New studies have found that the Mediterranean diet's health benefits actually continue long after stopping it.

According to Science Daily, a new research from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom has shown that the Mediterranean diet's health benefits continue even after stopping it - as much as a whole year later, even when having used it for only eight weeks.

While the Mediterranean diet's health benefits have been known for a while, though this is the first time their lasting effects have been proved. The new study found that the diet, combined with exercise, leads to better blood flow for those cells in the inner lining of blood vessels (endothelial cells) - and this happens even 12 full months after finishing up the diet.

The fact that the Mediterranean diet has health benefits on endothelial cells means that these cells, which are responsible for the body's vascular system (everything from arteries to even the tiniest capillaries), which means that the fact that these improve their functions might reduce the risk of developing cardiac diseases.

Participants of the study that led to the new Mediterranean diet's health benefits discovery were divided into two groups, both of which studied subjects over 50 years of age: one of the groups followed the diet known to the region around the Mediterranean sea plus exercise, and the other which only went through an exercise regime, skipping the diet.

According to British website Net Doctor, the results showed that even a year after the experiment had been concluded and the subjects hadn't been keeping up with the diet, those who had gone through the nutrition change still maintained better values than those who'd only gone through an exercise program.

The study, entitled "Long-term effects of an exercise and Mediterranean diet intervention in the vascular function of an older, healthy population," and published on the journal Microvascular Research showed that participants of the experiment who'd been encouraged to follow a diet with more fruits, vegetable, fresh fish and olive oil continued to have excellent circulation even a year after going through the regime.

This confirms previously unproven theories regarding the Mediterranean diet's health benefits for the heart.