Home > Blog > Healthy Living

Is the Mediterranean Diet Best for Diabetes?

Research shows the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet is also beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes. Find out how this approach can improve your blood sugar and help you lose weight — and how to get started.

By Jane S Jan 27, 2022

Share0

Tweet0

Share0

The Mediterranean diet — which gets its name from the traditional eating and cooking patterns of people in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea — has long been studied for its heart health benefits. But research suggests this approach can also offer specific advantages for people living with type 2 diabetes.

Among them: improved blood sugar, weight loss, and satisfying and flavorful ingredients.

How a Mediterranean Diet May Help You Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Overall, the Mediterranean diet offers more of the foods your body needs, such as vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, and less of what it doesn’t, including red meat, refined carbohydrates, and sugary fare, says Nicole M. Bereolos, PhD, MPH, a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) in Dallas.

In past research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists in the United Kingdom compared the Mediterranean diet with vegetarian, vegan, low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fiber, and low-glycemic index diets, and found that the Mediterranean diet came out on top.

Study participants following Mediterranean, low-glycemic index, low-carbohydrate, and high-protein diets all experienced better blood sugar control, as was indicated by their lower A1C scores.

(A1C is a measure of average blood sugar levels over a three-month period.) But people following the Mediterranean diet saw significant additional benefits — they lost the most weight and saw improved cardiovascular health, including better cholesterol levels.

"The Mediterranean diet is rich in fruits and vegetables, and uses whole grains and lean protein, such as fish, as well as olive oil and nuts as the sources of fat," says Betul Hatipoglu, MD, an endocrinologist with University Hospitals in Cleveland.

"These healthy choices make the diet very rich in monounsaturated fat and fiber, and both have been known to lower cholesterol and blood sugar in people with diabetes."

That’s why the Mediterranean diet is known as a heart-healthy style of eating. “In diabetes, it’s all about reducing your risk for having complications from the disease,” says Sharon Movsas, a registered dietitian with Montefiore Health System in the Bronx, New York.

“One of the leading complications is cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes,” she says. If that wasn’t enough, diabetes also often comes with high blood pressure and cholesterol, both factors that increases the risk of heart disease.

A Mediterranean diet protects the heart by lowering and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

According to a study published in February 2017 in Atherosclerosis, eating an olive oil-rich Mediterranean diet for 1.5 years improved arterial blood flow better than a standard low-fat diet in people with type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes.

That improvement in arterial function can help slow the development of atherosclerosis, or the buildup of plaque in artery walls.

Other research indicates that the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of the diet reduces odds of having a cardiovascular event (like a heart attack) by up to 30 percent.

The Mediterranean diet furthermore allows red wine, fat-free or low-fat dairy (such as yogurt), eggs, and lean meat all in moderation, says the Everyday Health nutritionist Kelly Kennedy, RD. Flavoring food with herbs and spices instead of salt is also encouraged.

“It typically replaces saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats, and this might explain the positive effect on insulin sensitivity," Kennedy says. Research also suggests that it may be the high concentration of polyphenols (antioxidant plant compounds) in the foods typically included in the Mediterranean diet that assists in decreasing insulin resistance, per a review published in August 2017 in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity.

How a Mediterranean Style of Eating May Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

It’s not just people who have diabetes who benefit from this style of eating.

Those who are at risk for the disease (like those managing metabolic syndrome), may reduce their odds of developing diabetes by 23 percent, concluded a systematic review and meta-analysis published in August 2015 in BMJ Open.

Mediterranean eating was also superior to low-fat diets for blood sugar control, the researchers reported.

One of the misconceptions about the Mediterranean diet stems from the word “diet” in its name. “This is a way of eating, approaching food, and making a lifestyle change. It’s not something that people do for six months and be done,” says Bereolos.

In fact, it appears to be just as good as other diets, like low-fat, low-carb, and the American Diabetes Association diet for long-term (greater than one year) weight loss, according to a review of randomized clinical trials published in April 2016 in The American Journal of Medicine.

Committing to the change is worth it. In addition to being associated with a lower risk of diabetes, following the eating plan is also linked to a lower risk of overall mortality, certain cancers, and diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, notes a review published in January 2018 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Complete Food List: Diabetes-Friendly Mediterranean Diet Foods to Eat and Avoid

Switching to a Mediterranean diet isn’t as radical or complicated as it might sound — and, though we wouldn't discourage you from visiting, you don’t have to move to southern Europe to adopt the region’s eating style. Like many healthy diets, it starts with choosing fresh fruits and vegetables whenever you can, and using lean protein sources such as fish, skinless chicken, and legumes rather than red meat, says Dr. Hatipoglu.

Fill your kitchen with a few staples to help you make the transition. As Kennedy says, “The key with the Mediterranean diet is that it emphasizes minimally processed foods." Here's a shopping list to help you stock up: