The Polymeal is a diet-based approach to combatting heart disease, proposed in December 2004 by a group of Dutch, Belgian, and Australian researchers. It was proposed in response to a 2003 report suggesting the creation of the "polypill", a multi-drug-based strategy for reducing heart disease. The researchers used the same technique in the polypill paper: a statistical "meta-analysis" which combined the results of many previous studies.
The study claims that adherence to the polymeal diet would delay the average onset of heart attack by nine years among men and by eight years among women. Because cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of mortality in first-world nations, this delay of heart failure would increase the average lifespan of men by six years and women by 5.5 years.
The researchers combined several food items already known to reduce the risk of heart disease:
They suggest a person should consume, every day:
- 150 mL of red wine (about half a glass)
- 100 g of dark chocolate
- 400 g of fruits and vegetables
- 2.7 g of garlic
- 68 g of almonds
as well as 118 g of fish per day four times each week.
External links
Academic references
- Franco OH, Bonneux L, de Laet C, Peeters A, Steyerberg EW, Mackenbach JP. The Polymeal: a more natural, safer, and probably tastier (than the Polypill) strategy to reduce cardiovascular disease by more than 75%. BMJ 2004;329:1447-1450. Fulltext (PDF). PMID 15604180.