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Health News Archive 600 - Mediterranean Diet
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Mediterranean Diet Reduces Asthma Risk Up to 80%

From NutraIngredients.com, April 5, 2007, by Stephen Daniells

Consuming a Mediterranean diet reduces children's risk of asthma by up to 80 percent, reports new research. The cross-sectional survey of 690 children aged between seven and 18 on the Greek island of Crete found that high consumption of nuts, grapes, oranges and tomatoes was associated with 50, 81, 70, and 68 percent reductions in wheezing, respectively.

"Our findings indicate that a high dietary intake of commonly consumed fruits and vegetables and nuts may have a protective role on the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms and allergic rhinitis," wrote lead author Leda Chatzi from the University of Crete.

The Med diet, rich in cereals, wine, fruits, nuts, legumes and whole grains, fish and olive oil, has been linked to longer life, less heart disease, and protection against some cancers. The diet's main nutritional components include beta-carotene, vitamin C, tocopherols, polyphenols, and essential minerals. It is these antioxidants and polyphenols that appear to offer protection, wrote the researchers in the British Medical Journal Thorax.

Asthma is on the rise in the Western world and the most common long-term condition in the UK today According to the American Lung Association, almost 20 million Americans suffer from asthma. The condition is reported to be responsible for over 14 million lost school days in children, while the annual economic cost of asthma is said to be over $16 billion.

Whether the children ate a "Mediterranean" diet was measured against a set of 12 foodstuffs, including fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, legumes, nuts, and olive oil, assessed using a 58-item food frequency questionnaire. High adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet was associated with a 66 percent reduction in allergic rhinitis (hay fever), a 46 percent reduction in atopy (skin allergy), and a 39 percent reduction in asthma-like symptoms, although the researchers state that the last two were not statistically significant.

When the researchers, including collaborators from Veneselio General Hospital in Crete, Royal Brompton Hospital and National Heart and Lung Institute in London, and the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, looked at individual food items, they found that children who ate nuts at least three times a week were 46 percent less likely to wheeze.

And a daily diet of oranges, apples, and tomatoes also protected against wheezing with 70, 86, 68 percent reductions, and oranges and kiwis offering protection against allergic rhinitis with 71 and 63 percent reductions.

"The growth of airways during childhood may be vulnerable to oxidative exposures; suboptimal antioxidant status during this critical period might result in oxidative airway damage, reductions in airway compliance, or both," said the researchers.

"Analyses of the dietary pattern of the traditional diet of Crete have shown a number of protective substances such as selenium, glutathione, resveratrol, a balanced ratio of n-6:n-3 essential fatty acids, high amounts of fiber, polyphenols from olive oil, vitamins E and C. The majority of these have marked antioxidant activity," they said.

Commenting independently on the research, Leanne Male, assistant director of research at British charity Asthma UK said: "The results of this study add to the existing evidence which indicates that a healthy diet can play an important role in the control of asthma symptoms.

"The results demonstrate that the Mediterranean diet, which traditionally contains higher levels of fresh fruit and vegetables, can have a beneficial effect on asthma symptoms in children. This benefit is thought to be linked to the vitamins and antioxidants which they contain and Asthma UK is currently funding a number of research projects to further explore this association."

Source: L. Chatzi, G. Apostolaki, I. Bibakis, I. Skypala, V. Bibaki-Liakou, N. Tzanakis, M. Kogevinas, P. Cullinan. Protective effects of fruits, vegetables and the Mediterranean diet on asthma and allergies among children in Crete Thorax (British Medical Journal); Online First 2007, doi:10.1136/thx.2006.69419

Other studies on the Mediterranean Diet

Antonelli-Incalzi R, Pedone C, McDermott MM, et al. Association between nutrient intake and peripheral artery disease: results from the InCHIANTI study. Atherosclerosis. 2006 May;186(1):200-6.

Giugliano G, et al. Effect of a Mediterranean-style diet on endothelial dysfunction and markers of vascular inflammation in the metabolic syndrome: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2004;292:1440-6.

Menotti A, et al. Mediterranean diet, lifestyle factors, and 10-year mortality in elderly European men and women: the HALE project. JAMA. 2004;292:1433-9

Merlos M, et al. Substituting walnuts for monounsaturated fat improves the serum lipid profile of hypercholesterolemic men and women. A randomized crossover trial. Ann Intern Med. 2000;132:538-46.

Paz-Rojas E, et al. Mediterranean and low-fat diets improve endothelial function in hypercholesterolemic men. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:1115-9.

Perona JS. Virgin olive oil reduces blood pressure in hypertensive elderly subjects. Clin Nutr. 2004;23:1113-21.

Pitsavos C. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with total antioxidant capacity in healthy adults: the ATTICA study Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, Sep 2005; 82: 694 – 699.

Stefanadis C. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet attenuates inflammation and coagulation process in healthy adults: The ATTICA Study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;44: 152-8.

Trichopoulou A. Mediterranean diet in relation to body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio: the Greek European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study. Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, Nov 2005; 82: 935 – 940.

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