Daily Archives: 23 April 2024

The Green Mediterranean diet achieves a reduction in visceral fat that is double what the Mediterranean diet accomplishes and 10% greater than that achieved by a standard healthy diet

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The Green Mediterranean diet, also known as the Green Med diet, has demonstrated a significant ability to reduce visceral adipose tissue, a type of fat that poses a greater health risk than the superficial fat around the waist. This diet was compared to the traditional Mediterranean and generally healthy diets in a comprehensive clinical trial called DIRECT PLUS. The results of this trial, published in BMC Medicine, showed that the Green Med diet led to a 14% reduction in visceral fat, compared to a 7% reduction with the Mediterranean diet, and a 4.5% decrease with the healthy diet. This highlights the effectiveness of the Green Med diet in reducing visceral fat, making it a promising option for weight loss and improved health.

The focus on reducing visceral fat is not just about weight loss, but about addressing a significant health concern. Visceral fat, which accumulates around organs over time, releases hormones and toxins that are linked to serious health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and even premature death. This underscores the importance of targeting visceral fat in weight loss efforts, as it can have a profound impact on overall health.

The study was spearheaded by Professor Iris Shai from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. She also holds positions as an adjunct professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and an honorary professor at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Doctoral student Dr. Hila Zelicha and collaborators from Italy, Germany, and the United States worked alongside her.

The research team behind the DIRECT-PLUS trial introduced a unique variant of the Mediterranean diet, known as the Green Mediterranean diet. This diet is enriched with dietary polyphenols and features a reduced intake of red and processed meat. Participants were instructed to include specific foods in their daily diet, such as 28 grams of walnuts, 3-4 cups of green tea, and 100 grams of a duckweed green shake (in the form of frozen cubes). Duckweed, a nutrient-rich aquatic plant, was highlighted in the diet for its high content of bioavailable protein, iron, B12, vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols, making it a healthy and sustainable meat substitute.

Previous studies conducted by the team have demonstrated the Green Med diet’s broad spectrum of beneficial effects, from influencing the microbiome to combating age-related degenerative diseases. This 18-month trial involved 294 participants.

Professor Shai emphasized the importance of a healthy lifestyle as the foundation of any weight loss program, noting that the experiment’s outcomes underscore the significance of food quality alongside calorie count. The current objective is to decipher the impact of various nutrients, such as beneficial ones like polyphenols and harmful ones like empty carbohydrates and processed red meat, on the rate of fat cell differentiation and their accumulation in the viscera.

Dr Hila Zelicha remarked on the dramatic achievement of a 14% reduction in visceral fat through simple dietary and lifestyle alterations, highlighting that the actual value of weight loss is realized when it leads to substantial decreases in adipose tissue.

More information: Hila Zelicha et al, The effect of high-polyphenol Mediterranean diet on visceral adiposity: the DIRECT PLUS randomized controlled trial, BMC Medicine. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-022-02525-8

Journal information: BMC Medicine Provided by Ben Gurion University of the Negev

The functional capacity of individuals in their advanced years can be likened to an ecosystem that is prone to collapse upon facing disturbances

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As individuals age, the interconnections between various facets of their functional capacity tend to strengthen, potentially signalling a diminished resilience of the system. Research conducted by the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland highlighted this phenomenon. The study posited that an increased interdependency among functional capacity domains could precipitate a cascade of impairments following a single disruption, emphasising the necessity of a holistic approach to maintaining physical and mental health.

Envisioning human functional capacity as an ecosystem composed of mobility, sensory perception, cognitive abilities, and mental health, the study underscores the system’s resilience in weathering and rebounding from adversities as one age.

Employing network analysis on a population scale, the investigation revealed that older individuals and those in poorer health exhibited tighter linkages between functional capacity domains, mirroring the resilience observed in other systems, such as ecological or economic frameworks.

Kaisa Koivunen, a postdoctoral researcher, drew parallels between the vulnerabilities of highly interconnected economies and the human functional system. While interconnectivity between body and mind is crucial, an overly dependent system could trigger a domino effect, where a fault in one domain precipitates a systemic collapse, a scenario that should raise concerns among healthcare professionals and policymakers.

A resilient functional capacity ecosystem maintains, for instance, a surplus of muscle strength to prevent a chain reaction of decline—where a temporary loss, such as during a period of bed rest, does not spiral into broader incapacitation or mental health issues. This system’s diversity enables behavioural adaptations, ensuring vital activities remain achievable.

Professor Taina Rantanen, the Principal Investigator of the AGNES study, highlighted the human capacity for adaptation through the utilisation of reserve capacities to offset deficiencies. She illustrated how individuals with reduced mobility might still navigate their environments with alternative strategies, like driving, provided other functional capacities remain intact. However, as these compensatory mechanisms wane, so does overall resilience.

The study paves the way for applying cross-disciplinary resilience frameworks to health and functional capacity domains. It introduces the concept of critical transitions—sudden declines in health and functionality triggered by disturbances surpassing the body’s coping threshold. While such transitions have been extensively studied in ecological systems, their application to human health and functionality is less explored.

Koivunen suggests that future research could potentially identify impending critical transitions between functional capability and impairment by analysing the density of the body’s system network. This promising avenue of research could significantly advance our understanding of aging and functional capacity, instilling hope for a continued high quality of life in aging populations.

More information: Kaisa Koivunen et al, Investigating resilience through intrinsic capacity networks in older adults, The Journals of Gerontology Series A. DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glae048

Journal information: The Journals of Gerontology Series A Provided by University of Jyväskylä