The Mediterranean diet is hailed by doctors and scientists for its menu of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains that has been shown to protect from a host of diseases.
But now, scientists say a traditional African diet — packed with grains like millet, root vegetables, yams and leafy greens — could be even more effective at warding off cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and even some cancers.
Dutch researchers, who recruited two dozen people to follow the diet, found it dramatically reduced inflammation in the body.
Inflammation, which happens when the immune system attacks foreign intruders in the body, is a key risk factor for the UK’s biggest killers.
The scientists also discovered the diet had a ‘long-lasting’ effect on helping the body fight off bacteria and viruses, potentially slowing the process of ageing.
The findings show that ‘the African diet’ and eating less processed foods may have a ‘significant impact’ on the immune system and obesity risk, the researchers said.
Dr Quirijn de Mast, an associate professor in global health at Radboud University in Nijmegen, said: ‘Previous research has focused on other traditional diets, such as the Japanese or Mediterranean diet.
Scientists say a traditional African diet — packed with grains like millet, root vegetables, yams and leafy greens — could be even more effective at keeping the immune system in check
‘However, there is just as much to learn from traditional African diets, especially now, as lifestyles in many African regions are rapidly changing and lifestyle diseases are increasing.
‘The African diet includes plenty of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, and fermented foods.
‘Our study highlights the benefits of these traditional food products for inflammation and metabolic processes in the body.’
In the study, researchers recruited 77 healthy male volunteers from Tanzania, aged 25, on average.
Twenty three men who often consumed a traditional African-style diet were asked to switch to a ‘western-style’ diet, including processed meat, eggs and potato fries, for a fortnight.
Meanwhile, 22 — who typically ate western-style meals — stuck to an African-style plan for two weeks.
A further 22 western-style dieters were also asked to drink Mbege, a traditional fermented banana beverage, for a week.
Five men who maintained their western-style and African-style diets were also included as controls.
The African-style diet involved maize, okra, plantain, kidney beans and avocados.
Western-style meals comprised of processed meats such as sausages, as well as potato fries, eggs and crepes. By contrast, the African-style diet involved maize, okra, plantain, kidney beans and avocados
Over a follow-up of two weeks, researchers tracked participants’ blood proteins related to inflammation and metabolism, and did so again four weeks later.
They found those who switched to a western diet had increased levels inflammatory proteins in their blood and their immune cells responded less effectively to pathogens.
Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers said the Western-style diet showed ‘systemic inflammation and metabolic dysregulation’.
Research has long linked higher levels of inflammation with an increased risk of diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and even some cancers.
Those who switched to a traditional African diet or consumed the fermented drink, meanwhile, showed a ‘significant reduction’ in inflammatory markers.
Some of these effects persisted even four weeks later, indicating that short-term dietary changes can have long-lasting effects, the researchers said.
Dr Quirijn de Mast added: ‘We show how harmful an unhealthy Western diet can be.
‘It typically consists of processed and high-calorie foods, such as French fries and white bread, with excessive salt, refined sugars, and saturated fats.
The Nova system, developed by scientists in Brazil more than a decade ago, splits food into four groups based on the amount of processing it has gone through. Unprocessed foods include fruit, vegetables, nuts, eggs and meat. Processed culinary ingredients — which are usually not eaten alone — include oils, butter, sugar and salt
‘Inflammation is at the root of many chronic conditions, which makes this study highly relevant for western countries as well.’
Additive-laden foods have long been vilified over their supposed risks, with studies linking them to cancer and heart disease.
Experts have even called for all ultra-processed foods (UPFs) — typically anything edible that has more artificial ingredients than natural ones — to be cut completely from diets.
The UK is the worst in Europe for eating UPFs, which make up an estimated 57 per cent of the national diet.
They are thought to be a key driver of obesity, which costs the NHS around £6.5billion a year.
Ready meals, ice cream and tomato ketchup are some of the best-loved examples of products that fall under the umbrella UPF term.
They are different from processed foods, which are altered to make them last longer or enhance their taste, such as cured meat, cheese and fresh bread.
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