Mediterranean diets that include some lean red meat can still boost cardiovascular health
Following a Mediterranean-style diet that still leaves room for lean beef is associated with significant improvements in blood pressure (BP) and vascular health, according to new data published in Current Developments in Nutrition.[1]
The Mediterranean diet, named after the traditional eating habits of Greece and Italy, is based on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and olive oil. It primarily focuses on plant-based options, but does permits fish, seafood, poultry and dairy products to be eaten occasionally.
The Mediterranean diet is often viewed as one of the healthiest ways a person can eat. The team behind this latest analysis aimed to learn just how flexible these diets can be. If someone follows a Mediterranean-style diet, but wants to enjoy a little more meat, what does that mean for their cardiovascular health?
“Increasingly, the importance of customizing dietary choices to reflect personal preferences is recognized to promote sustained adherence to a healthy dietary pattern,” wrote first author Jennifer Fleming, PhD, an assistant teaching professor in the department of nutritional sciences at Penn State, and colleagues. “Therefore, although current dietary guidance consistently recommends limiting red meat, more clarity is needed about the amount of lean unprocessed red meat that can be incorporated into healthy dietary patterns that promote cardiovascular health.”
Fleming et al. tracked study participants who followed a Mediterranean diet that allowed either 0.5 oz, 2.5 oz or 5.5 oz of lean beef per day. A traditional Mediterranean diet does allow for 0.5 oz of lean beef, the group noted, but not 2.5 oz and certainly not 5.5 oz.
Each participant ate one of the three diet options for four weeks and then went through a “washout period” that lasted at least one week before moving on to the next diet. Meals were packed and given to participants to consume either at their own homes or on location. In addition, all participants were asked to limit their consumption of alcohol and noncaloric caffeinated beverages.
The study included 59 participants with a mean age of 49 years old and mean BMI of 27 kg/m2. Approximately 53% of participants were women.
Overall, Mediterranean diets allowing 0.5 oz, 2.5 oz and 5.5 oz of lean beef were associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) changes of -3.4, -3.1 and -2.7 mm Hg, respectively, compared to an average American diet.
“There is a linear relationship between BP and incident cardiovascular disease and therefore BP lowering, even in the normal BP range, is considered cardioprotective,” the authors wrote. “For comparison, a 4 mm Hg reduction in BP meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's requirement for antihypertensive drug approval.”
Researchers also tracked pulse wave velocity (PWV) to examine how these different eating patterns impacted a person’s arterial stiffness. They found that Mediterranean-style diets with 0.5 or 2.5 oz of lean beef per day resulted in notable improvements when compared to average American diets.
“A Mediterranean diet with 0.5–2.5 oz per day of lean beef is an option for those who wish to include lean red meat as part of a healthy dietary pattern,” the group wrote.
While the National Cattleman’s Beef Association did help fund this research, the group had no role in the study’s design or how data were collected, analyzed, studied or interpreted.
Click here to read more in Current Developments in Nutrition, an American Society for Nutrition journal.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.