Even though the Mediterranean variation has earned the title as healthiest fare year after year, the cuisine of a nation in Africa could soon take its place, step forward the Tanzanian Kilimanjaro diet.
Dutch researchers recently found that people in Tanzania, on the southeastern edge of Africa bordering Kenya, are far healthier than western nations due to a focus on unprocessed, traditional foods.
The Tanzanian Kilimanjaro diet, focuses on foods like okra, plantains, and beans, and drinks like mbege, made using fermented banana and the grain millet.
It was found that men who followed the African plan had significantly lower levels of inflammation and stronger immune systems.
Experts behind the study believe it's the diet's lack of processed food that keeps inflammation at bay, lowers risks of chronic diseases, and possibly extend lifespan.
Dr Quirijn de Mast, lead study author and infectious disease specialist at Netherlands' Radboud University Medical Center, said: 'Our study highlights the benefits of these traditional food products for inflammation and metabolic processes in the body.
'At the same time, we show how harmful an unhealthy Western diet can be.'
The researchers recruited 77 healthy Tanzanian men with an average age of 25.
Of those, 23 who normally followed the Kilimanjaro diet were asked to switch to a typical Western diet for two weeks, which included foods like processed sausages, white bread, and fries.
Meanwhile, 22 who typically ate western meals followed the Kilimanjaro plan for two weeks. This included eating corn, okra, plantains, kidney beans and avocados.
Another 22 on the western diet also were asked to drink one serving of mbege every day for a week.
The rest who maintained their normal diets were used as controls.
Researchers found those who switched from the Kilimanjaro to the Western diet had higher levels of inflammatory proteins in their blood. Their immune cells were also less effective in warding off pathogens.
The authors said the Western diet showed 'systemic inflammation and metabolic dysregulation'.
Those who switched to the Kilimanjaro eating plan, however, saw the opposite effect.
The changes to inflammation levels were still detectable via blood samples for four weeks after the study ended, suggesting the Tanzanian diet's long-lasting benefits.
Dr de Mast said: 'Inflammation is at the root of many chronic conditions, which makes this study highly relevant for Western countries as well.'
However, while the African diet seems to have similar effects to the one that came out of the Mediterranean, Tanzania itself is not considered a Blue Zone. The average life expectancy is 67 - in the U.S., it is 77.
Greece and Italy, two countries that adhere to the Mediterranean diet, have an average life expectancy of 82 and 84, respectively. Both are each home to one of the world's five Blue Zones.
According to the latest data, Tanzania had a cancer rate of 140 cases per 100,000 people in 2022, significantly lower than 445 per 100,000 in the U.S.
Tanzania records about 44,000 cancer cases per year compared to around two million in the U.S., although the east African country has a significantly smaller population with roughly 66 million people in Tanzania compared to the U.S.'s 330 million.
Both countries have roughly equal diabetes rates, with one in ten adults diagnosed with the condition.
Dietitian Sapna Peruvemba told VegNews that people who wanted to follow the Tanzanian diet should focus on building meals around veg, fruits, and legumes.
And to include fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, which have probiotics that have been shown to promote the production of disease-fighting antibodies and anti-inflammatory compounds.
As Peruvemba said: 'Don’t underestimate the power of returning to the basics.'
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