Low-Carb Diets Best For Reducing Diabetes Risk
Low-carbohydrate diets high in plant based protein and fat may be better than traditional low fat, high carbohydrate diets at lowering diabetes risk according to a new study published in the February 2008 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The researchers used data from the Nurses’ Health Study which followed over 85,000 women of which 4670 developed diabetes during the 20 year study period. The researchers examined the association between the percentage of energy intake from carbohydrates and the probability of developing diabetes.
Researchers found that low-carbohydrate diets, in particular those with vegetable based sources of protein and fat rather than meat based sources reduced diabetes risk by the greatest amount. Overall, low-carbohydrate diets reduced diabetes risk by around 10 percent. Low-carbohydrate diets rich in plant based sources of protein and fat reduced diabetes risk by almost 20 percent. In contrast low-carbohydrate diets rich in animal based protein and fat had no reduction in diabetes risk.
Furthermore the study found that diets high in carbohydrates were much more likely to develop diabetes with those in the highest decile for carbohydrate consumption 26 percent more likely to develop diabetes than those in the lowest decile for carbohydrate consumption.
The study also found an association between glycemic load and the probability of developing diabetes. Those diets in the highest decile for glycemic load were over twice as likely to develop diabetes than those in the lowest decile. Foods with a high glycemic load lead to a larger and more sustained spike in blood glucose levels.
According to lead author Thomas Halton of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston: “One study is never enough to change a recommendation, but this study is interesting in that it shows that a low-fat diet is no better than a low-carbohydrate diet in preventing type 2 diabetes. The one diet that did seem to show a protective effect was a vegetable-based, low-carb diet which consisted of higher amounts of vegetable fat and vegetable protein, and lower amounts of carbohydrate.”
