Modifying the Mediterranean diet by including even more plant-based food sources and limiting meat can to significant cardiovascular benefits, according to a new findings published in Heart.
The study included nearly 300 moderately obese participants with an average age of 51 years old. The cohort was separated into three groups.
All groups received instruction on how to boost physical activity and achieve a healthy diet. One group was given no additional information. Another group, meanwhile, was advised to follow a traditional Mediterranean diet that was low in simple carbohydrates and replaced meat with poultry or fish. It also included a hearty helping of walnuts—28 grams per day.
The final group was advised on how to follow a “green Med” diet, which updates the usual Mediterranean diet by emphasizing plant-based options such as green tea and high-protein duckweed.
After six months, both forms of the Mediterranean diet resulted in improved weight loss compared to the “healthy diet” group—with the green Med diet outperforming the traditional version. The green Med diet also outperformed the traditional Mediterranean diet when it came to waist circumference, low-density cholesterol and a variety of other cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors.
“Our findings suggest that additional restriction of meat intake with a parallel increase in plant-based, protein-rich foods may further benefit the cardiometabolic state and reduce cardiovascular risk, beyond the known beneficial effects of the traditional Mediterranean diet,” wrote Gal Tsaban, MD, of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, and colleagues.
The authors did note that just 35 women participated in the study. Another serious limitation was that the team could not specifically determine what led to the improved outcomes for patients following a green Med diet.
The full Heart analysis is available here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.