A recent study from out of Spain demonstrated the ability of the “Mediterranean Diet” to actually reverse Metabolic Syndrome.
Metabolic Syndrome is actually a group of risk factors with a large waist circumference being the most visible. Other risk factors include high triglyceride levels as well as high blood pressure and high fasting glucose levels which associated with diabetes.
The large study, included men and women aged 55-80 years old at high risk of heart disease. Participants were randomly assigned to consume 1 of 3 diets: a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts, or a low-fat diet (control).
In this analysis, the researchers looked at the long-term effects of the Mediterranean diet on metabolic syndrome in 5801 men and women, almost 64% (3707) of which had metabolic syndrome at the start of the study. After a median follow up period of 4.8 years, results showed that people in the 2 Mediterranean diet groups had decreased central obesity and blood glucose levels. Furthermore, 28.2% of participants no longer met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, thus suggesting that the diet may help to reverse the condition.
While there are many factors in play here when it comes to developing or reversing these symptoms, but the classic Mediterranean Diet shows great promise.
I STRONGLY encourage any of you out there with this group of symptoms to consider a switch away from your current diet to a strict Mediterranean Diet approach.
I am sure many of you by now have heard about ‘good fats’ in the media. If not, one quick Google search will clear things up.
There is a sizable movement shifting away from the long-taught ‘low fat’ diet towards a diet higher in these good fats. Examples include, avocados, mixed nuts (raw, not roasted), grass-fed beef, fish and extra virgin olive oil.
In fact, the National Center for Health Statistics ties the start of the obesity epidemic in the US to the release of the “low fat guidelines” in the mid-1970’s.
It is not a big stretch to see understand the dangers of sugar in the American diet. As soon as we start to treat sugar as the addictive toxin it actually is, the sooner we can get a handle on issues like Metabolic Syndrome.
In fact, results of a study conducted at the University of Southern California (USC) has shown that adolescent rats that freely consumed large quantities of liquid solutions containing sugar or high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in concentrations comparable to popular sugar-sweetened beverages experienced memory problems and brain inflammation, and became pre-diabetic.
Yeah, I know it was rats…but that’s close enough for me!
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