Greek eating habits add weight to a healthy heart diet

ORLANDO - A "Mediterranean diet" rich in olive oil and lean on meat reduces signs of inflammation that raise the risk of heart disease, researchers report.

The finding was among the latest evidence, presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, that diets low in fat and rich in fruits and vegetables may prevent heart disease.

A Mediterranean diet emphasises fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil, and very little meat, and has been linked to lower rates of heart disease.

In the new study, researchers tracked the eating habits of about 3000 men and women in Greece, aged 18 to 89, who did not have cardiovascular disease.

The closer people adhered to the Mediterranean diet, the lower their levels of inflammation, which recent research shows plays a major role in development of heart disease.

Some have speculated that other factors, such as exercise and low stress levels of Mediterranean countries, may account for the heart benefits.

But Demosthenes Panagiotakos, of Harokopian University of Athens, lead researcher of the new study, said his findings held true even when differences in body mass index, physical activity, age, sex and education level were accounted for.

He believed the benefits "were from the diet as a whole, not specific items consumed".

A separate study, at Tufts University in Boston, showed eating at least two servings of fish each week was linked to slower worsening of heart lesions. The findings were particularly true for tuna and dark meat fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel.

- REUTERS