Diet Affects Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
How Foods that Reduce Inflammation Offer Protection
Feb 21, 2009
Diet is considered an environmental factor when it comes to disease development. And what we eat makes a big difference when it comes to disease risk, particularly our risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In general, researchers have found that foods that promote inflammation, such as sugar and saturated fats, increase overall disease risk. Several new studies offer guidelines for preventing type 2 diabetes.
Previous studies have found that Type 2 diabetes is closely associated with obesity and that maintaining a healthy weight lowers risk. However, new studies show that while maintaining a healthy weight, certain foods that contribute to obesity also produce inflammation and may play a more important role in causing type 2 diabetes than weight.
Red Meat and Cheese and Inflammatory Proteins
A new study conducted by the University of South Carolina in Columbia published in the February 2009 issue of Diabetes Care found that people who eat lots of red meat, refined, low fiber grains, and cheese may have an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Considerable evidence in the past few years suggests that people with elevated blood levels of certain inflammatory proteins, regardless of their body weight, have an elevated diabetes risk. The South Carolina researchers looked at overall diet and correlated diet with levels of two proteins that are considered markers of inflammation: plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and fibringogen.
In their study of 880 middle-age adults, the researchers found that people who consume large amounts of red meat, cheese, refined grains, tomato products, eggs, and fried potatoes had higher levels of these two proteins. The people consuming the highest quantity of these foods in the study were also 4 times as likely to develop diabetes as people who eat fewer foods from these categories.
The Mediterranean Diet
A study by University of Navarra researchers reported in the June 2008 British Medical Journal found that following a Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 83 percent. The Mediterranean diet is rich in olive oil, whole grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and fish, and is low in meat, dairy products and alcohol with the exception of modest amounts of red wine. The Mediterranean diet is known to reduce inflammation and is recommended for patients with autoimmune diseases. Recent studies have also associated the Mediterranean Diet with a lower risk of dementia.
Sugary Drinks, Few Fruits and Vegetables
Another study by researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine that was published in the July 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine showed that people who drank sugar-sweetened drinks, including fruit juices, had a higher risk of diabetes. The researchers found that diet sodas had no effect on diabetes but women who drank two or more soft drinks per day or two or more fruit drinks per day had a 25 to 30 percent increased risk of diabetes. Another recent study showed that consuming soft drinks also increases the risk of kidney disease, one of the most severe complications in diabetes.
The Boston study also presented data from a similar Cambridge study that showed an increased intake of fruits and vegetables, based on study subjects’ vitamin C levels, decreased the risk of diabetes. People with the highest levels of vitamin C had a 62 percent reduced risk of diabetes.
Several recent studies have also shown that high fructose corn syrup is a leading cause of inflammation. Avoiding corn syrup and trans fats while following a Mediterranean-type diet are the latest dietary recommendations for avoiding type 2 diabetes and reducing the risk of other inflammatory disorders, including flares in autoimmune diseases.
Sources
Diabetes Care, February 2009
Mediterranean Diet Lowers Diabetes Risk, British Medical Journal, June 2008
Archives of Internal Medicine, July 28, 2008
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