Health · Fitness & Nutrition · 1 hr ago
Nordic Diet Linked to Lower Risk of Death in Swedish Study
A study examined the long-term health effects of the Nordic diet using data from about 64,000 adults in Sweden.
It drew on food and lifestyle questionnaires collected three times over 24 years, along with health and death records.
The diet emphasizes whole grains such as rye, barley and oats, berries, root vegetables and rapeseed oil.
Like the Mediterranean diet, it also favors plant foods and limits processed foods, sweets and red meat.
The study linked the Nordic diet to a lower risk of death compared with usual diets, but did not find a significant improvement in liver health.
That liver question matters because an earlier 12-month trial found reduced liver fat and improved liver markers among Swedish adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, but it was not clear whether those changes prevent advanced liver disease.
The new findings suggest possible broader health benefits, though they do not establish that the diet itself caused the lower mortality.
A study based on data from around 64,000 Swedish adults found that the Nordic diet may be linked to a lower risk of death than normal diets.
The analysis used 24 years of data from two Swedish population studies.
Participants completed lifestyle and food frequency questionnaires three times during that period.
The study did not find a significant effect on liver health, despite earlier research suggesting possible benefits.
The Nordic diet emphasizes whole grains, berries and rapeseed oil.
- Who
- Around 64,000 Swedish adults whose data were used in the study.
- What
- Researchers assessed the Nordic diet’s effects on health and found it may lower mortality risk compared with normal diets.
- When
- The analysis covered 24 years of data; the study’s publication date is not stated.
- Where
- Sweden.
- Why
- Researchers aimed to assess the diet’s effects on overall health and examine whether earlier reported liver benefits were associated with lower risks of advanced liver disease.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
An earlier randomized controlled trial found that the Nordic diet reduced liver fat and improved liver function markers in Swedish adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
Participants in two Swedish population studies completed lifestyle and food frequency questionnaires three times.
- Study population
- Around 64,000 Swedish adults
- Data period
- 24 years
- Earlier trial
- 12 months
- Diet features
- Whole grains, berries and rapeseed oil
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