Cholesterol-lowering drugs are much more effective in a Mediterranean diet

Can a Mediterranean diet improve the effectiveness of medication?

Does our diet affect the effectiveness of taking medications? Italian researchers have now discovered that so-called statins work better when combined with a Mediterranean diet.

Researchers from the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention in Italy found in their recent study that statins are more effective when the consuming people also consume a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes and other traditional ingredients from the Mediterranean. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "International Journal of Cardiology".

This is the best way to protect yourself against death from cardiovascular diseases

If people have suffered a heart attack or stroke, they should eat a lot of fruit, vegetables, and legumes in addition to the statins. Such a form of nutrition increases the protection against death from cardiovascular diseases. The results of the current study should encourage scientists to explore how to improve medication using nutrition, say the experts.

Mediterranean diet favors action of statins

It has been found that statins and a Mediterranean diet are more effective together. Together they reduce the risk of cardiovascular mortality, explain the physicians. It is likely that a Mediterranean diet promotes the beneficial effects of statins, the authors add to the study. The beneficial combination of statins and Mediterranean diets seem to work by reducing inflammation. Inflammation increases the risk of various diseases and mortality. The Mediterranean diet is rich in cereals, olive oil, wine and fish, but it contains very little meat.

Interaction between food and drugs has been neglected so far

The study involved 1,000 patients and studied drug-nutrition interactions. The data suggest that experts should focus more on the potential food-drug interactions. This aspect has been largely neglected in research so far. The current study builds on a previous study that found that heart disease can be treated better with a Mediterranean diet than with cholesterol lowering drugs.

Risk of early death in heart patients could be reduced by 37 percent

In the previous study, the researchers concluded that a diet rich in vegetables, nuts, fish, and oils can reduce the risk of early death in heart patients by 37 percent. The physicians examined 1,200 people who suffered from heart disease. They found that those who came closest to a typical Mediterranean diet were less likely to die prematurely. To date, it has been thought that cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins are the most effective method of combating heart disease. (As)