Introduction and objectives: Many clinical and epidemiologic studies suggest that activated factor VII may be involved in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease. Our objective was to determine the effect of a Mediterranean diet on plasma levels of activated factor VII in comparison to a low-fat diet and a diet rich in saturated fat.
Patients and method: The study population comprised 16 healthy normolipemic men who consumed 3 different diets in consecutive 28-day periods. The first diet was rich in saturated fat (38% calories as fat, 20% saturated fat), the second was a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet (28% calories as fat, 10% saturated fat), and the third was enriched in monounsaturated fatty acids (38% calories as fat, 22% monounsaturated fat). At the end of each period, plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, total triglycerides, apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein B, and glucose were measured. Activated factor VII was determined with a coagulation assay.
Results: The diet rich in saturated fat was associated with a significant increase in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein AI, and apolipoprotein B in comparison to the other 2 diets. There were no significant differences between the carbohydrate-rich diet and the Mediterranean diet in any of the lipid parameters. The Mediterranean diet decreased plasma levels of factor VIIa in comparison to the diet rich in saturated fat (34.6+/-15.3 mU/mL vs 101.5+/-19.2 mU/mL; P<.05).
Conclusions: In comparison to the diet rich in saturated fat or the high-carbohydrates diet, the Mediterranean diet decreased plasma concentrations of activated factor VII in healthy young men. This phenomenon may constitute another protective mechanism of the Mediterranean diet in reducing cardiovascular risk.