Everyone knows that a traditional Mediterranean diet rich in fruits and vegetables can do miracles for people fighting obesity and obesity-related diseases. But a new study in the December 8 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine showed that eating a regular portion of nuts on top of a Mediterranean diet may help manage metabolic syndrome, a group of health problems including abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high glucose levels, all known as risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

The metabolic syndrome affects about 25 percent of people in developed countries, and more than half of the older population, according to Emilio Ros, a doctor in endocrinology and nutrition service at the Hospital Clinic Barcelona and an author of the study. The American Heart Association says 50 million Americans have metabolic syndrome and their number is on the rise as obesity rate is also increasing.

The Mediterranean diet has long been associated with a lower risk for metabolic abnormalities. The Mediterranean diet bases mostly on a high intake of fruits and vegetables, grains, fish and poultry, foods said to be high in antioxidants and omega 3, offering the body its most needed elements necessary in keeping it young and thus in preventing diseases.

The new study involved 1,224 people in Spain aged 55 to 80 who were at high risk of heart disease. One group received advice on a low-fat diet while two others followed a Mediterranean diet, one getting an extra liter of alive oil per week and the other receiving an additional 30 grams of mixed nuts daily.

Two thirds of the participants met the criteria for metabolic syndrome at the beginning of the study. However, after one year, the condition decreased by about 14 percent among those who ate nuts compared with 7 percent in the olive oil group and 2 percent in the control group on a low-fat diet. Weight didn’t change among the participants after one year. But those on the Mediterranean diet plus nuts knew a drop in waist size, triglycerides and blood pressure compared with those on the low-fat diet.

Dr. Jordi Salas-Salvado, of the University of Rovira i Virgili, who conducted the study , concluded that the results show that a non-energy-restricted traditional Mediterranean diet enriched with nuts, which is high in fat, high in unsaturated fat and palatable, “is a useful tool in managing the metabolic syndrome.”

In fact, the Mediterranean diet has been associated with a low risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Also, a more recent study published in September in the British Medical Journal concluded that people who followed such a diet had a 9 percent drop in death from heart disease, a 13 percent reduction in incidence of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease and a 6 percent reduction in cancer compared with other people. The study analyzed data from 12 international papers on dietary habits and health, which involved 1,574,299 people.