level and preventing colon cancer. However there is no strong evidence to suggest oatmeal being useful in reducing cholesterol level and preventing colon cancer. Hopefully more researches in future will show strong evidence.

For further reading:

1.       Oatmeal & Bowel Diseases

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9362077&fileId=S0007114514002293

2.       Oatmeal and Cholesterol reduction

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD005051.pub2/ful

3.       Oatmeal preparation

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26498197

4.       Oatmeal in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/7/12/5536