Olive Oil Diet Known to Help Lower The Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
April 18, 2020
In typical health cases, doctors prescribe a low fat diet to prevent a variety of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. While studies have shown that high fat diets may increase the risk of certain diseases such as cancer and diabetes, it appears that it is the kind of fat that counts rather than the amount of fat. Because of the these studies, we know that a diet rich in monounsaturated fats such as the ones found in olive oil, nuts and seeds protects us from many of these chronic diseases.
A recent Spanish study published in the scientific journal Diabetes Care showed that a Mediterranean style diet rich in olive oil decreases the risk of type II diabetes by nearly 50% compared to a low fat diet plan. Type II diabetes is the most common and preventable form of diabetes.
Individuals that are obese or obese and have metabolic syndrome are at highest risk for developing this form of diabetes. The analysis is part of PREDIMED, a long-term nutritional intervention study aimed to assess the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and is composed of a multidisciplinary team of 16 groups distributed in seven autonomous communities in Spain.
The study contained 418 participants (None of them having diabetes). Each participant was randomly assigned to either:
A low fat diet A Mediterranean diet with olive oil (up to 1 liter a week) Or a Mediterranean diet with nuts (30 grams a day)
After 4 years 17.9 % of the individuals following the reduced fat diet developed diabetes, while only 10 percent of the participants following the Mediterranean with olive oil diet developed the disease.
When the two MedDiet bands (olive oiland nut groups) were pooled and compared with the low fat group, prevalence of diabetes was reduced by 52 percent. It is critical to note that the reduction of diabetes risk was independent of changes in body fat or physical activity and that the Mediterranean diets that were followed weren't calorie restricted.
Studies have shown that a Mediterranean style diet rich in olive oil may prevent the appearance of type II diabetes by:
