Diabetes in the family? Eat like a Greek. In a new Tufts University study, a Mediterranean diet helped people who were genetically predisposed to type 2 diabetes (because of a gene variation that runs in families) cut their stroke risk by a third.
Researchers aren’t sure why the diet is so effective, but they say it may help compensate for physiological stress brought on by these gene mutations, according to study coauthor José M. Ordovás, Ph.D. (The diet was also found to reduce fasting glucose, total cholesterol, and high triglycerides in the participants.)
Even if you don’t carry two copies of the gene in question (you’d only be able to know through genetic analysis), diabetes increases your odds of stroke four-fold, says the National Stroke Association. You’re more likely to suffer from hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart attacks.
In 2011, Spanish researchers found Mediterranean eats could decrease your odds of developing diabetes by 50 percent. Slash your risk by cooking with olive oil; eating more fruits, vegetables, and legumes; eating fish more often; snacking on nuts; and limiting processed foods.
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