There Mediterranean diet it allows you to live better, longer and healthier. This is confirmed by numerous studies that have examined the food style of countries bordering the Mediterranean, including Italy, over the last few decades. "Unlike other dietary regimes, the Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity has proved to be a powerful weapon in the prevention of numerous ailments, including oncological ones. The merit is of the foods that characterize it such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, fish, extra virgin olive oil and many others ", he explains Luigi Ricciardiello, researcher at the AIRC Foundation and associate professor of gastroenterology at the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences of the University of Bologna. «These are foods rich in molecules that taken regularly in synergy with each other have a protective effect on the health of the body. In a study funded by AIRC we observed in experimental models that the mix of ingredients contained in the Mediterranean diet including fruit, fish, nuts, tomatoes, whole grains and extra virgin olive oil have a synergistic effect, constant over time on some important linked mechanisms to the development of cancer like inflammation .

Protects against tumors

One of the foods that characterizes the Mediterranean diet is fish. «The omega 3, in particular the eicosapentaenoic acid, contained in the blue one (sardines, mackerel, anchovies, herring, etc.) has a powerful effect on the prevention of colon cancer because of its excellent anti-inflammatory action. In a study we conducted we showed that supplementation with this type of essential fatty acid reduces inflammation and a whole series of mechanisms related to the development of cancer that can affect the colon explains Luigi Ricciardiello.

It is good for the intestine

«The Mediterranean diet is a food style characterized above all by fruits and vegetables rich in prebiotic substances such as apples, garlic, onion, artichokes, chicory, etc. Prebiotics nourish the intestinal microbiota, which is the set of "good" bacteria that populate the intestine. Numerous studies have found that a healthy bacterial flora reduces the risk of various bowel disorders and also has a protective effect against tumors ".

Keeps your heart healthy

"One of the main characteristics of the Mediterranean diet is its poverty of saturated fats (red meat, butter, lard, etc.) and the richness of unsaturated fats (extra virgin olive oil, blue fish, dried fruit, etc.). The latter has been shown to be often associated with a reduction in the risk of encountering the metabolic syndrome characterized by obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance and arterial hypertension, which favor the onset of cardiovascular disorders even fatal such as heart attack, ischemia and stroke , Concludes the expert.

Support research with LOVE DESIGN® 2019

As the researcher Luigi Ricciardello, many are the active protagonists behind the great little research results of the AIRC Foundation. In addition to donations and voluntary contributions, mark these dates to give concrete support: from 11 to 13 October 2019 will be held in Milan the IX edition of LOVE DESIGN® 2019. The biennial event gives the opportunity to purchase incredible products donated by major companies in the sector in order to obtain resources for cancer research. In fact, the funds raised will be used for the creation of three three-year scholarships aimed at as many young researchers, each of 75 thousand euros evaluated according to the strict criteria peer review AIRC – just like it happened in 2017 to doctors Irene Schiano Lomoriello, Koustav Pal is Rossella Scotto di Perrotolo, all actively engaged in different scientific aspects in the fight against cancer.