A recent study published in the BMJ shows that for people with heart and blood vessel problems, following a Mediterranean or low-fat diet can reduce the chances of dying early and having a nonfatal heart attack. The study analyzed data from 40 previous studies involving 35,548 people who either had cardiovascular disease or at least two risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, or high cholesterol. The research found no significant difference between the Mediterranean and low-fat diets in terms of reducing the risk of death or heart attacks. Both diets were more effective than five other diets, including very low fat, modified fat, combined low fat and low sodium, Ornish, and Pritikin diets. The Mediterranean diet emphasizes eating fish, fruits, vegetables, and monounsaturated fats like olive oil, while the low-fat diet limits fat intake to 20%-30% of daily calories and saturated fat to less than 10%. The study's findings are significant because they are based on randomized controlled trials, which are considered the gold standard in research design.