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Comparative analysis reveals the potential to maximize the benefits of healthy eating

Using observational data from over 200,000 participants with up to 32 years of follow-up, we compared the strengths of eight healthy dietary patterns for general health. We found that diets that lowered hyperinsulinemia, chronic inflammation and diabetes risk may offer the greatest protection against chronic diseases.

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Fig. 1: The associations of dietary patterns with major chronic diseases.

References

  1. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory Report to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services https://doi.org/10.52570/DGAC2020 (US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Washington, D.C., 2020). This is a synthesis of existing evidence on diet and disease.

  2. Tabung, F. K., Satija, A., Fung, T. T., Clinton, S. K. & Giovannucci, E. L. Long-term change in both dietary insulinemic and inflammatory potential is associated with weight gain in adult women and men. J. Nutr. 149, 804–815 (2019). This paper evaluates the two mechanism-based dietary patterns.

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This is a summary of: Wang, P. et al. Optimal dietary patterns for prevention of chronic disease. Nat. Med. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02235-5 (2023).

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Comparative analysis reveals the potential to maximize the benefits of healthy eating. Nat Med 29, 545–546 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02236-4

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