Exercise and Mediterranean Diet: Excellent for Circulation

Following a Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity for a few weeks helps improve blood flow and maintain the efficiency of endothelial cells—the cells lining the blood vessels—contributing to reduced cardiovascular risk. These positive effects, observed in older adults, persist even one year after stopping the dietary regimen.

This is the result of a study published in Microvascular Research, conducted by researchers from the Universities of Sheffield and Lincoln (UK).

Mediterranean Diet and Physical Activity to Preserve Health

The endothelium is the tissue lining the inside surface of blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and the heart. It performs various functions including blood pressure regulation. Endothelial dysfunction, caused by various factors, is responsible for alterations that increase cardiovascular risk. Preserving the integrity and function of the microcirculation endothelium helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It has recently been shown that age-related decline in microcirculation endothelial function can be reversed by combining exercise with a Mediterranean diet. Considering the scientific evidence on the benefits of this lifestyle, researchers investigated whether the health and general well-being effects lasted long-term or were limited to the intervention period.

Effects Still Evident After One Year

The study involved 20 healthy but sedentary participants aged 51 to 59. One group was encouraged to follow a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, fruits, olive oil, nuts, and fresh oily fish, combined with moderate physical exercise. Another group only followed the physical activity program without changing their diet. After 8 weeks, all participants showed improved microvascular and cardiorespiratory function compared to baseline. However, those following the Mediterranean diet showed greater improvements that were still evident one year after the 8-week intervention.

Mediterranean Diet Supports Health Even After Discontinuation

According to Dr. Markos Klonizakis of Sheffield Hallam University, one of the study's authors, these encouraging results suggest that preserving endothelial function during aging could help reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The long-term effect observed after such a short intervention might be due to molecular changes induced by the typical foods of the Mediterranean diet.

Source:

Markos Klonizakis, Ahmad Alkhatib, Geoff Middleton, “Long-term effects of an exercise and Mediterranean diet intervention in the vascular function of an older, healthy population,” Microvascular Research. Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.mvr.2014.07.015