A study led by Tilman Kühn from MedUni Vienna’s Center for Public Health has shown that adopting a healthy plant-based diet can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 24%.
This protective effect is observed even in individuals with a genetic predisposition to diabetes and other risk factors such as obesity, advanced age, or lack of physical activity.
However, the benefits of a plant-based diet are only realized when both the consumption of animal-based foods and highly processed sugary foods is reduced.
The study, conducted over a 12-year period with 113,097 participants in the UK Biobank cohort, identified key biomarkers that mediate the protective effects of a healthy plant-based diet.
Beyond reducing body fat and waist circumference, this type of diet was found to improve metabolism, liver function, and kidney function.
The study also highlighted the role of normal blood lipid levels, blood sugar levels, inflammatory markers, and insulin-like growth factor in reducing the risk of diabetes.
Additionally, the research emphasized the importance of liver and kidney function in diabetes prevention and management, suggesting that a healthy plant-based diet can enhance the function of these organs and further reduce the risk of diabetes.
The study’s findings underscore the benefits of adopting a balanced and health-conscious plant-based diet in preventing type 2 diabetes and improving overall metabolic and organ function.
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The research findings can be found in Diabetes & Metabolism.
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