"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

New study shows Mediterranean weight loss program prevents diabetes

April 28, 2023 – A Mediterranean weight loss program reduces the chance of developing type 2 diabetes greater than previously thought, in keeping with a brand new study.

Instead of assessing the weight loss program's health advantages in the standard way, by asking people what they ate after which waiting to see in the event that they developed type 2 diabetes, researchers took people's blood samples and searched for evidence of the health advantages of the favored weight loss program in the shape of blood biomarkers. It seems that what people say they've eaten and what their blood shows they've eaten are quite different.

The Mediterranean weight loss program encourages eating numerous vegetables, fruits, olive oil, fish and nuts. Researchers were in a position to discover individuals who strictly followed the weight loss program by finding evidence, or biomarkers, in the shape of molecules called fatty acids and carotenoids of their blood.

Fatty acids are indicators of how much fish, nuts, olive oil and dairy products someone eats. Carotenoids indicate how much fruit and vegetables someone eats.

Researchers evaluated stored blood samples and self-reported dietary information from greater than 20,000 people followed for about 10 years in a European study. They found that the chance of developing type 2 diabetes was almost 30% lower in those 10 years in people whose blood biomarker values ​​indicated they ate a Mediterranean weight loss program.

In a second evaluation, the researchers noted that if people had only been asked what they eat, the evaluation would have found that the Mediterranean weight loss program reduced the chance of developing type 2 diabetes by only 10%.

The study, led by researchers on the University of Cambridge in England, was published within the journal on Thursday PLOS medicine.

People at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes include those that have a family history of diabetes, are chubby or obese, or are 45 years of age or older National Institutes of Health.

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that affects how the body converts food into energy. Reducing the chance of diabetes also reduces the chance of dangerous complications that always occur in diabetics. These include heart disease, chronic kidney disease, nerve damage and other problems with feet, oral health, vision, hearing and mental health CDC says.