Twice a week consumption of sardine may prevent type 2 diabetes: Study

Spain: Regular consumption of sardine provides protection against type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular (CV) events, finds a recent study in the journal Clinical Nutrition. This protective effect is due to high quantities of nutrients found in sardines -- such as vitamin D, calcium, omega 3, and taurine. 

The high levels of unsaturated fats found in sardines and oily fish help in the regulation of cholesterol levels and prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Fish could play in preventing T2D, however, there has been little specification about the type of fish and preventive mechanism involved in its health claim. 

Against the above background, D.A. Díaz-Rizzolo, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, and colleagues hypothesized that consumption of twice a week of sardine, during one year would reduce T2D-developing risk in a population with prediabetes (preDM) and old age.

For this purpose, the researchers recruited 152 subjects with fasting glucose between 100-124 mg/dL aged ≥65 yo. They were randomly distributed among two interventional groups: the control group (CG; n=77) and the sardine group (SG; n=75). Both the groups received the same T2D-prevention nutrition during a year but only SG had to add 200 g of sardine per week. All the data was collected before to start and end of the diet.