The diet may be particularly protective because it can reduce inflammation.
It’s also tough to look past these numbers when it comes to your ticker. In a study of nearly 26,000 women, those with the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet were up to 28 percent less likely to develop heart disease.
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The diet may be particularly protective because it can reduce inflammation. Plus, the antioxidant compound called hydroxytyrosol, found in foods that are hallmarks of the diet (fruits, nuts, extra-virgin olive oil), has been shown to repair heart-harming free radical damage, the authors say.