This week on OHIS

This week on the Olive Health Information System website

The newsletter of the University of Navarra and the IOC dedicated to health

This week, an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports on several health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet), including the presence of beneficial gut microbes and related metabolites following a one-year intervention in the Predimed-Plus trial. The Med Diet is characterized by a high consumption of plant-based foods, a moderate consumption of fish and low consumption of meat and dairy products and liberal consumption of olive oil, which represents its main culinary fat.

The study in question was conducted as part of the Predimed-Plus trial and involved 400 people at high cardiovascular risk. Researchers compared a one-year lifestyle intervention based on a low-energy MedDiet diet combined with physical activity with an ad libitum MedDiet. The intervention group showed greater weight loss and improvement in cardiovascular risk factors than the control group. Additionally, the intervention was associated with changes in fecal metabolites, such as bile acids, ceramides, sphingosines, fatty acids, carnitines, nucleotides, and purine and Krebs cycle metabolites. The intervention also led to a reduction in the abundance of certain intestinal bacteria and an increase in alpha diversity. The study suggests that an intervention based on a low-energy MedDiet and physical activity may improve cardiometabolic risk factors by modulating the fecal microbiota and metabolome.

Also in line with the promotion of physical exercise and a MedDiet rich in olive oil, a cross-sectional study in children evaluated the association between compliance with the three 24-hour movement recommendations and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in early childhood. Participants who comply with the three 24-hour movement recommendations have higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet compared to those who do not comply with these recommendations, especially regarding fruit and vegetable consumption. The integration of these physical exercise recommendations with dietary guidelines could be beneficial in promoting healthy habits at this stage of life that can be maintained throughout life and thus prevent highly prevalent chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease.

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