- More than 95% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, often due to excess weight and lack of exercise.
- Type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the body becomes unresponsive to insulin, typically occurs after age 45, but is becoming more common among younger people.
- Although the condition is manageable, ignoring it can cause serious health problems and can even be fatal.
- A new study has found that eating a plant-based, low-carbohydrate diet may lower a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
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In contrast, people with type 1 diabetes, which is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction, do not produce insulin. Blood sugar levels should be tested regularly and insulin should be used to keep them within a healthy range.
Recent studies suggest that a low-carbohydrate diet may reduce T2D risk. However, the study was not able to distinguish whether this finding was entirely due to the reduction in carbohydrates or simply due to the reduction in calories.
Dr Eamon Laird, Visiting Scholar at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, who was not involved in the study, said: medical news today: “This is a very complicated topic. We already know that eating whole grains and plant foods is good for reducing the risk of diabetes.”
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T2D usually progresses slowly and may go unnoticed for some time as there are few symptoms at first. The risk of developing T2D is increased by factors such as:
- be over 45 years old
- have a family history of the condition
- little or no exercise
- Obesity or overweight, especially excess weight around the upper abdomen
- Low levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol
- High levels of triglyceride fats.
Maintaining a healthy weight, improving your diet, and being active can reduce your risk of developing T2D.
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A prospective cohort study was conducted over 30 years in 203,541 men and women in the United States. All participants were free of T2D, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at the start of the study.
Participants underwent dietary assessments using a validated food frequency questionnaire every four years. The researcher created a score based on the percentage of total energy each person got from their daily intake of protein, fat and carbohydrates, then divided the participants into five groups.
The low-carb group got about 40% of their total calories from carbohydrates.
Researchers then assessed diet quality by classifying nutrients into 18 groups, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, sweets and desserts, animal fats, dairy products, and meats. Did.
“The advantage of this study is the large numbers and long timescales, but the exact amount of carbohydrates they ate each day was not measured, so it could be imprecise.”
— Dr. Eamon Laird
Overall, a low-carbohydrate diet did not reduce the risk of T2D. However, when considering dietary protein sources individually, researchers found substantial differences in T2D risk.
Those who incorporated predominantly plant protein into their diets had a 6% reduction in the risk of T2D over 30 years.
People who restricted their intake of refined carbohydrates had an even lower risk of type 2 diabetes, 15% less than those on a normal diet.
In contrast, those on a low-carbohydrate diet who ate mostly animal protein had a 35% higher risk of T2D, which increased to 39% for those who ate a diet low in whole grains.
Dr. Laird noted a lack of specificity regarding the protein source consumed.
“From the short summary, there is no information about the type of protein from animal foods (usually those that are heavily processed are higher in fat and sugar compared to organic/unprocessed foods that are lower in fat and sugar). I also don’t know what other lifestyle factors were considered,” he said.
Meanwhile, lead study author Yeli Wang says their observations were made in a predominantly Caucasian cohort. Studies have shown that the risk of T2D is higher in certain other ethnic groups, especially African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans.In the US, T2D is nearly
“I wonder if our results can be generalized to other ethnic groups. We’ll have to see that,” Dr. Wang said.
What is known is that maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet with few processed foods can reduce the risk of developing T2D.
You may be able to reduce that risk further by choosing plant-based proteins such as nuts, lentils, beans, and soybeans instead of animal-based proteins.
“Some studies have linked and influenced a more plant-based diet to a healthier lifestyle (such as smoking, less drinking, more physical activity, and more supplement use). increase. [the] Diabetes risk. Therefore, we need to see more information first before jumping to conclusions. “
— Dr. Eamon Laird
