In a new study, researchers found that eating high-quality carbohydrates, such as whole grains, was associated with a lower risk for type 2 diabetes.
They did an analysis of more than 200,000 people.
The research was conducted by a team at Erasmus University and elsewhere.
A high intake of carbohydrates has been found linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
In the study, the team looked at whether this effect is different for high-quality carbohydrates and low-quality carbohydrates, which include refined grains, sugary foods, and potatoes.
They analyzed data from three studies that followed health professionals in the U.S. over time.
These included 69,949 women from the Nurses’ Health Study, 90,239 women from the Nurses’ Health Study 2, and 40,539 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Collectively, the studies represented over 4 million years of follow-up, during which almost 12,000 cases of type 2 diabetes cases were documented.
The researchers found a lower risk of type 2 diabetes when high-quality carbohydrates replaced calories from saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, animal protein, and vegetable protein.
They also found that replacing low-quality carbohydrates with saturated fats, but not with other nutrients, was linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
These results highlight the importance of distinguishing between carbohydrates from high- and low- quality sources when examining diabetes risk.
The leader of the study is Kim Braun, Ph.D. from Erasmus University Medical Center and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The study was presented at Nutrition 2020 Live.
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