The Mediterranean diet is a powerful ally for health even after a cancer diagnosis. Patients who eat according to the dictates of our dietary tradition, live longer and have a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality, -60%. Overall mortality is reduced by 32%. This was revealed by an Italian study carried out within the Umberto Project, conducted by the Joint Research Platform of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation – Department of Epidemiology and Prevention of the Irccs Neuromed of Pozzilli, in collaboration with the Lum ‘Giuseppe Degennaro’ University of Casamassima in the Bari area.
Research on 800 Italians
The research, published in Jacc CardioOncology, examined data from 800 Italian adults, both men and women, who had already been diagnosed with cancer at the time of enrollment in the Moli-sani study, between 2005 and 2010. The participants were followed for over 13 years, and detailed information on food consumption during the year preceding enrollment was available for all of them. “The beneficial role of the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of some tumors is well known in literature – says Marialaura Bonaccio, first author of the study and Co-Principal Investigator of the Joint Research Platform at Irccs Neuromed -. However, little is known about the potential benefits that this dietary model can have for those who have already received a cancer diagnosis“.
The result of the study
The researchers therefore analyzed the role of the Mediterranean diet in relation to mortality in people who already had a history of cancer at the time of enrollment in the Moli-sani study, one of the largest population cohorts in Europe. With the aim of verifying to what extent a healthy diet can prolong survival. “The results of our study – explains Bonaccio – indicate that people who had cancer and reported a high adherence to a Mediterranean diet had a 32% lower risk of mortality compared to participants who did not follow the Mediterranean diet. The benefit was particularly evident for cardiovascular mortality, which was reduced by 60%”.
What is meant by the Mediterranean diet
“The Mediterranean diet – recalls Chiara Tonelli, president of the Scientific Committee of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation – is mainly composed of foods such as fruits, vegetables and olive oil, which are natural sources of antioxidant compoundswhich could explain the observed benefit in terms of mortality not only for cancer, but also for cardiovascular diseases, which can be reduced by diets particularly rich in these bioactive compounds”.
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