The Mediterranean regimen works but not if you’re poor a research finds

(iStock)We've long heard that the Mediterranean Diet is how all of us should eat. They found that the Mediterranean Diet reduced the risk of heart disease by 15 percent — but only for people who made more than approximately $46,000 a year. A healthful meal that adheres to the Mediterranean Diet may not have benefits for all. The findings will inevitably contribute to the ongoing discussion of food inequality, or how access to healthful food is a tenet of social justice. "Price is a major determinant of food choice, and healthful foods generally cost more than unhealthful foods in the United States," that study said.

The Mediterranean regimen works for the wealthy

"Adhering optimally to a Mediterranean diet is not enough," co-author and epidemiologist Marialaura Bonaccio told Quartz via email. That wasn't terribly surprising: previous studies have linked the plant-rich diet to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. "Other factors beyond quantity and frequency of Mediterranean food appear to influence future health outcomes: one of them may be quality of foods."A Mediterranean diet consists primarily of plant-based foods, with smaller proportions of seafood, dairy products, and meat. Meanwhile, higher-income study subjects ate more whole grain breads, fruits, nuts, and fish, and fewer meat products than subjects with lower incomes. Those of lower socioeconomic status saw no benefits.


They also acknowledge that there are a lot of factors that might affect heart disease that we still know very little about. They found that while staying on the diet reduced heart disease by 15 percent overall, those numbers didn't hold true for the entire population of participants. (In the U.S., about a quarter of the population suffers from some form of heart disease.) For college-educated people, a two-point increase on the adherence scale correlated with a 57 percent decrease in rate of cardiovascular disease. The researchers measured the degree to which each participant said they followed the diet and compared those numbers against overall incidence of cardiovascular disease.


collected by :Lucy William