Researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), CIBERESP and IMDEA Alimentación have associated the Atlantic diet with a reduction in mortality in countries such as Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland and the United Kingdom. The results, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, open up new possibilities for the development of nutritional guidelines adapted to this diet in Europe.
A recent study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology and led by researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), CIBERESP and IMDEA Alimentación, has revealed that the Atlantic diet is associated with lower mortality in Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland and the United Kingdom.
This diet, rich in fish, meat, dairy products, vegetables, legumes, potatoes and wholemeal bread, is the result of centuries of adaptation to the geographical and meteorological conditions of Galicia and northern Portugal. The proximity to the Atlantic Ocean favors the consumption of fish, while the abundant pastures favor livestock and, with it, the consumption of red meat, pork sausages and dairy products.
Garden products, such as potatoes, vegetables and legumes, are pillars of this diet, often consumed in broths or in the traditional green broth. Bread, generally wholemeal, is made with rye, corn or wheat. Traditionally, meals were accompanied by wine.
Previous studies by the same authors had shown that people who followed an Atlantic diet had better cardiovascular risk indicators and a reduced risk of myocardial infarction and mortality. However, these studies had focused exclusively on Spanish populations, raising doubts about their applicability to other contexts.
The new study sought to verify whether the benefits of the Atlantic diet extended to other European countries. "The aim was to see, on the one hand, if the individuals who had an eating pattern more similar to the Atlantic diet died less than the others, and, on the other hand, if these results were similar in Spain and the other countries included in the study," the authors explain.
15% lower mortality
The results, based on data from 36,000 individuals from four European cohorts (ENRICA in Spain, HAPIEE in the Czech Republic and Poland, and Whitehall II in the United Kingdom), indicate that those whose diet aligns more closely with the Atlantic diet have a 15% lower mortality compared to those who follow very different dietary patterns.
These benefits, observed after more than 13 years of follow-up, are mainly due to a reduction in mortality from cardiovascular diseases (19% less) and cancer (8% less).
"Interestingly, although the results were consistent across the different study populations, the country in which the Atlantic diet reduced mortality the most was not Spain, but Poland," the researchers note.
In addition, when comparing the Atlantic diet with other healthy dietary patterns, such as the DASH diet and the Harvard University Alternative Healthy Eating Index, the researchers found similar results in terms of reduced mortality.
These findings, added to previous research, suggest the possibility of developing dietary guidelines based on the traditional dietary pattern of Galicia and northern Portugal, and extending similar recommendations to other European countries, given that the Atlantic diet does not differ substantially from their traditional diets.
Bibliographic reference:
Carballo-Casla, A.; Stefler, D.; Ortolá, R.; Chen, Y.; Knuppel, A.; Kubinova, R.; Pajak, A.; Rodríguez-Artalejo, F.; Brunner, E.J.; Bobak, M. (2023). "The Southern European Atlantic diet and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a European multicohort study" . European Journal Preventive Cardiology. doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwad370.
