Studies have found that the Mediterranean diet could benefit in the long-term by reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes in overweight women. This diet includes olive oil, fruits, vegetables, legumes, some fish, nuts, and seeds.
The research published on JAMA Network Open on November 19 was carried by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
According to the study, women who follow the Mediterranean diet have a 30 percent lower risk of developing diabetes after the result collected from the 25,000 participants in the Women’s Health Study (WHS).
They examined the women using biomarkers, including insulin resistance, body mass index, lipoprotein, inflammation and metabolism of the body to give a biological explanation of the results. The study was gathered from the women that were enrolled in the study between 1992 and 1995 and data was collected through December 2017.
The study was aimed to evaluate the effects of Vitamin E and low-dose aspirin on the risk of heart disease and cancer. But the participants were also asked to take food frequency questionnaires about dietary intake, lifestyle, medical history, demographics, and others. Blood samples were collected from the participants at the beginning of the study.
Out of the 25,000 participants in the WHS, 2,307 participants developed type 2 diabetes. They found that the Mediterranean diet helped to improve insulin resistance in people with a higher body mass index i.e. women with more than 25 BMI.
Associate professor at Harvard Medical School, Dr Samia Mora said, “The study supports the idea that by improving their diet, the people can also reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes, especially obese or obesity women.” She also works at Brigham’s divisions of Preventive Medicine and Cardiovascular Medicine.
She further told that changes don’t happen right away. “Metabolism can however change in a short period of time, the study indicates that the long-term changes are required to provide protection for decades,” she added.
Mediterranean diet is also found to have prevented and lower long-term risk of other illnesses like heart disease, cancer, and other age-related health problems.
Changes in the diet plan of an individual can significantly improve their health.