Nutritionist Says Recent 'Mediterranean Diet' Study Was Misinterpreted

wordridden on FlickrOlive oil is a staple of the Mediterranean DietA recent study, published Feb. 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicated "conclusively" that the Mediterranean diet — one high in vegetables and olive oil and low in dairy and meat — lowers the risk for heart disease and stroke, two major causes of death in the U.S.

In an article for the Huffington Post, Dr. Jonny Bowden, a "nutritionist, health and weight loss expert," argues that the study has been misinterpreted and "showed no such thing."

The study divided a group of more than 7,000 participants from Spain — all more than 55 years old — into three groups. They were follow for 7 years, or until they died.

One group ate a "Mediterranean diet" with extra extra virgin olive oil, one ate "Mediterranean" with extra nuts and the third group ate a low-fat, high-carb American-style diet.

The problem? That's like comparing a diet of chocolate to a diet of apples — we already knew the "American" diet is bad for us. The authors should have compared the Mediterranean diet to other "healthier" diets, Bowden says.

He writes:

Here's what the results showed with laser-sharp clarity: The low-fat diet is a complete and utter failure.

Both "Mediterranean diet" groups did well on measures of cardiovascular health, and there wasn't much difference between the two groups. But the low-fat group did horribly. In fact, they did so badly that in the middle of the study, the researchers intervened, and tried to give the low-fat group more instruction and attention to bring them up to speed. Didn't matter. They bombed anyway.

Side note that was missed in all the media reporting: The researchers clearly state that they believe the excellent results achieved by both "Mediterranean" groups were largely driven by the supplemental nuts and the supplemental extra-virgin olive oil. Not necessarily the "diet" itself.