The Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and death in women by 25%

carry out a mediterranean diet rreduces a woman's risks of cardiovascular disease and death by nearly 25%.

That is the conclusion of a study carried out by 10 researchers from institutions in Australia or the United Kingdom and published this Wednesday in the journal 'Heart’.

Cardiovascular diseases account for more than a third of the deaths of women worldwide. While a healthy diet is a key element of prevention, clinical trialss most relevant have included relatively few women or have not reported the results by sex, according to the researchers. And current guidelines on the best way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease do not differentiate by gender.

The researchers scoured research databases for studies looking at the potential impact of following a Mediterranean diet on women's cardiovascular health and risk of death.

The Mediterranean diet It is rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and extra virgin olive oil; moderate in fish and shellfish; low to moderate in wine, and low in red and processed meats, dairy products, animal fat, and processed foods.

From an initial sweep of 190 relevant studies, the researchers included 16 published between 2003 and 2021 in their pooled data analysis.

The studies, which were carried out mainly in United States and Europe, they involved more than 700,000 women at least 18 years of age, whose cardiovascular health was monitored for an average of 12.5 years.

The results of the analysis showed that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a 24% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 23% lower risk of death from any cause in women.

The risk of coronary disease was 25% lower, while that of stroke was also lower, although not statistically significant, in those who followed this diet the most compared to those who did so the least.