BACKGROUND: The Southern European Atlantic Diet (SEAD) is the traditional diet in northern Portugal and Galicia, a region in northwest Spain. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine the association between adherence to the SEAD and the occurrence of nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI). DESIGN: This was a population-based case-control study in Porto, Portugal. Cases were patients aged > or =18 y who were hospitalized with an incident AMI (n = 820), and controls were individuals without AMI selected at random from the resident population of the participating hospitals' catchment area (n = 2196). A validated food-frequency questionnaire was administered in face-to-face interviews to assess dietary intake in the previous year. We developed an SEAD adherence index with 9 key components: fresh fish excluding cod, cod, red meat and pork products, dairy products, legumes and vegetables, vegetable soup, potatoes, whole-grain bread, and wine. A score of 1 or 0 was assigned to each food consumed and reflected consumption that was higher or lower, respectively, than the sex-specific median in controls. RESULTS: After adjustment for the main confounders, a 1-point increment in the SEAD score was associated with a 10% reduced odds of AMI [odds ratio (OR): 0.90; 95% CI: 0.85, 0.96]. In comparison with individuals in the lower quartile of the SEAD index (lowest adherence), those in the upper quartile had a 33% lower likelihood of experiencing an AMI (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.51, 0.88; P for trend = 0.003). An SEAD index calculated by reverse scoring for red meat and pork products and potatoes led to an even stronger inverse association between the SEAD and AMI (OR for the upper compared with the lower quartile of SEAD index: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.30, 0.52; P for trend < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to the SEAD was associated with lower odds of nonfatal AMI. However, some but not all food components of the SEAD may contribute to the very low coronary mortality in northern Portugal and Galicia.

Un nuevo estudio muestra que la Dieta Atlántica de Europa del Sur puede ayudar a proteger el corazón. Investigadores de la Universidad de la Facultad de medicina de Porto (Portugal), informaron que los residentes del norte de Portugal y Galicia, en el noroeste de España, tienen unas muy bajas tasas de muerte debido a problemas cardíacos. Los investigadores estudiaron a 820 personas que sufrieron un infarto y 2,196 personas que nunca habían sufrido un infarto y realizaron el estudio durante toda su vida en la misma región. Aquellos cuyas dietas se habían ajustado más a la dieta Atlántica de Europa del Sur (SEAD) tenían una tasa un 33 % más baja de padecer infarto comparado con aquellos en los que su dieta se ajustó menos a este modelo. El SEAD consiste en pescado, carne poco hecha, carne de cerdo, productos lácteos, legumbres, verduras, patatas y vino en las comidas.

A new study shows that the Southern European Atlantic Diet may help protect the heart. Researchers at the University of Porto Medical School in Porto, Portugal, report that residents of northern Portugal and the Galicia region in the northwest of Spain have very low rates of death from heart disease.
The researchers studied 820 people who suffered a heart attack and 2,196 people who never had a heart attack, all living in the same region. People whose diets adhered most closely to the Southern European Atlantic Diet (SEAD) were at a 33% lower risk of heart attack compared to those with eating patterns which followed it the least. The SEAD consists of fish, red meat, pork, dairy products, legumes, vegetables, potatoes, and wine with meals.