Study Finds Green Mediterranean Diet Can Significantly Reduce Dangerous Body Fat

Subsequent analysis showed that the Green Mediterranean diet reduced visceral fat by 14%, the Mediterranean diet by 7%, and the healthy diet by 4.5%. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)

The Green Mediterranean Diet (MED) significantly reduces visceral adipose tissue, a type of fat around the internal organs that is much more dangerous than an extra “tire” around the waist. The Green Mediterranean Diet was contrasted with the Mediterranean Diet and Healthy Eating in the DIRECT PLUS large clinical intervention study. Subsequent analysis showed that the Green Mediterranean diet reduced visceral fat by 14%, the Mediterranean diet by 7%, and the healthy diet by 4.5%. The study was published in BMC Medicine.

Reducing visceral fat is considered the true goal of losing weight, as it is more important than a person’s weight or waist circumference. Visceral fat accumulates between organs over time and produces hormones and poisons associated with heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and premature death.

The study was conducted by Prof. Iris Shai of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, Associate Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and Emeritus Professor at the University of Leipzig, Germany, along with her doctoral student, Dr. Hila. Zelich and Italian, German and American colleagues.

The DIRECT-PLUS research group was the first to introduce the concept of the green-Mediterranean diet. This modified MED diet is additionally enriched with dietary polyphenols and contains less red/processed meat than the traditional healthy MED diet.

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In addition to the daily consumption of walnuts (28 grams), participants consumed 3-4 cups of green tea per day and 100 grams (frozen cubes) of duckweed green smoothie per day. Aquatic green duckweed is rich in bioavailable protein, iron, B12, vitamins, minerals and polyphenols and also replaces meat consumption.

In previous research, the team has shown that the MED green diet has many beneficial effects, ranging from the microbiome to age-related degenerative diseases.

Two hundred and ninety-four participants took part in the 18-month trial.

“A healthy lifestyle is a solid foundation for any weight loss program. We learned from our experiment that the quality of food is as important as the number of calories consumed, and the goal today is to understand the mechanisms of action of various nutrients, for example, positive ones such as polyphenols, and negative ones, such as empty carbohydrates and processed red meat, affect on the rate of differentiation of fat cells and their aggregation in the internal organs,” says Professor Shai.

Professor Iris Shai (pictured above) Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

“A 14% reduction in visceral fat is an impressive feat for simple changes to your diet and lifestyle. Weight loss is an important goal only if it is accompanied by impressive results in the reduction of adipose tissue,” notes Dr. Gila Zelica.

This work was funded by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – project number 209933838-SFB 1052; Rosetrees Foundation (Grant A2623); Israeli Ministry of Health Grant 87472511; Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology Grant 3-13604; and the California Walnut Commission.

Eighteen-month changes in abdominal adipose tissue (mean (SE)) between intervention groups (n = 286). After 18 months of intervention, all three abdominal fat tissues decreased significantly in all groups. Significant differences in VAT% change between the Green-MED and MED groups, as well as the HDG groups, were observed after adjusting for age, sex, and change in waist circumference. Deep SAT, deep subcutaneous; superficial SAT, superficial subcutaneous; HDG, healthy eating guidelines; HONEY, Mediterranean; VAT, visceral adipose tissue. *Significant within-group change from baseline at 0.05. ** Significant differences between groups at the level of 0.05. (CREDIT: BMC Medicine)

None of the funding providers were involved in any phase of the design, conduct, or analysis of the study, and they did not have access to the study’s results prior to publication.

The effect of a Mediterranean diet high in polyphenols on visceral obesity: a randomized controlled trial DIRECT PLUS

Multivariate models to assess associations between nutrient components of the green-MED diet with changes in VAT% adjusted for age and sex. Mankai consumption was age-adjusted and was for the green-MED group only. (CREDIT: BMC Medicine)

Researchers include: Hila Zelicha1, Nora Clothing2, Alon Kaplan1, Anat Jaskolka Meir1, Ehud Rinott1, Gal Tsaban1, Joash Hassidim3, Matthias Blücher4, Uta Ceglarek2, Berend Isermann2, Michael Stumvoll2, Rita Nana Quaison2, Martin von Bergen2, Beatrice Engelmann2, Ulrike E Rolle-Kampchik2, Sven-Bastian Haange2, Kieran M. Tuohy5, Camille Diotallevi5, Ilan Shelef6, Frank B. Hu7,8,9, Meir J. Stampfer7,8,9 and Iris Shay1,9*

1. Faculty of Health Sciences, Innovative International Research Center for Health and Nutrition, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, PO Box 653, 84105 Beer Sheva, Israel.

2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.

3. Faculty of Engineering, Sapir Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel.

4. Helmholtz Institute for Metabolism, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG) Helmholtz in Munich at the University of Leipzig and University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.

5. Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Center for Research and Innovation, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele al Adige, Trentino, Italy.

6. Soroka University Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel.

7. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

8. Harvard Channing Network Medicine, School of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

9. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health. T. H. Chan, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

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Note: Materials provided by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Content can be edited for style and length.

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