- The Mediterranean diet has been shown to help prevent heart disease and some types of cancer, but less is known about how the diet affects adults who have already been diagnosed with cancer.
- Recent research suggests that adhering to a Mediterranean-style diet may significantly reduce the risk of mortality, particularly from cardiovascular disease, in long-term cancer survivors.
- Experts say the Mediterranean diet may be beneficial for people undergoing cancer treatment, but personalized nutritional advice from a dietitian is recommended for the best health results.
A new study published in JACC Cardio-Oncology suggests that a Mediterranean diet may promote longevity and cardiovascular health in cancer survivors.
The Mediterranean diet is known for its emphasis on fruits, vegetables, legumes, extra virgin olive oil and other healthy plant-based foods, as well as some fish and seafood. This eating plan also typically limits the consumption of meat, poultry, dairy and heavily processed foods.
Although the Mediterranean diet has been widely studied for its potential cancer-preventive effects, less research has explored its impact on mortality in adults diagnosed with cancer.
To fill this gap in our knowledge, Italian researchers studied the relationship between the Mediterranean diet and mortality in 802 Italian adults with a history of cancer who participated in the Moli-sani study.
They observed that, compared with people with low adherence, participants who adhered more closely to a Mediterranean-style diet tended to live longer and had a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality.
The researchers argue that these results support the hypothesis that several chronic diseases, including tumors and heart disease, may share common molecular mechanisms. The Mediterranean diet appears to influence these mechanisms.
Simply put, the benefits to your heart could also help prevent or manage cancer, and vice versa.
Researchers sought to understand how adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet might affect mortality risk in long-term Italian cancer survivors, using dietary data collected after cancer diagnosis.
The study analyzed data from the Moli-sani study, a large population-based study conducted between 2005 and 2010. It included 24,325 Italian adults aged 35 and over from a region in southern Italy.
After excluding participants with missing data, the researchers studied 802 people with a documented history of cancer and information about cancer treatment at the start of the Moli-sani study. The average age of the included participants was 63 years, and nearly 60% were women.
In the Moli-sani study, participants’ diets over the previous 12 months were self-reported using a food frequency questionnaire, which provides details on consumption frequency and portion sizes of a number of foods.
From these dietary data, the present study measured adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet using an established Mediterranean diet score. Participants’ adherence to the diet was categorized as poor (0–3), moderate (4–5), or high (6–9) on a 9-point scale.
Vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts, grains and fish were among the beneficial components of the diet, while meat, poultry and dairy products were considered harmful.
The assessment also took into account daily ethanol (alcohol) intake and the ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fats in the diet.
Mortality was followed using local death registries and validated by Italian death certificates, with reported causes including cardiovascular disease and cancer, as part of the Moli-sani study.
Results were adjusted for age, sex, caloric intake, and other factors and analyzed using risk models to determine the association between adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet and mortality risk.
The study followed participants for nearly 13 years and recorded 248 deaths, about 56% from cancer and 24% from cardiovascular events. Of the cardiovascular deaths, about 25% were caused by
The study found that participants who strictly adhered to the Mediterranean diet were generally more physically active and had better socioeconomic status than those who did not adhere sufficiently. The final analysis took these disparities into account.
It is important to note that strong adherence to a Mediterranean style The diet was associated with a 32% reduction in the risk of death from all causes and a 58% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular mortality.
“This latter observation is relevant because cancer patients are considered a high-risk population for cardiovascular disease due to shared modifiable risk factors and, potentially, molecular mechanisms of disease, as postulated by the ‘common soil’ hypothesis,” the study authors explained in the published paper.
Further analysis also indicated that each 2-point increase in Mediterranean diet score was correlated with a significantly 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 31% lower risk of cardiovascular death.
Surprisingly, however, there was no significant link between adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet and the risk of death from cancer.
The authors suggest that this may be due to the different types of cancers included and the complex nature of cancer progression and recurrence.
“While the results seem miraculous, the study has limitations that should be considered,” said Kiran Campbell, RDN, a registered dietitian specializing in heart health, who was not involved in the study. Today’s Medical News.
She explained that these factors included the observational nature of the study, which did not allow for establishing cause and effect; self-reported dietary intake, which could be subject to reporting errors; and flaws in the Mediterranean diet score, which broadly ranked food groups and level of adherence to the diet.
“In addition,” she added, “there is a risk of survival bias,” because participants had already survived an average of 9 years after their cancer diagnosis at the start of the study.
Asked whether the results were generalizable, Campbell pointed out that the study only looked at long-term Italian cancer survivors from a specific region. “So we can only speculate about the results for people in other populations,” she said.
Campbell pointed out that the current American Cancer Society (ACS)
The ACS also recommends consuming a primarily plant-based diet.
She noted that these recommendations closely reflect the Mediterranean diet, rich in fruits, vegetables and extra virgin olive oil and known for its high antioxidant content.
But why might this type of diet specifically help reduce the risk of death in people diagnosed with cancer?
Although the exact mechanisms are unclear, diets rich in antioxidants help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, which are key factors in the development and progression of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
More research is needed, but other observational studies also suggest that a Mediterranean-style diet may reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and mortality.
Thus, based on current knowledge, the Mediterranean diet may be an attractive option for cancer patients looking for dietary frameworks to support their health and recovery.
However, Campbell stressed that dietary recommendations are not one-size-fits-all, especially for people with chronic diseases like cancer.
“More studies of the Mediterranean diet as it relates to specific cancer types or tumor stages could help bring more knowledge to this area of research,” Campbell said.
In the meantime, she strongly advised people diagnosed with cancer to seek “individualized nutritional care from health professionals, including oncologists and registered cancer dietitians.”
Alexandra Filingeri, RDN, DCN, a registered dietitian and doctor of clinical nutrition who was not involved in the study, agreed that while a Mediterranean-style diet can be beneficial, individualized nutrition is essential for this population.
She stressed that:
“There is no specific diet for cancer patients. Best practices are to meet the patient’s specific energy needs while providing a balanced variety of nutrients.”
However, she concluded that beyond essential nutrition, personalized dietary recommendations that take into account the patient’s taste preferences, cultural context and socioeconomic status are crucial for optimal health outcomes.
News Source : www.medicalnewstoday.com
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