Cancer patients live longer on Mediterranean Diet, major study finds
People who are fighting back from cancer live longer of they stick to a Mediterranean diet, according to a major new study. Over 13 years, cancer survivors who ate the diet high in vegetables, fish, olive oil and nuts had a 32% lower risk of mortality than those who did not.
Marialaura Bonaccio of the IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo in Pozzilli, Italy, told JACC: CardioOncology: "Our findings suggest maintaining or adopting a traditional [Mediterranean diet] even after a cancer diagnosis may be beneficial and, importantly, motivate additional science regarding the development of dietary recommendations specifically targeted for cancer survivors." The diet cut the risk of death from any cause, but particular from heart disease.
Bonaccio said the diet is "is abundant in foods that are natural sources of polyphenols, which are bioactive compounds with well-established anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor activities that may be relevant not only to cancer onset and progression but also and possibly even more to cardiovascular mortality prevention." The study used data from more than 800 patients with an average of of 63.
Diet was assessed nine years after diagnosis. The researchers found that those who stuck to a Mediterranean diet were also likely to be more well off and to be more physically active.
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