Although it is often seen as a male problem, it says coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many women each year as breast cancer in the UK. Victoria TaylorSenior Dietician at the British Heart Foundation and was not involved in this study.
The study analyzed 16 studies and found that women who followed a more strictly Mediterranean diet had a 24% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. They also had a 23% lower risk of death, the report said. It was published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed medical journal Heart.
Led by researchers at the University of Sydney, the report explains that diets are high in unprocessed plant foods and low in red or processed meats and dairy. and extra virgin olive oil as the preferred primary source of dietary fat.
Studies have been conducted on the effects of such diets on cardiovascular disease, but this typically does not focus on women, the authors say.
“So this really confirms that the Med diet is just as beneficial for women as it is for men.” Sarah Zaman Said australian tvShe is one of the authors and Associate Professor at the Westmead Center for Applied Research at the University of Sydney.
The researchers acknowledged the limitations of their work, including that the study was largely observational and relied on self-reports of food intake. “We emphasize the need to translate such findings into clinical practice guidelines.”
Observational studies failed to show cause and effect, meaning that reliance on self-reports is “a normal problem in dietary studies that can affect the reliability of results”. “Gender-specific studies like this are essential to reducing the gender gap in heart disease and improving care for women,” she said.
“We’ve long known that eating a Mediterranean-style diet is good for your heart, but it’s encouraging to see that this study suggests that the benefits remain when men and women are separated. is.