They believe a diet of fish, chicken, fruit and vegetables is "better than a drug" because it does not have side effects, while cholesterol-lowering statins can cause problems like muscle cramps.

The academics made their conclusions after conducting a five-year study in Spain. It compared the effects of three different types of diet on the chance of having a first heart attack or stroke in almost 7,500 people at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

Two of the diets were variations of the Mediterranean diet, one supplemented with nuts and the other with extra-virgin olive oil. The third was a low-fat diet. None of the approaches was a ‘calorie counting' diet, although those on the Mediterranean diets were advised to avoid baked foods and pastries which contain artery-clogging hard fats.

Those assigned to the Mediterranean-type diets had a 30 per cent lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke over five years, than those randomly selected for the low fat diet. They were also less likely to drop out - perhaps because they were enjoying their food more.