The Mediterraneanper diem expenses , supplemented with extra virgin olive oil or nuts, is capable of reducing the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke or cardiovascular death by 30%, according to the conclusions of the PREMIDED study, published today in The New England Journal of Medicine after almost ten years of research.

The project, carried out by a network of scientists coordinated by the Full Professor of the University of Navarra Miguel Ángel Martínez, was born in 2003 thanks to funding from the high school de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), and is currently funded through two ISCIII initiatives, the research center Biomédica en network -Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn) and the network PREDIMED. 

"The results found contradict the paradigm of 'per diem expenses leave in fats', which was erroneously invoked for prevention", emphasizes Miguel Ángel Martínez. This was announced today at the presentations of work, which took place in Madrid and in Loma Linda (California), venue of the 6th International Nutrition congress .

The presentation to the international community in the U.S. has run to position of Professor Miguel Angel Martinez. The one in Madrid has been chaired by the administrative assistant of State of research, development and Innovation of the Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness, Carmen Vela, with the participation of, among others, Dr. Ramón Estruch, coordinator from the Hospital Clinic of the University of Barcelona and leader of the PREDIMED groups included in the CIBERobn, and Professor Estefanía Toledo, from the University of Navarra.

The largest clinical essay in Spain: 7,500 participants and 20 million data

The research PREDIMED(www.predimed.es) involves 19 scientific groups from Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Catalonia, Navarra, the Basque Country and Valencia, which have collected more than 20 million data from 200 health centers throughout Spain. The sample survey involved 7,447 people (57% women, 43% men), asymptomatic but at high cardiovascular risk, aged between 55 and 80 years.

This is the largest clinical essay of the Spanish research and one of the main nutrition in the world, whose goal is to assess whether the Mediterranean per diem expenses supplemented with extra virgin olive oil or nuts prevents the onset of cardiovascular disease (death of cardiovascular origin, myocardial infarction and/or cerebral vascular accident), compared with a per diem expenses leave in fat.

As secondary variables, the effects of the Mediterranean per diem expenses on overall mortality and incidence of heart failure, diabetes, cancer, cognitive impairment and other neurodegenerative diseases are also evaluated. "Today more than ever, in times of budgetary austerity, it is necessary to reflect on the great advantages of promoting healthy lifestyles, such as the Mediterranean lifestyle, and to use these simple preventive interventions to make our healthcare system sustainable," says Miguel Ángel Martínez.

In the opinion of Full Professor of the University of Navarra, "it is about rescuing the lifestyle of our parents and grandparents and fleeing from new fashions imported from other countries that we are seeing that they are not as healthy as ours".

He also emphasizes that this study, which is officially registered in the Current Controlled Trials Register in London, has made it possible to create a database that will be a unique asset for the research in nutrition in Spain for at least the next twenty years.

More information:

www.predimed.es