Healthy eating for diabetes Archive

Long-term research found that higher consumption of butter increases mortality risk, while higher consumption of plant-based oil lowers it. And substituting certain plant oils for butter might help people live longer. What's a butter lover to do?

In a 2024 review of 116 randomized, controlled trials including almost 7,000 people (average age 46) who were overweight or obese, as little as 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per week was linked to reduced body weight, waist size, and body fat over eight weeks.

A 2024 study observed that people who eat at least five servings of dark chocolate each week were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Yogurt is a popular source for probiotics, the "good" live bacteria a person's diet needs to counterbalance harmful bacteria in the gut. But there are other choices available, such as kefir, kimchi, kombucha, miso, and tempeh.

Natural sugar is found in many nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, and grains. Refined "bad" sugar is added to many unhealthy food products like sweetened beverages, desserts, breakfast cereals, and fruit-flavored yogurt. Added sugars are also present in soup, tomato sauce, and condiments like ketchup, relish, barbecue sauce, and salad dressing. To curb sugar intake, read food labels carefully, noting the amounts of added sugar, and choose products with less than 10 grams per serving.

Having type 2 diabetes doubles a person's odds of heart disease, and this risk may be present as early as 30 years prior to the diabetes diagnosis, according to a 2024 study. The findings support the long-held observation of the shared underlying causes of diabetes and heart disease. These include factors that contribute to both conditions, especially the tendency to accumulate fat in the middle of the body, known as abdominal obesity. This problem tends to occur in tandem with high blood pressure, unhealthy lipid levels, and elevated blood sugar-a cluster of signs and symptoms called metabolic syndrome.

A large 2024 study of more than 112,000 people found that those who ate at least five ounces of dark chocolate each week had a 21% lower risk of developing diabetes within 30 years, compared with those who rarely or never ate chocolate.