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Landmark Clinical Study Suggests Including Walnuts May Cut Risk of Heart Disease By 50%; Mediterranean Diet Better Than a Low-Fat Diet

Posted on: Thursday, 6 July 2006, 06:00 CDT

In what's being hailed as one of the world's largest and longest dietary intervention studies, early results indicate that the so-called Mediterranean diet may reduce the risks of heart attack and cardiovascular disease by up to one half.

In an article entitled "Effects of a Mediterranean-Style Diet on Cardiovascular Risk Factors," reported in the July 4 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers note that high risk participants who improved their diet with vegetables, legumes, olive oil or nuts, especially walnuts, showed lower blood pressure, improved lipid profiles, decreased insulin resistance and reduced concentrations of inflammatory molecules compared with those allocated to a low-fat diet (American Heart Association guidelines).

"The early results of this clinical trial indicate that the Mediterranean diet pattern is ideal for cardiovascular disease prevention. What we knew before was scattered pieces of evidence from prospective studies. The primary endpoint of this long-term study will be a composite outcome of cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke). The results to date make us believe, long term, the Mediterranean diet enriched with walnuts or olive oil will indeed reduce heart disease. The size, duration and clinical basis of this study make it landmark," said Dr. Emilio Ros, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, and PREDIMED study co-investigator.

The investigators of this 4-year clinical study being conducted under the sponsorship of the Spanish Ministry of Health reviewed the effects of the diet on almost 800 men and women aged 55 to 80 years. Each participant had either diabetes or three or more cardiovascular risk factors: family history of early-onset heart disease, excessive weight, smoking, hypertension, or high blood cholesterol levels. Researchers maintain that the early results of this clinical trial suggest that the Mediterranean diet pattern is ideal for cardiovascular disease reduction.

Carried out by primary care doctors affiliated with 10 teaching hospitals across Spain, the Prevencion con Dieta Mediterranea (PREDIMED) study is a large, parallel-group, multicenter, randomized, controlled four-year feeding trial that aims to assess the effects of the Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (www.predimed.org). VIDEO FEEDS THURSDAY, JULY 6 04:30 AM and 2:00 PM ET Footage: Lab research, Spanish market scenes, people eating a Mediterranean diet of vegetables, olive oil & nuts, nut orchards & walnut processing Soundbites: Dr. Emilio Ros, physician & researcher: "We expect it to reduce the rates of heart attacks and strokes and other cardiovascular diseases by 50%." And, "I'm saying that a diet that incorporates walnuts will surely reduce the risk of heart disease in the long term." VIA SATELLITE, C-BAND FEED: THURSDAY, JULY 6 2:00-2:15 PM ET IA 6, Tr. 11, DL 3920V Technical Info DURING FEED ONLY, Quicklink TOC, 212-947-4475. VIA PATHFIRE, Story # NBN 24528: On the left panel of Pathfire, double click on News Broadcast Network, Story # NBN 24528. This story will be available on Thursday, July 6. Hard Copies: News Broadcast Network, Dan Schwartzberg, 1-212-684-8910, ext. 320 or dschwartzberg@newsbroadcastnetwork.com EXPERTS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW: -- Emilio Ros, M.D., Hospital Clinic of Barcelona; PREDIMED Study Investigator -- Andrew Weil, M.D., Founder and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona's Health Sciences Center in Tucson; author of Healthy Aging (2005) -- Michael F. Roizen, M.D., Author, You The Owner's Manual (2005); Chair designate of Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and Comprehensive Pain Management at the Cleveland Clinic -- Steven Pratt, M.D., Author of SuperFoods HealthStyle (2005); authority on the role of nutrition and lifestyle in the prevention of disease and optimizing health; senior staff at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California -- Anderson Morris, M.D., FACC, Medical Director, HealthSouth Heart College, Birmingham, AL -- cardiovascular specialist who works in preventative care -- Amy G. Myrdal, MS, RD, California Walnut Commission ALSO AVAILABLE: -- Link to the study: http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/145/1/1 -- Summary of walnuts clinical scientific research -- Photography/Recipes -- Video B-roll (footage and soundbites) -- www.walnuts.org

Source: Business Wire

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