The Mediterranean diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, legumes, olives, and whole grains. It has limited meat and dairy. Following this type of diet has been found to have many positive health effects including increased longevity and reduced heart disease. A new study offers further evidence that a Mediterranean-style diet is good for improving heart health and diabetes. Interestingly, this study found that even when following the diet does not result in weight loss, adopting the diet still promotes improved heart health and diabetes.
Researchers examined how three different types of balanced diets influenced the body’s capacity to respond to insulin and lower blood sugar levels. One diet treatment was rich in carbohydrates (grains & starches), another treatment rich in protein (animal-based foods), and the third rich in unsaturated fats (olive oil, nuts, avocado). The participants were assigned to each diet for six weeks. The diet rich in unsaturated fats improved insulin sensitivity and blood sugar levels significantly more than the high-carbohydrate diet. Researchers found that unsaturated fats from foods such as avocados, olive oil and nuts increase the body's ability to regulate blood sugar and decreases the risk and progression of heart disease and diabetes. This beneficial effect occurred even though the participants did not lose weight.
Another recent study may be helpful to women who are having difficulty getting pregnant. It found that women who eat a Mediterranean-style diet are less likely to have fertility problems than those following a typical Western-style diet.
Researchers looked at nearly 500 women with fertility problems and more than 1,600 women of the same age who had no fertility problems. Based on questionnaires, they measured how closely women followed a Western-style diet rich in sugary foods, refined carbohydrates (white-flour based foods), meat, and dairy or a Mediterranean-style diet rich. Researchers found that women following a Mediterranean-type diet were significantly less likely to have fertility problems.
What to do: The Mediterranean style diet is rich in plant foods including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and beans. Its primary protein source is fish and its fats mostly come from unsaturated fat sources including olives, nuts, avocado, and oily fish. To improve your heart health and diabetes or to prevent problems, following a Mediterranean type diet is a healthy choice. Still, make sure your caloric intake is controlled to promote weight loss which is also very good for these conditions. If you are diabetic, you also want to keep in mind that whole grains, though better than refined grains, still raise blood sugar. For women who are thinking about getting pregnant, adopting a Mediterranean diet is also a wise choice. Just make sure to choose fish options low in mercury such as salmon and include nonfat or lowfat dairy sources to ensure you are consuming a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D.
SOURCES: http://bit.ly/puuLP3 Fertility and Sterility, September 22, 2011 & Johns Hopkins Medicine, news release, Nov. 16, 2011
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