Effects of Specific Dietary Patterns on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism: Mediterranean Diet, DASH Diet, and Ketogenic Diet

As the global burden of metabolic diseases continues to rise, dietary intervention has attracted widespread attention as a non-pharmacological management strategy. The Mediterranean diet, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, and the ketogenic diet are three representative dietary patterns with distinct characteristics in glucose and lipid metabolism regulation, yet their relative advantages and applicable populations remain controversial. This article systematically reviews the research progress on the effects of these three dietary patterns on glucose and lipid metabolism, comparing their efficacy, safety, and limitations. The Mediterranean diet has the most robust evidence, with cross-sectional studies showing a significant reduction in metabolic syndrome risk and intervention studies confirming improvements in glycemic control and significant reductions in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The DASH diet has unique advantages in reducing waist circumference and systolic blood pressure, but its improvement in fasting glucose is weaker than that of the Mediterranean diet. The ketogenic diet shows the most prominent effects in rapid weight loss and short-term glucose reduction, but it may reduce glucose tolerance and increase apolipoprotein B levels, with long-term safety remaining uncertain. Current evidence is dominated by cross-sectional studies and short-term interventions, with long-term safety and cross-ethnic applicability remaining unclear. Future research should include long-term randomized controlled trials and precision matching studies based on metabolic phenotypes.