Diets Combat Metabolic Syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome, or MetS for short, is a bit like a flashing red warning light on your car's dashboard. It's a mix of health issues—high blood pressure, high blood sugar, toomuch fat around your middle, and wonky cholesterol levels—that together signal your risk of getting scary stuff like heart disease or type 2 diabetes is on the rise. Shockingly, studies say that almost half of Americans over 60 have MetS. As the number of senior citizens in America is growing rapidly, this is definitely cause for concern.

And here's the kicker—MetS may also play a part in memory issues and even diseases like Alzheimer's. So, it's crucial that we figure out how to prevent and treat MetS for the sake of our public health.

The best way to tackle MetS is through changing our lifestyle, like eating more healthily and getting our bodies moving. Researchers have been studying how different diets might help fend off MetS. Take the DASH diet, for instance—it's rich in fruits, veggies, and low-fat dairy, and it's been shown to improve all aspects of MetS. And sticking to the Mediterranean diet—packed with fruits, veggies, whole grains, and healthy fats—seems to keep MetS at bay too.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (a.k.a. the Healthy Eating Index) is also under the microscope for its impact on MetS. Preliminary data hints that chowing down on lots of fruits and veggies, and ditching sugary drinks, might reduce MetS risk.

Then there's the MIND diet, which mashes up the best bits of the DASH and Mediterranean diets, with an added focus on brain-friendly foods. It's being eyed as a possible MetS prevention method because of its ties to these healthy diets and brain health. Some studies suggest the MIND diet might put the brakes on cognitive decline, but more research is needed to fully understand its impact on MetS.

In the latest research, scientists have pitted the MIND, Mediterranean, DASH, and Dietary Guidelines for American's diets against each other to see how they each impact MetS in adults. The idea is that sticking to these diets could shrink belly fat and boost metabolic health. And because the MIND diet borrows the healthiest elements of the DASH and Mediterranean diets, it's thought that it might pack an even bigger punch when it comes to combating MetS.

While each of these diets were shown to have metabolic benefits only the MIND diet led to lower visceral adiposity and fasting blood glucose.

Holthaus, T.A., et. al.  2023.  Nutrition Research.  MIND Dietary Pattern Adherence Is Inversely Associated with Visceral Adiposity And Features Of Metabolic Syndrome.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2023.06.001

Tune in tomorrow and we will share some specifics about the MIND diet.  Jason & Rita