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A study in Spain has found that people who stick closely to the Mediterranean diet have a lower chance of type 2 diabetes. The Mediterranean diet has scored another victory: this time against type 2 diabetes (diabetes that mostly comes on in adulthood). It just slips off the tongue doesn't it – the Mediterranean diet – but what is it? Well it's actually different depending on where you live around the Mediterranean, and is changing as hamburgers and chips take over. The diet is a pattern of eating and cooking that involves a lot of plant-based foods, virgin olive oil, not much meat, and a bit of alcohol. A four-year study in Spain of over 13,000 adults has found the closer a person sticks to the Mediterranean dietary pattern, the lower their chances of diabetes. It wasn't an ideal study because the people were probably healthier than the typical Spaniard to start with – although the people who stuck most closely to the diet in the first place had the highest pre-existing risk of diabetes. They may have been more motivated, but even allowing for that, it suggests that the diet is even better than the average benefits would suggest. There are a few reasons why Mediterranean eating and cooking might do the job. It lowers inflammation, is good for blood fats, and olive oil itself may make insulin work more efficiently. So for the sake of your pancreas, lie back and think of Crete.
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