Are you tired of hearing how a healthy diet is going to help you feel better and protect you from disease? Do you feel skeptical about the power of food to heal? Well, it may be time for you to push your resistance aside and accept the fact that diet plays a huge role in maintaining your good health. Every bit of food you put into your body has the potential to supply you with disease-fighting nutrients.
This is exactly what studies have proven, time and again. And now here’s more scientific proof: Mexican researchers have found that a healthy diet could reverse the symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a worldwide health problem affecting millions. The condition can lead to serious health problems like heart disease and diabetes (click here to learn more: https://www.doctorshealthpress.com/heart-health-articles/the-many-health-powers-of-inositol-part-2).
In this latest study, researchers evaluated the effects of a dietary pattern on glucose intolerance and other measures related to metabolic syndrome, such as serum triglycerides. In this randomized trial, the participants ate their habitual diet, but had it reduced by 500 kilocalories for two weeks. They were then assigned to either a placebo group or a diet plan group. The diet plan added four specific foods to the participants’ diet: soy protein; nopal; chia seed; and oat.
The research team found that all participants had decreases in body weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference during the two-month treatment. However, only the diet plan group showed decreases in serum triglycerides, C-reactive protein (CRP), and glucose intolerance. The research team concluded that the results from their study show that lifestyle interventions involving a specific diet plan for the treatment of metabolic syndrome could be effective. They also suggest that effectiveness could be even greater if local foods are used as part of the diet plan.
One of the foods used in this trial was nopal. Nopal is a vegetable commonly eaten in Mexico. These veggies, also known as prickly pears, are an excellent source of insoluble and soluble fiber. They are also high in vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin K. Nopales have one special ability that could be of benefit to many of us here in North America: the addition of these vegetables to a meal apparently reduces the glycemic effect of the foods eaten.