A key marker of cardiac autonomic dysfunction, reduced heart rate variability serves as a major risk factor for coronary artery disease as well. Jun Dai, from Indiana University (Indiana, USA), and colleagues studied sets of male twins, a total of 276 middle-aged men, assessing dietary habits and measuring heart rate variability by ECG. The researchers found that those subjects who closely adhered to a Mediterranean diet (rich in cereals, fruits, legumes and whole grains, fish and olive oil), had higher heart rate variability, as compared to those who did not follow that type of diet.
Mediterranean Diet Boosts Marker of Heart Health
Jun Dai, Rachel Lampert, Peter W. Wilson, Jack Goldberg, Thomas R. Ziegler, Viola Vaccarino. “Mediterranean Dietary Pattern Is Associated With Improved Cardiac Autonomic Function Among Middle-Aged Men: A Twin Study.” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes, June 15, 2010; doi: doi:10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.109.905810.
