The traditional Atlantic diet of northwestern Spain and Portugal consists of local, fresh, minimally processed seasonal foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and olive oil, along with high consumption of fish and other seafood. It shares similarities with the Mediterranean diet and has been linked to improved metabolic risk factors as well as environmental benefits.
The Galicia Atlantic Diet (GALIAT) study set out to assess the effects of the traditional Atlantic diet on the metabolic health and dietary habits of families in Spain:
- Two hundred fifty families—a total of 574 people—from a community in northern Spain were randomized either to the Atlantic diet intervention group or to the control group. (A family was defined as 2 or more members.)
- Families in the intervention group attended nutrition education sessions at a local health care center and received additional support, including supplemental food baskets every 3 weeks with characteristic foods of the Atlantic diet,* and a cooking class.
- The control group was encouraged to maintain their current lifestyle.
A recently published analysis of the GALIAT trial evaluated metabolic syndrome (MetS) in study participants. MetS involves at least 3 of 5 risk factors for heart disease:
- abdominal obesity (measured by waist circumference)
- elevated blood lipids
- low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol
- high blood pressure
- elevated blood sugar
The analysis also evaluated study participants’ dietary carbon footprint by calculating the carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions associated with each individual’s diet.
The average age was 46; ~60% women and ~40% men; all participants were white and of Spanish ancestry.
Results: Participants who followed the traditional Atlantic diet for 6 months were significantly less likely
to develop metabolic syndrome than were participants who continued their usual lifestyle. In addition, individuals who followed the Atlantic diet had significantly lower rates of both abdominal obesity and low HDL cholesterol.
The analysis also found that family structure had an important influence on CO2 emissions, indicating that family-based interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may prove effective.
Takeaway: Efforts to preserve and bolster traditional eating habits, such as the Atlantic diet, with its emphasis on local produce, olive oil, and seafood, can improve metabolic health and support sustainable development goals.
*Atlantic diet baskets included turnip greens, cabbage, mushrooms, tomatoes, zaragallada (green pepper-tomato-onion sauce), plums, mussels, low-fat cheese, EVOO, white wine, and red wine
Reference: Cambeses-Franco C, Gude Sampedro F, Benítez-Estévez AJ, et al. Traditional Atlantic diet and its effect on health and the environment: a secondary analysis of the GALIAT cluster randomized clinical trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(2):e2354473.