A no-breakfast Mediterranean diet works for diabetics, new study suggests
Go ahead and have that big lunch – you can even rinse it down with a glass of wine.
That's what researchers from Linköping University in Sweden are saying after studying the effects of different eating plans on blood glucose levels.
Researchers found that a Mediterranean diet – which is high in whole grains, vegetables, fish and healthy oils – didn't induce high blood sugar levels, even when participants skipped breakfast and ate a large lunch with wine.
Smaller meals are better?
The study points to the idea that having a large meal, instead of smaller ones, might be a better strategy for diabetics.
Traditionally, the Mediterranean diet favors skipping breakfast, the researchers noted.
The study compared how low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets stacked up against the Mediterranean diet in terms of blood sugar spikes.
"We found that the low-carbohydrate diet increased blood glucose levels much less than the low-fat diet but that levels of triglycerides tended to be high compared to the low-fat diet," said Dr. Hans Guldbrand, principal investigator of the study.
Nutrient balance
Results of the study indicate that nutrient balance, not so much the quantity of food eaten, is crucial for healthy blood sugar levels in diabetics.
"It is very interesting that the Mediterranean diet, without breakfast and with a massive lunch with wine, did not induce higher blood glucose levels than the low-fat diet lunch, despite such a large single meal," said Professor Nyström.
Other studies have suggested that a Mediterranean diet combined with high-intensity interval training offer better health outcomes for diabetics, and that the diet may also prevent type 2 diabetes in women who had gestational diabetes.
Source: AlphaGalileo
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