Investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital have identified and assessed underlying mechanisms that may explain the Mediterranean diet's 23% reduction in all-cause mortality risk for American women. The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet have been reported in multiple studies, but there is limited long-term data of its effects in U.S.
women and little understanding about why the diet may reduce the risk of death. In a new study that followed more than 25,000 initially healthy U.S.
women for up to 25 years, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital found that participants who had greater Mediterranean diet intake had up to 23% lower risk of all-cause mortality, with benefits for both cancer mortality and cardiovascular mortality. The researchers found evidence of biological changes that may help explain why: They detected changes in biomarkers of metabolism, inflammation, insulin resistance and more. Results are published in JAMA .
"For women who want to live longer, our study says watch your diet. The good news is that following a Mediterranean dietary pattern could result in about one quarter reduction in risk of death over more than 25 years with benefit for both cancer and cardiovascular mortality, the top causes of death in women (and men) in the US and globally," said senior author Samia Mora, MD, a cardiologist and the director of the Center for Lipid Metabolomics at the Brigham. The Mediterranean diet is a plant-based diverse diet that is rich in plants .