The heart-healthy benefits of consuming sardines and oily fish in general are well known. Its high levels of unsaturated fats (the good ones) help regulate cholesterol and prevent heart disease . However, the benefits of this humble food do not end here and a recent study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition shows how the regular consumption of sardines, two cans a week, has a preventive effect against type 2 diabetes thanks to its high content of taurine, omega 3, calcium and vitamin D.
“The consumption of sardines is not only economically affordable and easy to find, but it is safe and preventive against type 2 diabetes. It is a great scientific discovery. It is easy to recommend its consumption from the medical consultation and affordable by the population” , explains the main person in charge of the study, Diana D. Rizzolo, professor and researcher of the Health Sciences Studies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS).
The study included 152 patients from three primary care centers aged 65 years or older who had prediabetes (fasting blood glucose level between 100-124 mg / dl). All of them entered a nutrition program focused on reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Of the 152 participants, one group added two cans of sardines in olive oil to their diet weekly . It was recommended to take the whole fish, that is, without removing the skeleton , since that part is very rich in calcium and vitamin D. The other group did not take sardines.
At the beginning of the study, 27% of the people in the group that did not eat sardines had a very high risk of developing diabetes. After a year, 22% of people were still in that ranking. Regarding the group that did eat sardines, at the beginning of the experiment 37% of participants had a high risk of suffering from the disease and after a year only 8% continued to have a very high risk. In addition, the latter experienced other interesting improvements such as a decrease in the insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), an increase in good cholesterol (HDL) and hormones that improve glucose metabolism (adiponectin), in addition to decreasing triglycerides and blood pressure, among other parameters.
The study was done with people 65 years of age and older because the incidence of type 2 diabetes is higher in this age group than in young people. However, Rizzolo says: “The results make us think that we could achieve an equally interesting preventive effect in younger people.”
Supplements against diabetes?
If sardines help prevent type 2 diabetes thanks to their high content of taurine, omega 3, calcium and vitamin D, you might think that consuming these nutrients in the form of supplements would have the same effect. The reasoning, although with all the logic in the world, is incorrect. “Nutrients can play an essential role in the protection and treatment of many pathologies, but their effect is usually caused by the synergistic action between them and the food matrix that contains them. Thus, the sardine will have a protective element because it is rich in nutrients. nutrients mentioned, but nutrients taken in isolation in the form of supplements will not be so , “says Rizzolo.
Now, researchers are studying the effect of sardine consumption on the gut microbiota. “Since it has an effect on the regulation of many biological processes and we have to understand if it has played part of this protective effect against diabetes 2”, explains Rizzolo. Studies have also begun on the modulation of the expression of some genes related to inflammation and that could have a role in the development of diabetes 2 and other pathologies.
Fountain:
“Type 2 diabetes preventive effects with a 12-months sardine-enriched diet in elderly population with prediabetes: An interventional, randomized and controlled trial” (2021). D. A. Díaz Rizzolo, A. Serra, C. Colungo, A. Sala-Vila, A. Sisó-Almirall, R. Gomis. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2021.03.014
“Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes through Sardines Consumption: An Integrative Review” (2021). Diana A. Díaz Rizzolo, Anna Miro & Ramon Gomis. https://doi.org/10.1080/87559129.2020.1867565
