This type of plant-based diet helps battle diabetes and weight gain, study says

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Eating a plant-based diet can do wonders for your health. Studies have found limiting red meat and eating whole grains, legumes, and a variety of colorful fruits and veggies can lower cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease, prevent type 2 diabetes and even prolong human life — not to mention the life of the planet.

When it comes to preventing diabetes, however, those benefits may only manifest if the plant-based diet is a healthy one that curtails foods that are highly processed or loaded with sugar, according to a new study that analyzed 206 different types of foods.

The 12-year analysis of dietary patterns of over 113,000 participants of the UK Biobank study, a longitudinal study of health among the country’s residents, placed people into four categories based on their intake of fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains.

People in the top 25% mostly ate a plant-based diet low in sweets, desserts, refined grains and sugary drinks. People in the bottom 25% consumed many more of those unhealthy plant-based foods.

Compared with people in the lowest tier, those who ate the most whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and limited their intake of unhealthy options reduced their risk of diabetes by 24%, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Diabetes & Metabolism.

People who ate the healthiest diet also had lower body mass index and waist circumference, as well as better blood sugar levels and lower inflammatory levels.

The benefit extended to people genetically predisposed to diabetes and those who had other risk factors for diabetes such as obesity, the study found.

“These data are really important, particularly for those thought to be at high risk of developing type two diabetes as it demonstrates they can greatly reduce their risk by following a healthy plant-based diet,” said first author Alysha Thompson, a doctoral student at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, in a statement.

However, people eating the least healthy plant-based diet had a 37% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, along with a greater waist circumference and higher levels of triglycerides, a form of cholesterol, the study found.

In fact, obesity was a “key mediator underlying greater type two diabetes risk among individuals following unhealthful plant-based diets,” said coauthor Tilman Kühn, a lecturer from the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast and chair in public health nutrition at the Medical University of Vienna, in a statement.

How does a healthy plant-based diet help protect the body from type 2 diabetes? By impacting a range of antidiabetic mechanisms “including blood sugar and lipid levels and lower body fatness,” Kühn said.

Another finding was the important role played by the kidney and liver in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, said coauthor Aedín Cassidy, a professor at Queen University Belfast’s Institute for Global Food Security.

“For the first time we have shown that improvements in both metabolism and the function of the liver and the kidney as a result of a healthy plant-based diet, may explain how this diet can reduce the risk of type two diabetes,” Cassidy said in a statement.

Although the study only found an association, not a direct cause and effect, the findings were “interesting,” said Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior teaching fellow at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, UK, in a statement to the Science Media Centre in London.

The analysis “looked at aspects of liver health and other measures of inflammation and explored how they might be linked to diet and risk of developing type 2 diabetes,” said Mellor, who was not involved in the study. “This suggests a number of possible designs for future research to actually assess if this type of plant-based diet can actually reduce risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”

Plant-based sandwiches, salads and pizza are NOT healthier than meat options, study reveals

By Xantha Leatham Deputy Science Editor For The Daily Mail

Published: 09:37 EST, 3 January 2024 | Updated: 09:45 EST, 3 January 2024

MOST people see the New Year as a chance to kickstart a healthy eating regimen, and maybe even give Veganuary a go.

But vegan fast-food meals do not have less calories than their meaty counterparts, a study suggests.

Researchers analysed a total of 1,868 meals including sandwiches, salads, noodles and pizza from 50 fast food chains across five countries, including the UK.

These chains included Wagamamas, Pret, Pizza Express, Leon and Burger King.

The team collected data on the calorie content, presence of allergens, and the quantities of nutrients, fibre and salt in each meal.

Researchers in Poland analysed a total of 1,868 meals including sandwiches, salads, noodles and pizza from 50 fast food chains across five countries, including the UK

Their findings, published in the journal Nutrition, revealed that plant-based meals had less protein and sodium, and higher levels of carbohydrates and sugar, compared to the meat-based meals.

But – in bad news for those trying to shed some pounds – they discovered that overall, plant-based meals were not linked with having less calories.

Lead author Mikołaj Kamiński, from the Poznań University of Medical Sciences in Poland, said: ‘Our findings revealed that plant-based fast-food meals were more likely to contain more carbohydrates and sugar than meat-based equivalents.

‘Surprisingly, our study shows that plant-based meals are not associated with lower calories, which consumers may not realise.

‘This really emphasizes the importance of making informed food choices, especially when it comes to consuming fast food – even more so if you suffer from a metabolic disorder like type 2 diabetes.

‘It exposes the illusion that plant-based alternatives of popular fast-food dishes are automatically a healthier choice.’

The findings also showed that the meals containing meat were more likely to have allergens such as dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish and mustard, while plant-based meals more likely contained allergens such as sesame, seeds and nuts.

Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain, according to the NHS

• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count

• Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain

• 30 grams of fibre a day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread and large baked potato with the skin on

• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) choosing lower-fat and lower-sugar options

• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)

• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consuming in small amounts

• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day

• Adults should have less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men a day

Source: NHS Eatwell Guide  

How And Why Businesses Are Vulnerable To Email-Based Cyberattacks: New Study

Emails are one of the weakest links in a company’s defense against cyberattacks, and cyber thieves ... [+] appear to be taking advantage of this vulnerability. That’s according to the results of a new study by Tessian, an email security platform.

Emails are one of the weakest links in a company’s defense against cyberattacks, and cyber thieves appear to be taking advantage of this vulnerability.

That’s according to a new study released today by Tessian, an email security platform.

“Organizations send and receive thousands of emails per day, making email a massive vulnerability for the enterprise and opening the door for advanced attacks like spear phishing, impersonation and ransomware,” Tessian said in a press release.

“These types of attacks also ranked as the top email threat that security leaders are most concerned about,” the company noted.

Tessian’s 2022 Email Security Report found that:

The survey was conducted in September 2022 for Tessian by third-party research house Censuswide, which queried 600 IT and security leaders in organizations across the U.S., UK, Middle East, and Africa.

.American Airlines is the latest example of how businesses and organizations are vulnerable to e-mail-based cyberattacks.

In September, American Airlines reported a data breach it had discovered in July. “American Airlines said the successful phishing attack led to the unauthorized access of a limited number of team member mailboxes,” according to one news report.

The company notified told customers that “personal information such as an address, phone number, driver's license number, passport number and/or certain medical information may have been accessed by the hacker,” Reuters reported.

"We regret that this incident occurred and take the security of your personal information very seriously," American Airlines’ chief privacy and data protection officer Russell Hubbard said in a letter to consumers,” according to the news organization.

According to the executive summary of the report, “threat actors are attempting to access corporate networks and are leveraging novel exploits to seize a business’ crown jewels, namely its data. Email remains a leading initial attack vector...that does not appear likely to change.”

“The issue of email as a go-to channel for threat actors is further complicated by the macroeconomic climate throughout the back half of 2022, with fears of a looming recession altering markets, and potentially headcounts moving into the next calendar year.

“Typically, malicious actors carry this out by baiting users with social engineering campaigns that can include impersonated pleas from trusted figures of authority or other fraudulent scams or promotions. Regardless, threat actors view the channel as one of the easiest inroads to compromising businesses,” the report noted.

"Just one employee taking the email bait from a phishing attack can bring a successful organization to its knees. Corporate emails, targeted through phishing and weaponized malware, are the main entry point for most breaches,” Art Ocain, vice president of service delivery at cybersecurity company Airiam, said via email.

“Hackers are getting more innovative, and many employees unknowingly click a link or open an attachment and let the bad actors into the network,” he observed.

In addition to the crisis that a data breach can create for a company, the attacks can be costly. According to a report by IBM, the average cost of a data breach in the U.S. was more than $9 million, or more than double the global average.

Emails are one of the weakest links in a company’s defense against cyberattacks, and cyber thieves ... [+] appear to be taking advantage of this vulnerability. That’s according to the results of a new study by Tessian, an email security platform.

“When it comes to protecting against phishing attacks, it does seem like some employees always fall for them,” David Moody, a senior associate of Schellman, a global cybersecurity assessor, observed via mail.

“The solution is plain and simple: There is no substitute for training. A common method is to conduct simulated phishing exercises and use that information to identify and provide training for those who need it. There are companies who do this service for organizations and can also provide insight into larger company weaknesses, as well (such as email filtering and management policies).”

“Chief information security officers and business leaders need to focus on how they can defend and protect employees both within and, critically, beyond the walls of corporate systems,” Josh Yavor, chief information security officer at Tessian, said via email.

“On the corporate side, security teams should focus on preventing as many malicious emails from reaching inboxes as possible but anticipating that some will get through.

“”For those that do, they should ensure resilience by empowering employees with tools to help them avoid being tricked and by de-risking the impact of employees engaging with phishing emails by responding, opening files, or clicking links,” he advised.