Harvard events highlight benefits of Mediterranean diet

Recent events at Harvard highlighted the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, capitalizing on growing interest after a recent study provided strong new evidence of the diet’s ability to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. An event held Wednesday, April 3 at Eliot House in Cambridge featured nutrition expert [[Frank Sacks]], professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), along with Greek cuisine expert and chef Diane Kochilas.

The Mediterranean diet study—published in February in the New England Journal of Medicine—has drawn more attention than any nutrition research in recent memory, Sacks said in an April 8, 2013 Harvard Gazette article.

“People are interested,” Sacks said. “And also, the science of that study was very good. It showed reduced heart disease, reduced strokes, and reduced heart attacks in fairly unhealthy people.” He added that the Mediterranean diet’s benefits extend beyond prevention. “Older people really can get a benefit in 30 days of cutting salt out plus eating a diet like this,” he said. “You can reverse 30 years of aging in your blood vessels.”

Read the Harvard Gazette article

Learn more

Study finds Mediterranean diet reduces heart disease risk (HSPH in the News)

Nutrition news: Widely studied Mediterranean diet linked to good health (HSPH in the News)

HSPH Nutrition Source