For years, experts have recommended the Mediterranean diet for overall health and longevity. However, it’s also a great diet to follow for reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
With its straightforward focus on a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins, the Mediterranean diet helps lower inflammation that can drive diabetes and improves insulin sensitivity, making it a simple and effective choice for diabetes prevention.
Now, scientists have taken it a step further and discovered three simple tweaks, practiced along with the diet, can actually slash the risk of diabetes by a whopping 31%.
But first…
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How the Mediterranean promotes healthy blood sugar
Prediabetes is a stage people experience before they’re diagnosed with Type 2. During prediabetes, blood sugar can begin spiking, and inflammation can creep in.
Here’s why the Mediterranean diet can help:
Nutritional profile
On the Mediterranean diet, you’ll eat plenty of high-fiber veggies, legumes, whole grains, and nuts. Together, these foods work to slow your body’s glucose absorption and reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes.
Additionally, the low-glycemic carbs that are a hallmark of the Mediterranean diet, along with healthy fats from fatty fish, help balance blood sugar levels.
Polyphenols baby!
Traditional Mediterranean diet foods are vibrant in color, indicating their high polyphenol content. These polyphenols deliver antioxidant and anti-inflammatory powers to reduce the oxidative stress and inflammation that fuel insulin resistance.
Eating polyphenol-rich foods also populates your gut with bacteria that improve insulin sensitivity.
Some of the spices commonly found in the diet have been shown to decrease fasting glucose, improve A1C and reduce insulin resistance.
Appetite control
Thanks to its healthy fats and high fiber content, the Mediterranean diet is also naturally satisfying.
This means that you feel full for longer and are less likely to reach for high-sugar foods as snacks.
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3 ways to get more from the Mediterranean Diet
Scientists from 23 universities in Spain and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health followed almost 5,000 participants from Europe’s largest nutrition trial ever, the PREDIMED-Plus study, for six years.
The researchers divided participants into an intervention group and a control group. Both groups followed the Mediterranean diet, but the intervention group added three “tweaks” to their routine, including:
- Reducing their caloric intake by about 600 calories per day
- Engaging in moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking and strength and balance exercises
- And receiving professional support for weight loss control.
And it paid off…
Not only did they lower their risk of diabetes by 31%, but they lost an average of 7.28 pounds and reduced their waist circumference by 1.4 inches — compared to just 1.3 pounds and 0.1 inches in the control group.
“We’re facing a global epidemic of diabetes,” said co-author Frank Hu, Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Nutrition. “With the highest-level evidence, our study shows that modest, sustained changes in diet and lifestyle could prevent millions of cases of this disease worldwide.”
So if you’re ready to slash your own diabetes risk to the bone, put the Mediterranean diet, plus these three simple tweaks, to work.
Sources:
Mediterranean diet & diabetes: Blood-sugar control backed by science — Mayo Clinic
Scientists found 3 simple tweaks that cut diabetes risk by 31% — ScienceDaily
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