Healthy Diet News: Mediterranean Diet's Touted Health Benefits Get Scientific Support

While the Mediterranean Diet won't keep you young forever, a study has found out that it is good for your DNA. Researchers say the diet helps maintain longer telomeres on chromosomes, thereby preventing age-related illnesses and helping people live longer.

A Mediterranean Diet is described as rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and olive oil, combined with restricted amounts of red wine or other alcohol and a very limited amount of red meat.

The study, which was conducted over several decades, focused on a group of 4,676 female nurses who took the Mediterranean Diet. This section of nurses is one part of the ongoing Nurses' Health Study that has been tracking the health of 120,000 nurses since 1976.

The findings of the study, which were published in the BMJ medical journal, highlighted the fact that women who ate a Mediterranean Diet had longer telomeres on the ends of their chromosomes as they aged.

Forbes says telomeres act like caps on shoe laces which prevent them from unraveling and keeping them sturdy for a longer period of time. Telomeres are the genetic marker for aging. As people grow old they decrease in length. However, their length is also influenced by smoking, Body Mass Index (BMI), reproduction, and frequency of physical activity. The controlled group of 4,676 respondents was assessed based on these factors.

Even though the results of the study are deemed as positive, Forbes explains that it also raises many questions as there is no direct link between telomeres and the Mediterranean Diet. It also notes that the length of telomeres in the participants was only calibrated once during the duration of the study.

An accompanying editorial that was published in the BMJ along with the findings of the study also pointed out that genetics might have a role to play in determining telomere length as people age. It noted that further studies were needed to show the interaction between the sex of the individual, their diet and genes.

After this focus on female nurses, the research team behind the study hopes to study next how the Mediterranean Diet impacts on the telomeres of men.