Mediterranean diet helps prevent cancer, nutrition science study finds

Everyone may have heard, at some point, a friendly suggestion to “eat your vegetables.” It turns out, that is actually sound advice, when it is part of the Mediterranean Diet (MD), according to research. In a study that appears in Current Nutrition Reports, authors used available information from various studies to provide an overview of the link between MD and cancer formation.

The study offered a glimpse of two operational definitions of MD. The first one, the Mediterranean Dietary Score, assigns a value for each component of MD. Beneficial components are factored in the score, which includes the increased intake of vegetables, fruits and nuts, legumes, unprocessed cereals, fish, and a high ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids. In addition, the dietary score also identifies components that are harmful, such as meat and meat products – including poultry – and certain dairy products.