Mediterranean diet may improve kidney health in people with type 2 diabetes

A recent study points to yet another benefit of the Mediterranean diet: reducing the risk of kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes. The research, recently published by the University of Córdoba and IMIBIC (Maimonides Institute for Biomedical Research), also managed to discover the reason behind this phenomenon.

The Mediterranean diet is known for its health benefits: according to studies, it can reduce cholesterol, reduce the risk of dementia, depression and cancer, as well as contributing to cardiovascular health. No wonder it was voted the best diet in the world by US News & World Reportin 2023.

According to the researchers of the new study, the improvement in kidney function attributed to the Mediterranean diet has to do with compounds called “Advanced Glycation End Products”, better known by the acronym AGEs. These are inflammatory and oxidizing molecules that are ingested through food and, generally, eliminated through urine.

However, people with diabetes who have kidney problems – one of the most common complications in people with the chronic disease – have difficulty eliminating these toxic compounds, which means they are present at high levels in the body.

The study then sought to understand whether the Mediterranean diet could improve this scenario. To do this, he analyzed the levels of these harmful compounds in more than 500 people with diabetes over 5 years. Then, he compared the effects of two types of diets on the body: the Mediterranean diet and one low in fat and high in carbohydrates.

According to the study results, participants who followed a Mediterranean diet during the research period had lower levels of these toxic compounds in their blood, which could mitigate the deterioration of kidney function.

“We were able to verify that this diet better activates the detoxification process, that is, the mechanism by which the body eliminates these harmful substances,” said Francisco Miguel Gutiérrez, one of the study’s authors, in a press release.

For researchers, the way food is prepared in the Mediterranean diet would have an influence on the amount of compounds harmful to the kidneys that are consumed. For researcher Elena Yubero, Mediterranean culinary techniques “require longer cooking times and are gentler on food”.