Adopting a healthy diet can help reverse metabolic syndrome -- a group of medical disorders linked with cardiovascular disease and diabetes -- in the sufferers, a new study finds.
Metabolic syndrome also known as syndrome X is characterized by central obesity -- waist circumference above 102 centimeters for men and 88 centimeters for women, high blood pressure values and dyslipidemia (high triglyceride and low HDL cholesterol levels).
Individuals suffering from the condition are at an increased risk of developing heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes in the long run.
According to the study published in Diabetes Care, sticking closely to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), which is a set of nutritional guidelines published by Harvard School of Public Health in 2002, can reverse metabolic syndrome.
Individuals who adhered to the AHEI more closely, were twice more likely to have their metabolic syndrome reversed, the study found.
Those with central obesity were also three times more likely to have recovered from metabolic syndrome in case they have adopted a healthy diet. Those with the highest triglyceride levels reported the highest benefits from the diet.
AHEI urges individuals to substitute refined grains with whole grain, and red meat with white meat. It also recommends individuals to adopt a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and soy. Following such a diet may reduce the risk of chronic diseases in both genders.
"It's not about focusing on individual components of the diet," said lead researcher Alice Lichtenstein, adding that "It's really the whole package, and that becomes important because it means that if one of the components of a healthy diet is to eat more fruits and vegetables, just buying a pill saying that there's a concentrated extract of fruits and vegetables is probably not what's going to help you."
Scientists urged individuals to exercise sufficiently apart from following a healthy diet in order to maintain their heart health.
