Could changing what and how we eat lower our risk of type 2 diabetes?
In several new studies presented at Nutrition 2019, researchers have found that people’s eating habits can influence their type 2 diabetes risk.
For example, in a study of 2,717 young adults in the U.S., researchers found people who ate more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and vegetable oils in their diet over 20 years had a 60% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to people who only ate a small number of plant foods.
The findings suggest that long-term shifts toward a more plant-centered diet could help prevent diabetes.
In a second study, researchers examined more than 200,000 people from three large studies.
They found that people with higher intakes of vitamins B2 and B6 from food or supplements have a lower risk for type 2 diabetes.
The study also found that consuming higher levels of vitamin B12 from foods was linked to a higher type 2 diabetes risk, which may be due to the consumption of animal products.
In a third study, researchers found that changing the order in which food is eaten could reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes.
They found that eating rice first and then a vegetable and meat caused much higher blood sugar levels after eating compared to other sequences.
The results point to a simple but effective way to lower blood sugar levels after eating. This may help prevent the transition from pre-diabetes to diabetes.
The fourth study of more than 4,000 Koreans shows that drinking coffee may lower the risk for developing type 2 diabetes and reveals that a genetic factor could be involved.
The researchers found both Korean men and women who drank at least one cup of black coffee a day were less likely to develop pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes than those who drank no coffee.
The association between drinking coffee and lowered risk for type 2 diabetes was strongest for Koreans with a genetic variation known as rs2074356.
This gene variation was recently found to be linked with habitual coffee consumption.
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