Health News Update: One Diet to Rule Them All
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Health News Update: One Diet to Rule Them All 10.5.26
Hello again everyone: For some time now, I have been recommending the Green Mediterranean food plan as the best upgrade that I have found for most people. Here is some new research about this topic:
Conclusions: The green-MED high polyphenol diet, rich in green tea and Mankai (aka Wolffia Globosa or Duckweed), renders a high capacity to regulate an individual's epigenome. Our findings suggest epigenetic key drivers such as folate and green diet marker to mediate this capacity and indicate a direct effect of dietary polyphenols on the one‑carbon metabolism.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0026049523001981 Green Med Diet health benefits
In conclusion, adherence to the green-MED diet significantly increased serum folate concentrations, with a strong association with Mankai intake. Elevated folate concentrations were associated with improved cardiometabolic markers, reinforcing the health benefits of plant-based dietary patterns.
https://www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/S0261-5614(26)00128-7/fulltext Green Med diet benefits
The investigators found that people following the Green-MED diet had significantly higher blood folate levels than those in comparative groups following either a traditional Mediterranean diet or standard healthy dietary recommendations. Notably, higher folate concentrations were associated with improvements in several health measures, including:
- better insulin sensitivity,
- lower levels of the inflammatory marker interleukin-6 (IL-6) and homocysteine
- improvements in blood lipid profiles,
- reduced visceral fat around internal organs,
- lower liver fat accumulation.
“This study reinforces that overall dietary patterns matter more than individual nutrients,” she said. “Rather than focusing only on folate supplementation, the findings suggest that a green Mediterranean diet can improve folate status and support key metabolic pathways by combining nutrient-rich foods with bioactive plant compounds.” “For both clinicians and the general public, this is another reminder that dietary quality can have measurable biological effects beyond basic nutrition.”
Bottom Line: “An easy way to think of the Green Mediterranean diet is the traditional Mediterranean diet with even more plants, specifically green tea, walnuts and a daily mankai shake,” said Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, preventive cardiology dietitian. “This study added mankai, a type of duckweed, which has a mild flavor and can easily be added to smoothies, soups, or dips,” she told MNT. “If it’s not available, don’t worry, the overall dietary pattern matters most. Focus on adding more folate-rich foods like spinach, kale, lentils, chickpeas, beans, and edamame to provide these beneficial nutrients. The goal is consistency, variety, and sustainability, not one specific food,” she added.
