Mediterranean countries have lower cardiovascular mortality rates compared to northern Europe and the United States. It is often suggested that this is at least partly due to the Mediterranean diet.
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The Mediterranean diet includes high intake of olive oil, fruit, nuts, vegetables, and cereals; a moderate intake of fish and poultry. In addition, it has a low intake of dairy products, red meat, processed meats, and sweets; and moderate wine consumption.
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The current study investigated the effect of the Mediterranean diet on major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes) compared to a control diet with an emphasis on low fat intake.
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Subjects with cardiovascular risk were allocated to 1) a control diet (advice on a low fat-diet), 2) a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin oil (≥4 tablespoons/d), or 3) a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra nuts (≥30 g/d).
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After 5 years of the diet, significantly more subjects in the control diet (4.4%) have had a major cardiovascular event compared to the olive oil (3.8%) or nut (3.4%) supplemented Mediterranean diets.
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Strengths of the study include the relatively large sample size (n=7447) and duration for this type of research.
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Despite being advised to reduce fat intake, changes in fat intake were small. The Mediterranean diets groups were advised to make many changes, but the consumption of the supplemental items turned out to be the main difference between the groups.
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This highlights that dietary advice on its own results in low adherence.
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In conclusion, the Mediterranean diet can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events in people with cardiovascular risk.
Protein distribution: beneficial, detrimental, or inconsequential?
Our response to commentary.
❌Not eating =/= fasted state
🥩Protein amount vs protein distribution
✅Practical recommendations
A 9-part thread. 🧵👇
The concept of protein distribution suggests that how you distribute your meals throughout 24 hours strongly impacts your overall anabolism.
There are contrasting lines of thought of what meal frequency is preferred for various health or athletic outcomes.
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In intermittent fasting or time-restricted feeding, food is consumed in a relatively short feeding window.
The goal is to be in a fasted/catabolic state, which is believed to be healthy. For example, it is thought to speed up the removal of damaged proteins (autophagy).
The ketogenic diet restricts carbohydrates with the purpose of lowering insulin levels. Insulin is a hormone that is involved in fat metabolism. Therefore, some suggest that a ketogenic diet is very effective for fat loss.
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This study investigated whether a ketogenic diet increases fat loss compared to a high-carbohydrate diet in overweight and obese men.
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Our new paper:
Pre-sleep Protein Ingestion Increases Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis Rates During Overnight Recovery from Endurance Exercise: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. An effective treatment is androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which lowers testosterone levels to castration levels. However, such low testosterone levels tend to result in a loss of muscle mass and strength.
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Our study investigated the effect of resistance training with or without protein supplementation on muscle mass and strength in prostate cancer patients undergoing ADT.
Exercise and protein ingestion are the main factors that stimulate muscle protein synthesis (the main process driving muscle adaptations such as growth).
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It has been reported that athletes are more likely to consume excessive amounts of alcohol, especially as part of binge-drinking practices in team sports. Can these practices affect muscle protein synthesis?