A recent study revealed that a low-carbohydrate, mediterranean-style diet is far more effective in controlling diabetes as compared to the typical low-fat diet.

The study also found that the mediterranean diet not only helps in weight loss but also controls blood sugar better. It delays the dependency on blood-sugar lowering medicines and also helps in improving some heart disease risk factors.

The mediterranean diet consists of lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains with limited amounts of red meat and processed foods. A major amount of fat comes from olive oil and nuts and few carbohydrates.

A typical low-fat diet recommends cutting down on all kinds of foods containing fat. Both low-fat and mediterranean diets are recommended for obese patients with Type-2 diabetes.

Dr. Dario Giugliano, from the Second University of Naples, Italy, and associates randomly assigned 215 type 2 diabetic patients to follow either a low carbohydrate, Mediterranean-style diet or a low-fat diet, and followed them for four years.

Nutritionists and dietitians counseled both these groups of patients and it was found after four years that 44 percent of the patients taking mediterranean diet required medication to lower their blood whereas 70 percent patients in the lo-fat group needed the same medication.

Patients in the first group also noticed greater weight loss. They also showed greater increases in "good" HDL-cholesterol levels and greater decreases in harmful blood fats called triglycerides.

These findings suggest that the benefits of a change in the lifestyle should not be overlooked despite the drug intensive lifestyle as per the medical advancement.