BACKGROUND Within the framework of the multi-centre AIRGENE project we studied the association of the Mediterranean diet on plasma levels of various inflammatory markers, in myocardial infarction (MI) survivors from six geographic areas in Europe. METHODS From 2003 to 2004, 1003 patients were repeatedly clinically examined. On every clinical visit (on average 5.8 times), blood EDTA-plasma sam...

OBJECTIVE To assess the adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern in the population from a coastal region from north-east Spain and its relationship to diseases, applying the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (M-DQI) validated by the use of several biomarkers. DESIGN Cross-sectional nutrition survey. SETTING Population-based random sample derived from the Catalan Nutrition Survey. SUB...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The effectiveness of the Mediterranean diet in reducing the prevalence of cardiovascular and chronic diseases has been largely evidenced. Although nutrition constitutes an interesting approach in preventing age-related brain disorders, the association between the Mediterranean-style diet and cognitive functions has been very occasionally explored. RECENT FINDINGS Results are...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a very poor prognosis and any effort to identify additional risk factors, besides those already established, would be important for the prevention of the disease. Data on the role of diet on HCC risk are still controversial. METHODS We have evaluated the association of adherence to the Mediterranean diet with HCC risk, as well as the intera...

Recent articles have presented inconsistent findings on the impact of Mediterranean diet in the occurrence of cognitive disorders; therefore, we performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the potential association and dose-response pattern with accumulating evidence. We searched the PubMed and the Embase for the records relevant to this topic. A generic inverse-varianc...

Dear readers, Starting in the 1980s, Ancel Keys and other nutritionists recognised how the Mediterranean diet was able to prevent the cardiovascular conditions, cancers and disorders that result from a diet lacking nutrients essential to health. The basis of such diet is not a geographic location, but the result of historic exchanges between various Countries in the Mediterranean basin, that we...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Many clinical and epidemiologic studies suggest that activated factor VII may be involved in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease. Our objective was to determine the effect of a Mediterranean diet on plasma levels of activated factor VII in comparison to a low-fat diet and a diet rich in saturated fat. PATIENTS AND METHOD The study population comprised 16 hea...

Numerous studies have addressed the nutritional needs of pregnant women. The nutritional status of the woman before and during gestation affects the growth of the fetus and the course of the pregnancy and influences the risk of obesity for mother and infant. The aim of this study was to propose a diet quality index for pregnancy based on a Mediterranean-type diet (MDS-P), evaluating the diet of...

BACKGROUND Adherence to a Mediterranean diet has been reported to increase longevity, but concerns have been expressed that such a diet may promote overweight and obesity. OBJECTIVE The objective was to investigate whether adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet, as operationalized in a Mediterranean diet score, is associated with body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). ...