After a first evaluation of the study, that was published in Annals of Internal Medicine , Dr. Ramon Estruch, specialist of Internal Medicine at the Clinical Hospital of Barcelona and main author of the study, indicated that this study reveals that after three months of diet the patients incorporated in the first stage showed "a significant reduction of cardiovascular risk factors". These results would support the global hypothesis of the study, oriented to demonstrate that the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil and dried fruit diminishes cardiovascular episodes (ictus, myocardium infarct.) in high risk people.

Three risk factors

In fact, according to Estruch and Miguel Fiol, of Son Dureta de Palma de Mallorca University Hospital, the first results correspond to 772 patients with an average age of 70 years which presented at least three cardiovascular risk factors (tobacco 27%, hypertension 74%, diabetes 56%, high cholesterol LDL 60%, obesity 87% and family precedents of cardiovascular episodes 12%).

Participants were divided in three groups and where submitted to a Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil in the first case, a Mediterranean diet accompanied by dry fruits in a second group and a third group followed a low fat diet.

After three months, a significant diminution of the arterial pressure and the glycemia level was observed in both groups that followed the Mediterranean diet.

Also, and unlike the control diet group, that showed a drop in the "bad" and "good" cholesterol, the patients who consumed dry fruits and olive oil diminished their LDL cholesterol levels ("the bad" cholesterol) and increased the HDL ("the good" cholesterol), which - according to the specialists declaration- could be due to the incorporation of these supplements constituted with mono-saturated fats of vegetal origin.