Mediterranean diet risky for heart

The Mediterranean diet, believed to be the healthiest in the world, may not be that good for certain people as it may raise their risk of heart attacks, a new study has claimed. It has long been thought that a diet rich in olive oil, nuts and oily fish is good for health because it can reduce the levels of bad cholesterol, which is blamed for clogging arteries and increasing the risk of heart attacks. But researchers at University of Rochester, New York, found that some heart attack patients may have genetic mutations that mean the diet increases their risk of suffering further cardiac problems, the Telegraph reported. They found that those at most risk of suffering subsequent heart attacks had large amounts of the high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good cholesterol”, in their blood that destroys unhealthy trans fats in foods such as biscuits and cakes. They also had more of a protein known as CRP which causes inflammation — suggesting  this influences whether good cholesterol protects or endangers individuals. For their study, the first to find supposedly good cholesterol can harm a subgroup of  people, the researchers followed 767 heart patients for two years. They found that about 20 per cent of the patients at high risk of another heart attack also had high levels of HDL and CRP. Lead researcher Prof. James Corsetti said: “It seems counter-intuitive that increasing good cholesterol — which we’ve always thought of as protective — leads to negative consequences in some people. “We’ve confirmed high HDL cholesterol is in fact associated with risk in a certain group of patients.” The findings, published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, could  also explain disappointing results from a trial of an experimental drug called “torcetrapib” designed to increase HDL cholesterol. In 2006, pharma company Pfizer had to halt the trial due to a surprisingly excessive number of unexplained heart attacks and deaths that were linked with higher levels of good cholesterol.

Tagged as: cholesterol, greek mediterranean diet, Heart Attacks, mediterranean diet plan, olive diet, olive oil, unique mediterranean diet