Editorial Science (EFE).- A scientific team has developed a formula, through a blood test, to detect if a person follows the Mediterranean diet and has found that this type of diet can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes more than what was thought
The description of these new biomarkers that could help measure adherence to the Mediterranean diet is published in the journal Plos Medicine, in an article led by Jakub Sobiecki, from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom).
Previous research has shown that people who report following a Mediterranean diet have a slightly lower risk of type 2 diabetes, however, the subjectivity of self-assessment is a determining factor, adding uncertainty.
Until now, the possible relationship between the Mediterranean diet and the risk of type 2 diabetes had not been evaluated using objective biological indicators -biomarkers- of diet compliance, summarizes the journal in a statement.
biomarkers in the blood
Sobiecki and his colleagues developed a new biomarker-based indicator of diet that incorporates the levels of certain molecules in the blood.
First, they identified that blood levels of 24 fatty acids and 5 carotenoids could be used to predict whether participants in a 128-person clinical trial ate a Mediterranean diet.
The levels of these molecules in the blood were then used to calculate a biomarker score, which the researchers used as a measure of adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
They then applied this score in a study of 340,234 people living in eight European countries, of whom 9,453 developed type 2 diabetes during follow-up and had relevant biomarkers measured.
When compared to 12,749 participants who remained free of type 2 diabetes, the researchers found that people whose biomarker scores indicated greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
The Mediterranean diet and diabetes
Based on these results, the researchers argue that even a modest improvement in adherence to the Mediterranean diet could significantly reduce the incidence of this diabetes.
They also point out that a further improvement in compliance with the Mediterranean diet could reduce its incidence.
However, they admit that further research will be needed to confirm and extend these new findings, as the extent to which the biomarker score is specific to the Mediterranean diet is currently unknown.
Nita Forouhi says that this research, which combines information from a dietary clinical trial and a large cohort study to identify and apply blood biomarkers to a dietary pattern, “is exciting.”
“It should stimulate the development of improved methods to study diet-disease associations, which are often limited by reliance on subjective memory of eating.”