Following a Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of heart failure, particularly in women. So says a recent review published by a group of European scientists, including researchers at Sicily's University of Palermo and Kore University of Enna.
The results suggest following such a diet could benefit women, who research shows tend to develop heart failure later in life than men. They are also more likely to experience heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (otherwise known as diastolic heart failure).
While women with heart failure tend to live longer than men, they experience lower quality of life during those extended years. Perhaps eating more fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and vegetable oils (and fewer meat and dairy products) can help women reduce their risk and avoid unnecessary suffering.
For more information, I reached out to Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences Associate Professor of Geriatrics and Internal Medicine Nicola Veronese.
In his previous role as Senior Researcher of Geriatrics and Internal Medicine at the University of Palermo, Dr. Veronese was part of the team that performed this latest systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of the Mediterranean diet on the incidence of heart failure. He shared more about heart failure and which components of the diet contribute to its heart-healthy benefits.
Why did you and your colleagues embark on this review?
Heart failure is among the most common causes of hospitalization, particularly, but not only in older people. We have in mind other cardiovascular diseases, but very little is known about heart failure, particularly in terms of prevention. So, we started with the idea that the Mediterranean diet has a protective effect on several medical conditions. But, the knowledge of its effect on heart failure was limited, so we decided to do this work.
What is heart failure?
Heart failure is a common condition where your heart has difficulties regulating normal blood pressure or blood for your system and organs. It is a common cause of hospitalization. There are better medications compared to some years ago, but they're not able to solve the problem; they are only able to reduce the symptoms of heart failure.
How does heart failure affect women and men differently?
Our research tried to highlight this important topic because gender differences are highly supported in cardiovascular research. We don't have any reason for these epidemiological findings. You are told about this without being able to find a precise mechanism. However, the research suggests that, for example, the Mediterranean diet's effect was stronger in women than in men. This is probably due to hormonal changes or differences mediating the interaction between a Mediterranean diet and the risk of heart failure.
Women may also adhere to the Mediterranean diet more than men because, in Europe, they cook more frequently than men, particularly in families. They're probably better positioned to tailor foods to be more Mediterranean.
What components of the Mediterranean diet contribute to its heart-health benefits?
First, olive oil is like gold in Italian kitchens. It has a lot of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Second is the fact that you limit practically all animal fats. Fish offers strong cardiovascular heart disease protection compared to meats like beef. Finally, the Mediterranean diet is a spiritual attitude to follow with your family. This is very important to decrease anxiety, depression, and your risk of heart failure or other cardiovascular diseases.
What were the limitations of your review?
They are observational studies, so we did not put an intervention of, for example, one group with a randomized diet and the other with low fat. There is also somewhat of a selection bias. First, you are including people who are not adhering to your reality. Second, we observed that the Mediterranean diet sometimes was not reported. It is somewhat unrealistic to think that today, you'll have practically the same diet in 10 years. Maybe today, you will eat animals, and in 10 years, you will become vegan. This is an important limitation, of course, but it is related to the fact that these are observational studies.
What do you hope people will take away from these findings?
I hope they gain some knowledge about how important the Mediterranean diet is for this disease. Unfortunately, heart failure is less known compared to other cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disease, or diabetes. However, it is a very important condition. Knowing that the Mediterranean diet can decrease your risk of heart failure is important not only from an epidemiological point of view but also as an attempt to try at least to follow a Mediterranean diet.
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