ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND. Nutritional intervention based on the Mediterranean Diet effectively significantly reduces cardiovascular risk in a relatively short time in a population of Italian women. Given the absence of contraindications, the Mediterranean diet is an unparalleled preventive and clinical medicine tool.
OBJECTIVE. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the therapeutic efficacy of nutritional intervention based on the Mediterranean Diet in reducing risk factors for cardiovascular diseases over a year.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS. The study sample consisted of 97 Italian women (mean age 46.09 ± 13.8 years) who voluntarily underwent dietary evaluation and haematochemical analyses, blood pressure measurement and measurement of anthropometric parameters. Follow-up was carried out with repetition of the same examinations one year later, during which a Mediterranean diet was followed.
RESULTS. One year after the start of the diet, blood levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides were significantly reduced; similarly, there was a significant reduction in BMI and a normalization of systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels.
CONCLUSIONS. These results are of considerable importance for public health, because this preventive and therapeutic dietary model can be easily adopted by all population groups and various cultures, given the absence of contraindications.
