Doctors Health Press Supports Study Showing Mediterranean Diet, Exercise Could Combat Sleep Apnea

A new study has found combining a Mediterranean diet and regular physical activity could help you improve your night time rest.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) December 11, 2011

The Doctors Health Press, a publisher of various natural health newsletters books and reports, including the popular online Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin, is lending its support to a new study that has found combining a Mediterranean diet and regular physical activity could help you improve your night time rest.

As reported in the Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin on Thursday, December 8, 2011 (http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/food-and-nutrition-articles/the-two-things-you-need-to-cure-sleep-apnea), the study looked at how the Mediterranean diet could help obese adults with sleep apnea compared to those with a typical diet.

This health condition causes frequent pauses of breathing to occur during sleep. It can be dangerous over the long term, and is one of the most prevalent sleep-related breathing disorders. Two to four out of every 100 adults experience sleep apnea. But that rises 20% to 40% among obese individuals.

According to Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin, Greek researchers examined 40 http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/tag/obesity obesity patients with apnea. Twenty patients were given a typical diet to follow, while the other 20 followed a Mediterranean diet. Both groups were also encouraged to increase their exercise, mainly involving walking for at least 30 minutes each day. And both received continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, which involves wearing a mask that generates an air stream, keeping the upper airway open during sleep.

The results: those on the Mediterranean diet had fewer disturbances (called apnea), during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, which usually accounts for approximately 25% of total sleep during the night.

The findings also revealed that people following the Mediterranean diet a showed a greater adherence to the calorie-restricted diet, an increase in physical activity, and a greater decrease in stomach fat.

(Source: Papandreou, C., et al., "Effect of Mediterranean Diet vs Prudent Diet Combined with Physical Activity on OSAS: A Randomised Trial," European Respiratory Journal, published online Nov. 2, 2011.)

Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin is a daily e-letter providing natural health news with a focus on natural healing through foods, herbs and other breakthrough health alternative treatments. For more information on Doctors Health Press, visit http://www.doctorshealthpress.com.

Victor Marchione, MD is the Chairman of the Doctors Health Press Editorial Board. He is also the editor of The Food Doctor and has released a new video revealing 12 fighting foods to help virtually all of your current health problems. To see the video, visit http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/12-fighting-foods.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/12/prweb9029742.htm