Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009

Diabetes

A first line of defense against Type 2 diabetes is diet — but which one? A new study compared the Mediterranean-style diet (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, lean meats and nuts, but less than 50% of calories from carbohydrates) with a low-fat diet (whole grains, fruits, vegetables and some meat, but no more than 30% of calories from fat and no more than 10% from saturated fat). The Mediterranean diet won: 56% of subjects controlled blood sugar without drugs, compared with 30% on the low-fat diet. This doesn't mean shunning drugs. It means the right diet is key to staying well.