3 Popular Diets SLASH Diabetes Risk Up To 23%
Nearly 100 million Americans have prediabetes, which means they’re living right on the brink of a diabetes diagnosis.
That’s one in three adults.
I always tell my patients that type 2 diabetes is much easier to prevent than it is to reverse—and one way to accomplish that is through diet.
But which one is the best?
Researchers put three popular diets to the test, and the results might surprise you…
Researchers analyzed 33 reports that evaluated the connection between the following diets and diabetes risk:
- The Mediterranean diet
- The DASH diet
- The AHEI (Alternative Healthy Eating Index) diet
The Mediterranean diet focuses on whole foods, lean protein, plenty of healthy fats, and avoids processed food.
The DASH diet is similar to the Mediterranean diet, with an emphasis on foods that include plenty of potassium, calcium, and magnesium, while limiting sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
The AHEI diet is based on a scoring system that assesses the quality of your diet. It includes plenty of whole foods while limiting processed food and sugar.
If you think these diets sound similar, you’re right. The differences between them are minor—that was reflected in their impact on type 2 diabetes.
In the order I’ve listed them here, the diets were linked to a 17 percent, 23 percent, and 21 percent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.
It’s hardly even worth talking about these differences. Instead, I want to highlight what all of them have in common.
While there are subtle differences, all three diets are built on eating real, whole foods and cutting out sugar and processed foods.
I don’t like to give this approach to eating a fancy label—I just call it common sense.
This study focused on diets that can prevent type 2 diabetes—but the same principles apply to anyone who wants to delay the progression of type 2 diabetes… or reverse it altogether.
Natural, real foods will give you better blood sugar control and improved insulin sensitivity—and that’s the key to preventing and treating this condition.
P.S. Ancient herb heads off hidden metabolic timebomb.
View Sources
Berman, R. (2025, August 4). Mediterranean, DASH, or AHEI: Which diet lowers diabetes risk the most? Medicalnewstoday.com; Medical News Today.
