by Participants who ate the “Atlantic” diet for six months reduced the likelihood of developing metabolic syndrome compared to those who ate a regular diet in a new study published February 7 i. JAMA Open Network.
Metabolic syndrome is the term for a group of health factors including a larger waist circumference, elevated triglyceride levels, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar.
The positive impact of the Atlantic diet on factors such as cholesterol and belly fat found in this study would be expected, says Katherine Patton, RD, who practices at the Cleveland Clinic’s Digestive Diseases & Surgery Institute and was not involved in the study. “The Atlantic diet is very similar to the Mediterranean diet, which is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome,” she says. Metabolic syndrome is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, she adds.
It is estimated that people with metabolic syndrome may have a 50 to 60 percent higher risk of heart disease than people without it.
The results provide important evidence regarding the potential of traditional diets to improve critical risk factors for heart disease and other chronic conditions, says the principal investigator, Mar Calvo-Malvar, PhD, a specialist in laboratory medicine at the Clinical Hospital of the University of Santiago de Compostela. in Spain.
What is the Atlantic Diet?
The Atlantic diet is the name given by investigators to the traditional dietary pattern in northwestern Spain and Portugal. Although there are similarities between the diet and the Mediterranean diet, there are some significant differences, says Dr Calvo-Malvar.
“Like the Mediterranean diet, the Atlantic diet emphasizes the consumption of fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses (dry beans, lentils, and chickpeas), fish, dairy products, and olive oil , is used. for dressing and cooking,” she says. But the Atlantic diet usually includes a higher proportion of fish, milk, potatoes, fruit and vegetables than the Mediterranean diet, says Calvo-Malvar.
Dietary Intervention Focused on Local and Traditional Foods
The six-month study was a secondary analysis of data from a community-based trial conducted between 2014 and 2015 in the rural town of A Estrada in northwestern Spain. 250 families (574 adults) were randomized to eat the Atlantic diet, an eating pattern based on traditions and locally available fish, seasonal fresh vegetables and fruit, or the control group, who were instructed to continue their usual -eating a diet. .
People on the Atlantic diet ate high amounts of fish and seafood along with starchy foods (such as potatoes), dried fruit, cheese, milk, and a moderate intake of meat and wine. The intervention group also attended nutrition education sessions and cooking classes and received baskets of the types of food they were encouraged to eat.
Calories consumed, physical activity, medication use, and other variables were assessed at baseline and at the end of the study, and the researchers attempted to control for these factors in their analysis.
Of the 457 people without metabolic syndrome who completed the trial, 23 went on to develop the condition: 6 in the intervention group (2.7 percent of participants) and 17 in the control group (7.3 percent).
Atlantic Diet Leads to Reductions in Belly Fat and Bad Cholesterol
Waist circumference and LDL cholesterol (known as “bad” cholesterol) went down in the intervention group, and blood pressure, triglycerides, and fasting blood sugar levels were not significantly different.
“These results are encouraging given the short duration of the intervention, especially six months with each family, and the challenge of reversing some chronic conditions and co-morbidities associated with metabolic syndrome, such as hypertension or diabetes,” says Calvo-Malvar.
It is worth noting that the health care system in Spain (where the trial was held) ensures that most people with chronic diseases such as hypertension or diabetes receive treatment and that their disease is under control, says she
These findings suggest that the Atlantic diet may be helpful in managing important aspects of health and reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome, says Elisabetta Politi, MPH, RD, a certified diabetes care and education specialist at Duke. Health in Durham, North Carolina, was. are not involved in the study. “The statistically significant result of waistline circumference reduction is important. We know that carrying extra weight in the abdominal area increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes,” she says.
To measure your waist correctly, stand and place a tape measure around your waist, just above your hip bones, and measure right after you take a breath. The risk increases with a waist size of more than 35 inches for women or more than 40 inches for men.
Is the Atlantic diet healthier than the Mediterranean diet?
The results of this study are significant, but not because it shows that the Atlantic diet “beats” the Mediterranean diet, or vice versa. That’s not the issue to focus on here, says Calvo-Malvar. “Both dietary patterns have been shown to be healthy. I believe the question is not about which one is healthy or less, but which dietary pattern best suits the population in which it is being promoted,” she says.
There is no doubt that the way we eat is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for heart disease and other chronic diseases, and dietary changes are a key strategy to prevent millions of deaths each year worldwide the world, says Calvo-Malvar.
“However, changing dietary habits is challenging, as complex and interconnected factors at the societal and individual level, including culture, food affordability, close friends and family, and the surrounding community, influence the individual,” she says. The assumption that most people would replace unhealthy foods with healthy foods, and stick with those changes, is unrealistic, given the latest research on disease risk, says Calvo-Malvar.
“I believe the best diet is one that aligns with the cultural and gastronomic heritage of the area it’s being promoted in, where foods are local and economically accessible,” she says.
Politics unites. “This study takes into account important factors that many nutrition studies leave out: what foods are available locally, what cultural factors shape what people eat, and what people like and feel they are eating better,” she says.
By designing a diet that considers the dynamics that affect our food choices, people are more likely to stick to that healthier eating pattern and reduce the risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease, says Politi.
Interested in the Atlantic diet? Expert Tips on How to Change Your Diet
Some aspects of the Atlantic diet can be adopted to improve our eating habits on this side of the pond.
Cooking techniques People eating the Atlantic diet often prepared their foods by steaming, boiling, baking, grilling or stewing. “People who like to cook in a Crock Pot, for example, could transfer well here,” says Politi.
That kind of “set it and forget it” slow cooking can make for less tender cuts of moist and juicy meat, she says. “It can also save money because those cuts of meat are often cheaper, and it also allows us to eat different parts of the animal, rather than the tender fillets that we often focus on,” says Politi.
More fish To follow the principles of the Atlantic diet, up your pescatarian ration. “For my clients who don’t eat any fish, I have to start them at one serving a week. If they eat one serving, we try to increase that to two,” says Politi.
Healthy exchanges Patton recommends starting out with a few healthy reps. “Swap deli meats for tuna, hummus, and natural nut butters, and swap chips and pretzels for nuts, seeds, fruits, or raw vegetables,” she says.
Switch up your burger game by skipping the hamburger and opting for a salmon burger, bean burger, or veggie burger instead, says Patton.
Fewer highly processed foods Highly processed foods like chips and cookies have ingredients that make us want to keep eating them, says Politi. “As a result, we tend to overeat. I don’t hear many of my clients telling me they couldn’t give up eating quinoa or brown rice – but highly processed snacks are hard to put down,” she says.
