The Green Mediterranean Diet Helps to Improve Proximal Aortic Stiffness

The high polyphenol green Mediterranean diet significantly improves proximal aortic stiffness, an indicator of increased cardiovascular risk and a vascular aging marker.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2023.02.032

Researchers compared the green Mediterranean diet to the standard Mediterranean diet and a recommended healthy dietary control diet in the large-scale DIRECT PLUS clinical trial.

It was determined that the green Mediterranean diet led to a 15% regression in proximal aortic stiffness, the standard Mediterranean diet led to a 7.3% regression, and the healthy guideline diet led to a 4.8% regression.

DIRECT PLUS was a clinical trial that lasted 18 months involving 300 individuals, which made use of MRIs to determine aortic stiffness.

Aortic stiffness is a measurement of the blood vessel wall’s elasticity, and it happens when the arterial wall’s elastic fibers start to fray as a result of mechanical stress.

The proximal thoracic aorta consists of the ascending aorta, the aortic arch, and the upper descending aorta, and plays a significant part in transporting oxygen-rich blood from the heart’s left ventricle to tissues and organs.

Proximal aortic stiffness is an independent cardiovascular disease risk factor and a distinct vascular aging marker to predict mortality and morbidity.

This modified green Mediterranean diet is distinctive from the standard Mediterranean diet due to the more abundant dietary polyphenols that provide numerous health benefits and reduced consumption of processed and red meat.

In addition to consuming 28 grams of walnuts daily, the green-Mediterranean diet group drank 1 cup of Mankai duckweed shake and 3 to 4 cups of green tea every day for 18 months. The Mankai aquatic green plant is high in 200 kinds of polyphenols, B12, bioavailable iron, and protein, and is subsequently a good alternative to meat.

The results of the study revealed that diet quality is essential for reducing cardiometabolic risk, mobilizing atherogenic adipose tissues, and improving adiposity profile.

The substitution of red meat with quality plant-based protein, together with dietary polyphenols can potentially improve numerous aspects of health.

The study results show that not all diets provide the same benefits and that the green-Mediterranean diet could promote vascular health.

Maintaining a healthy diet alone is linked to the regression of proximal aortic stiffness. The green-Mediterranean diet could provide a 15% proximal aortic stiffness reduction, which is obtained by making realistic and simple lifestyle and diet changes.