Study: What Makes the Mediterranean Diet so Healthy?

21 May 2014 --- Scientists have discovered that it is the combination of olive oil with leafy salads or vegetables that makes the Mediterranean diet so healthy. The study, published in PNAS journal, found that the blending of these two food groups forms nitro fatty acids, which lowers blood pressure.

The unsaturated fat in olive oil joins forces with the nitrite in the vegetables. Nuts and avocadoes, and other vegetables, should work as well, the scientists suggested in the study, which was part-funded by the British Heart Foundation.

Professor Philip Eaton, from King’s College London, and colleagues from the University of California in the US, believe that while each component of a traditional Mediterranean diet has its own health benefits, it is the fusion of the diet’s ingredients that make the diet as a whole so healthy because of the formulation of nitro fatty acids.

The Mediterranean diet, which includes traditional cuisines from countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy, has long been associated with good health and strong hearts. In general this diet comprises an abundance of vegetables, fresh fruit, wholegrain cereals, olive oil and nuts, as well as poultry and fish.

In the study researchers used genetically engineered mice to see what impact nitro fatty acids had on the body. They discovered that these fatty acids helped to lower blood pressure by blocking an enzyme called epoxide hydrolase.

“Humans have this same enzyme so we think the same happens in people,” Professor Eaton said. “With the fats in the Mediterranean diet, if taken together with nitrates or nitrites, there is a chemical reaction and these combine to form nitro fatty acids. It’s nature’s protective mechanism. If we can tap into this we could make new drugs for treating high blood pressure and preventing heart disease,” he said.