Most major killers today, from heart disease to cancer, dementia to diabetes, are largely diseases of long-term (chronic) inflammation. In these diseases and others, the body’s immune system and metabolism get so disabled that organ failure occurs. While we have lots of different medications nowadays that manage these life-threatening problems, what we’d really like to have is something that can prevent them from taking root or reverse them. Amazingly, we do have such a thing: the foods we eat! While the specific causes of each person’s health problems are highly complex and different, there is a great deal of evidence that rates of nearly ALL major chronic diseases are significantly lower in those who eat healthy diets1,2,3.
In my last blog entry, I discussed how low-carb diets can lower blood sugar but still make inflammation and insulin resistance worse. This is particularly true if saturated fat intake (like butter, steak, cheese, and cream) are high4,5, and/or if the person maintains much visceral body fat6. It’s important to remember that, while blood sugar is one convenient marker of metabolic dysfunction, it doesn’t tell nearly the whole story of what’s going on with someone’s diabetes or health. A focus on blood sugar alone can get us to throw out even very healthy, anti-inflammatory foods just because they contain carbs.
The optimum treatment for diabetes would not only reduce blood sugar but also improve insulin resistance, lower chronic inflammation, reduce visceral body fat, lower rates of many chronic diseases, and increase lifespan. Amazingly, our diets can improve all of these factors at once!
While many different foods are generally healthy—from fish to oil to yogurt, and others—a few foods stand out as offering a major preventive health boost. The healthiest foods of all have molecules that stimulate our immune systems in helpful ways, offer plenty of fiber to grow our gut flora/microbiota, are packed with antioxidants, and aren’t burdened by too much salt, sugar, saturated fat, or contaminants. Perhaps it’s not surprising that foods shown to have the biggest impact on human health meet all these criteria. Here are a few standouts:
Beans & lentils are nutrition powerhouses. Whether we’re talking about prebiotic fiber or minerals or protein or anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, they overachieve. Beans not only lower heart disease and mortality rates, but significantly improve blood sugar and insulin resistance in just weeks 7,8. (Note that their carb content—when packed with lots of other nutrients in real food—doesn’t have any negative impacts).
Cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale, and cauliflower) show multiple health benefits, including improvements in how the liver processes sugar and blood sugar levels in diabetic patients 9. As an added bonus, these veggies are specifically linked to lower cancer rates and lower overall mortality in all adults.
Berries are another health booster, whether we’re talking prevention of diabetes, dementia, cancer, or heart disease. All berries are excellent sources of key antioxidants and disease-fighting molecules. In studies, berries have shown their ability to blunt insulin and blood sugar responses as well10, even when people consume heavily-processed carb foods at the same time 11. It’s worth noting that overall health outcomes for diabetics are better for people who eat more berries. (Note: If you struggle to keep fresh berries around, consider buying frozen, which offer great nutrition and last longer).
Vinegar is another food that has gathered scientific support recently for improving inflammation, insulin response, and blood sugar control 12. This makes sense biologically, now that we know a healthy gut microbiome manufactures acetic acid (i.e., vinegar). It turns out we get a health boost from consuming (even a little bit) of vinegar with other foods, especially for those with diabetes.
REFERENCES:
1. Am J Clin Nutr 2014;100(suppl):353S–8S.
2. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;72:912–21.
3. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019;8:e012865.
4. BL Tan, ME Norhaizan. Effect of high-fat diets on oxidative stress, cellular inflammatory response and cognitive function. Nutrients 2019, 11(11), 2579;
5. J Clin Invest. 2017;127(2):695–708. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI89444.
6. Nutrients 2024, 16(7), 1015; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16071015
7. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(21):1653-1660. October 22, 2012. doi:10.1001/2013.jamainternmed.70
8. N Engl J. Med 2000;342:1392-8.
9. Axelsson et al., Sci. Transl. Med. 9, eaah4477 (2017) 14 June 2017
10. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. . 2013 Jul 26;6:275–284. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S46341
11. J. Nutr. 143: 430–436, 2013
12. Diabetes research and clinical practice 127 2017) 1 – 9.
