Follow up – Ali Mualla:
A recent study revealed that eating sardine fish regularly prevents type 2 diabetes, due to its health benefits.
Sardines contain high levels of unsaturated fats, which help regulate cholesterol levels and prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases, in addition to many other benefits.
According to the Spanish study, published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, conducted by Diana Diaz Rizzolo, lecturer and researcher at the University of Uberta de Catalunya, and the “Auguste by Sonnere” Institute for Biomedical Research, nutrients found in high quantities in sardines “such as astorin, omega-3, calcium and vitamin D to protect once morest diabetes, which affects regarding 14 percent of the Spanish population over the age of 18.
Also, sardines are not only affordable and easy to find, but they are safe and help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, and this is a huge scientific discovery, according to the study.
Rizzolo explained that recommending this food is easy during medical examinations, especially since it is widely accepted.
The study included 152 patients aged 65 years and over, from three different primary care centers, who were diagnosed with diabetes (blood sugar levels between 100-124 mg/dL), and all of these patients were placed on a diet program that sought to reduce the risk of developing the disease. However, the intervention group only added 200 grams of sardines to their diet each week (two cans of sardines in olive oil).
To facilitate the consumption of sardines, these study participants received a list of recipes including canned sardines. Participants were also advised to eat sardines whole without removing the bones because they are rich in calcium and vitamin D.
Among the group that did not include sardines in their diet, 27 percent of members were at high risk of developing diabetes (measured by a questionnaire following one year), and 22 percent found themselves in the same category.
As for the group that included sardines in their diet, 37 percent of members were at high risk of developing diabetes at the start of the study, and following one year, only 8 percent remained at high risk.
Improvements were also observed in other biochemical parameters such as a decrease in the insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), an increase in HDL cholesterol, an increase in hormones that accelerate glucose breakdown (adiponectin) and a decrease in triglycerides and blood pressure.
The study was conducted on participants aged 65 years and over, because the incidence of diabetes is much higher in the elderly.
“As we age, restrictive diets (in terms of calories or food groups) can help prevent disease onset, however, the cost-benefit ratio is not always positive, as we have found in other studies,” Rizzolo says. .
“However, the results lead us to believe that we can obtain an equally important protective effect in younger populations,” she added.
The study says that the fact that foods such as sardines “rich in omega-3, calcium and vitamin D” have a clear protective effect once morest the onset of diabetes, does not mean that taking these supplements separately will have the same effect.
Rizzolo explains this point, saying: “Nutrients such as omega-3 and others can play a key role in the prevention and treatment of many different diseases, but their effect is usually due to the discrepancy between them and the food they contain.”
Thus, sardines will have a protective element as they are rich in the aforementioned nutrients, while nutrients taken in isolation in supplement form will not work as much.
The researchers began studying the effect of sardines on the intestinal microbiome in a second phase of the study, “because it affects the regulation of many biological processes, and we need to understand whether they played a role in this protective effect once morest type 2 diabetes,” she said. Rizzolo.
