Eating a plant-based, low-carbohydrate diet is significantly associated with a lower risk of premature death in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in the Medical Journal. Diabetes care.
Researchers at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health say this is the first prospective cohort study to examine the relationship between low-carb diet patterns and mortality among people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Although the findings showed a 24 percent reduction in mortality among those following a low-carb diet, the health benefits were stronger for a low-carb diet that emphasized plant-based foods and high-quality carb foods such as fruits and vegetables. and whole grains.
A plant-based, low-carbohydrate diet was associated with lower cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality. A low-carbohydrate diet that emphasized animal products and low-quality carbohydrates, such as potatoes, added sugars, and refined grains, was not significantly associated with lower mortality.
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“While avoiding refined and highly-processed carbohydrates is widely recommended to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, our study provides the first empirical evidence of how a low-carbohydrate diet can help manage the progression of existing diabetes,” said lead author Yang Hu, from the Department of Nutrition. Research Associates said in a statement.
A healthy diet and lifestyle is the key to good health
For the study, researchers analyzed 34 years of health data on 7,224 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study and 2,877 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, all of whom developed type 2 diabetes after the study began.
Participants completed questionnaires on lifestyle and medical history each year, allowing researchers to assess their diet compositions and score them based on their intake of animal protein and fat, plant protein and fat, high-quality carbohydrates, and low-quality carbohydrates. .
“This study, once again, emphasizes the importance of diet quality when choosing between different diets for diabetes control and management,” Qi Sun, senior author and associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Epidemiology, said in a statement.
In addition to finding strong benefits for those who adhere to a plant-based, low-carb diet, researchers also compared adherence to the diet with other healthy habits such as not smoking, exercising regularly, and drinking alcohol in moderation.
A plant-based diet reduces the risk of diabetes
Previous research on the link between a plant-based diet and diabetes has found benefits in disease prevention. A study published last year in a scientific journal DiabetesThe study found that consumption of plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee and legumes was associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Also conducted by researchers in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, the study distinguished between healthy and unhealthy plant foods according to their existing associations with other conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and obesity. High blood pressure.
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The researchers found that participants who developed type 2 diabetes during the study’s follow-up period had higher BMI, blood pressure, and cholesterol while eating less of the foods in the “healthy plant-based” category — and used medications. To treat these problems.
“Although the contributions of individual foods are difficult to tease out because they were analyzed together as a pattern, individual metabolites from consuming polyphenol-rich plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, coffee, and legumes are all closely associated with a healthy plant-based diet and lower risk of diabetes,” Professor Frank Hu, who led the research, said in a statement.
Quinoa helps prevent diabetes
Additionally, another study published last year in the Medical Journal nutrients It has been shown that regular consumption of quinoa can help prevent type 2 diabetes. In particular, replacing high-carbohydrate foods with quinoa can help control blood sugar spikes.
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Recent studies have shown that polyphenols, a type of micronutrient present in quinoa, can help lower blood sugar levels. This is important because people with type 2 diabetes experience a spike in blood sugar after eating a carbohydrate-rich meal because their body does not produce enough insulin or fails to detect the insulin secreted by the pancreas.
“We conducted a review of what the scientific literature says about all the benefits attributed to quinoa and we found that there is no prior scientific evidence, only speculation, and all research conducted in the past focused only on specific factors. Ingredients or nutrients, the food as a whole. without taking into account,” lead author Diana Diaz Rizzolo said in a statement.
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Nicole Axworthy is news editor and cookbook author for VegNews DIY Vegan.