In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleHow Was This Study Conducted & What Did It Show?How Does This Apply to Real Life?
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In This Article
How Was This Study Conducted & What Did It Show?
How Does This Apply to Real Life?
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Mediterranean Diet vs. Keto Diet: Which Is Healthiest?
A new study published on October 23, inNutrition Journal, suggests there’s another benefit to following the Mediterranean diet.Let’s see what they found.
Most studies on the Mediterranean diet have been conducted in Mediterranean countries. These researchers wanted to see if this eating pattern benefited people in non-Mediterranean regions. Specifically, researchers wanted to see if people who lived in China who followed a Mediterranean diet eating pattern had a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
For this study, researchers drew data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). The CHNS is an ongoing national study in China that began in 1989, with follow-ups every two to four years. For this study, researchers chose 12,575 participants to be a part of the data set. Participants had an average age of 43, and just over half of them were female.
All participants completed dietary intake questionnaires for three consecutive days—two weekdays and one weekend day (because sometimes we eat differently on the weekend). Researchers then used a Mediterranean diet adherence (MDA) scale to score participants’ diets. The foods that were assessed and scored included vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, cereals, fish, dairy products, meat and alcohol.
Demographic information was collected that included things like age, BMI, physical activity, smoking status, socioeconomic status, education level, occupation and the region of China they lived in. Researchers were also looking for how many participants were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes during the study period.
Since foods were scored separately, researchers were able to further refine which ones had the greatest impact. In this case, they found higher fruit, fish and nut intake was significantly associated with a lower risk of new-onset diabetes.
The New Mediterranean Diet
Diabetes has been on the rise worldwide for years and it isn’t expected to slow down. As of 2021, over half a billion people worldwide are living with type 2 diabetes—that’s 10.5% of the current population around the globe.In the U.S. alone, about 38.4 million people are living with diabetes—about 11.6% of the total population.
So it’s clear that something has got to change—and it could start with what we’re eating.
But changing eating habits is not necessarily an easy thing. Many factors come into play, including budget, accessibility and food preferences. And if you’re feeding a family, all those factors are magnified.
There are some small ways to begin to change what you’re eating, though. While many focus on what they can’t eat, pivot your mindset to focus on what you can. And instead of thinking about taking food away, think more about “adding” and “replacing.”
For example, this study suggested that fruit, fish and nuts had the greatest impact on diabetes risk. Are you including any of these foods in your diet now? If not, start with one of them and begin to add a serving a day into your meals or snacks. The easier you make it, the more quickly it will become a habit for you. Let’s take nuts as an example. You could add nuts to your morning oatmeal, toss some into your rice bowl or pair them with dark chocolate. Oh, and nut butter—like peanut butter and almond butter—counts too. The same goes for fruit. Berries in your cereal, mandarin oranges or pineapple in your rice bowl, orbanana with dark chocolate. Yes, please!
14 New Fish & Seafood Dinners in Three Steps or Less
Fish doesn’t have to be boring either. Pick a new fish or seafood recipe to try each week. TryGrilled Fish Tacosfor Taco Tuesday next week. Toss scallops or shrimp with your favorite pasta and pesto. Or make a nostalgictuna noodle casserole.
Buying frozen or canned fruit and fish can also save you money—and it’s just as healthy as fresh (sometimes more so). Just beware of added sugars in canned fruit—try to get it in 100% fruit juice instead of in syrup made withadded sugar.
Of course, you don’t want to live on just fruit, nuts and fish. It’s important to eat a varied diet that also includes other forms of lean protein—like poultry and lean cuts of pork and beef— vegetables, whole grains and legumes, so that you get a wide variety of nutrients. Getting in some servings of dairy can also provide essential nutrients, like protein and calcium.
30-Day Diabetes-Friendly Mediterranean Diet Dinner Plan
The Bottom Line
This study suggests that the Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of diabetes in people from non-Mediterranean regions. Assess whatfoods from the Mediterranean dietyou could be eating more of and begin adding them to your meals and snacks. Other habits that influence diabetes risk include physical activity, sleep and stress. But don’t get more stressed out trying to work on all these habits at once. Start with one or two, assess where you’re currently at with them and gradually begin to improve in those areas. Over time, small steps become big changes and reap many benefits.
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Ying Z, Fu M, Fang Z, et al.Mediterranean diet lowers risk of new-onset diabetes: a nationwide cohort study in China.Nutr J. 23;131 (2024). doi: 10.1186/s12937-024-01036-xSun H, Saeedi P, Karuranga S, et al.IDF diabetes atlas: global, regional and country-level diabetes prevalence estimates for 2021 and projections for 2045.Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2022 Jan;183:109119. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2021.109119.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National Diabetes Statistical Report.
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Ying Z, Fu M, Fang Z, et al.Mediterranean diet lowers risk of new-onset diabetes: a nationwide cohort study in China.Nutr J. 23;131 (2024). doi: 10.1186/s12937-024-01036-xSun H, Saeedi P, Karuranga S, et al.IDF diabetes atlas: global, regional and country-level diabetes prevalence estimates for 2021 and projections for 2045.Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2022 Jan;183:109119. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2021.109119.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National Diabetes Statistical Report.
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
Ying Z, Fu M, Fang Z, et al.Mediterranean diet lowers risk of new-onset diabetes: a nationwide cohort study in China.Nutr J. 23;131 (2024). doi: 10.1186/s12937-024-01036-xSun H, Saeedi P, Karuranga S, et al.IDF diabetes atlas: global, regional and country-level diabetes prevalence estimates for 2021 and projections for 2045.Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2022 Jan;183:109119. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2021.109119.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National Diabetes Statistical Report.
Ying Z, Fu M, Fang Z, et al.Mediterranean diet lowers risk of new-onset diabetes: a nationwide cohort study in China.Nutr J. 23;131 (2024). doi: 10.1186/s12937-024-01036-x
Sun H, Saeedi P, Karuranga S, et al.IDF diabetes atlas: global, regional and country-level diabetes prevalence estimates for 2021 and projections for 2045.Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2022 Jan;183:109119. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2021.109119.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National Diabetes Statistical Report.
