Eating two cans of sardines a week might be a simple, cheap way to help keep prediabetes from turning into type 2 diabetes.

Other research found that people with prediabetes who ate two cans of sardines weekly for a year did see lower blood pressure, lower triglycerides, and higher HDL cholesterol compared to those who didn’t. There’s also strong evidence that omega-3s from fish can reduce inflammation linked to insulin resistance, and taurine appears to help improve how the body handles blood sugar. But when it comes to HDL, one study found fish oil supplements actually lowered it — which raises a quiet question about whether sardines really boost good cholesterol the way the post says. The study linked in the post wasn’t included in the evidence, so we can’t say for sure if the exact trial described happened as written. Still, the overall pattern suggests sardines are a nutrient-dense food that likely helps metabolic health in meaningful ways.