YET ANOTHER PLANT-FOOD BENEFIT

A study on 3,000 Greek men and women in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that "some of the benefits of a Mediterranean-type diet -- rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes and olive oil and light on red meat -- may stem from the diet's effect on inflammation." Reuters spells out that "a Mediterranean-style diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts. It includes few saturated fats like the ones in red meat but plenty of healthier fatty acids like ones found in olive oil," and that inflammation is a prime suspect in a number of health problems, including heart disease. More impressively, to make sure that the low levels inflammation "were truly related to diet and were not a reflection of better overall health, the researchers accounted for many other factors, including physical activity, smoking, age, gender, socioeconomic status and several health conditions. Even after taking into account the other factors, the Mediterranean diet was still associated with lower levels of inflammation and blood-clotting markers."