Mediterranean Diet Benefits Tallied

A Mediterranean diet appears to reduce the risk of early death and several diseases, a study has found. Researchers combined data from 12 studies. They included 1.6 million people. Their diets were compared with the Mediterranean diet. This diet emphasizes olive oil, grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables and fish. Researchers created a 9-point scale to measure how well people followed this diet. If adherence rose 2 points, death rates dropped 9%. Deaths from heart and artery disease fell 9%. Decreases were 13% each for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and 6% for cancer. HealthDay News wrote about the study September 12. It was published in the British Medical Journal.