Mediterranean diet and physical activity: long-term positive effects on circulation

Sports and Mediterranean diet: good on circulation

Following the Mediterranean diet and exercising for a period of a few weeks helps improve blood flow and maintain efficient endothelial cells, i.e., those surrounding the blood vessels, contributing to a reduction in cardiovascular risk. These positive effects, in subjects who are no longer young, can be seen even a year after 'discontinuing the dietary regimen.

These are the findings of a study published in the journal Microvascular Research and conducted by researchers at the Universities of Sheffield and Lincoln (Great Britain).

Mediterranean diet and physical activity to preserve health

The endothelium is the tissue that lines the inner surface of blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and the heart. However, it cannot be considered just a lining but performs several functions including the regulation of blood pressure. Malfunctioning of the endothelium (endothelial dysfunction), which can be due to a variety of factors, is the cause of some alterations that can increase cardiovascular risk. Preserving the integrity and endothelial function of the microcirculation helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It has recently been shown that the decline in endothelial function of the microcirculation, typical of advanced age, can be reversed by combining exercise with a Mediterranean-style diet. Considering the scientific evidence on the benefits of this lifestyle, the researchers investigated whether the effects on overall health and well-being were long-term or limited to the intervention period.

One year later, the effects were still evident 

Participants involved in the study consisted of 20 subjects aged 51-59 years, who were in good health but had a sedentary lifestyle. One group was encouraged to follow a Mediterranean-style diet that included increased consumption of vegetables, fruits, olive oil, nuts and fresh oily fish, and the performance of moderate exercise. In contrast, another group had not varied the diet but only followed the physical activity program. All subjects were followed for 8 weeks, after which they showed improvement in microvascular and cardiorespiratory characteristics compared with initial conditions. In those who had followed a Mediterranean-type diet, however, these changes were greater and evident even one year after the end of the 8 weeks.

Mediterranean diet preserves health even when interrupted

As one of the study's authors, Dr Markos Klonizakis of Sheffield Hallam University, stated, these results are molo encouraging, as preserving endothelial function during aging could help reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. According to the researchers themselves, the long-term effect observed after such a short period of intervention could be due to some molecular changes due precisely to 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