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Friday 16 August 2013

Both a Mediterranean Diet and Diets Low in Available Carbohydrates Protect Against Type 2 Diabetes, Study Suggests

Both a Mediterranean Diet and Diets Low in Available Carbohydrates Protect Against Type 2 Diabetes, Study Suggests

Aug. 15, 2013 — New research shows that a Mediterranean-style diet and diets low in available carbohydrates can offer protection against type 2 diabetes. The study is published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), and is by Dr Carlo La Vecchia, Mario Negri Institute of Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy, and colleagues.

The authors studied patients from Greece who are part of the ongoing European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC), led by Dr. Antonia Trichopoulou, from the University of Athens. From a total of 22,295 participants, actively followed up for just over 11 years, 2,330 cases of type 2 diabetes were recorded. To assess dietary habits, all participants completed a questionnaire, and the researchers constructed a 10-point Mediterranean diet score (MDS) and a similar scale to measure the available carbohydrate (or glycaemic load [GL]) of the diet.

People with an MDS of over 6 were 12% less likely to develop diabetes than those with the lowest MDS of 3 or under. Patients with the highest available carbohydrate in their diet were 21% more likely to develop diabetes than those with the lowest. A high MDS combined with low available carbohydrate reduced the chances of developing diabetes by 20% as compared with a diet low in MDS and high in GL.

The authors say: "The role of the Mediterranean diet in weight control is still controversial, and in most studies from Mediterranean countries the adherence to the Mediterranean diet was unrelated to overweight. This suggests that the protection of the Mediterranean diet against diabetes is not through weight control, but through several dietary characteristics of the Mediterranean diet. However, this issue is difficult to address in cohort studies because of the lack of information on weight changes during follow-up that are rarely recorded."

They point out that a particular feature of the Mediterranean diet is the use of extra virgin olive oil which leads to a high ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fatty acids. But again research here has been conflicting. One review of dietary fat and diabetes suggests that replacing saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats has beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity and is likely to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, in a randomised trial of high-cardiovascular-risk individuals who were assigned to the Mediterranean diet supplemented with either free extra virgin olive oil or nuts and were compared with individuals on a low-fat diet (comparison group), there was no difference in diabetes occurrence between the two variants of the Mediterranean diet when compared with the comparison group.

Regarding GL, the authors say: "High GL diet leads to rapid rises in blood glucose and insulin levels. The chronically increased insulin demand may eventually result in pancreatic β cell failure and, as a consequence, impaired glucose tolerance and increased insulin resistance, which is a predictor of diabetes. A high dietary GL has also been unfavourably related to glycaemic control in individuals with diabetes."

They conclude: "A low GL diet that also adequately adheres to the principles of the traditional Mediterranean diet may reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130815203715.htm

Download PDF of this new research by Carlo La Vecchia from the Mario Negri Institute of Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy, and colleagues here:   http://www.diabetologia-journal.org/

And this is what DUK had to say: 

"Libby Dowling, clinical adviser at the charity Diabetes UK, said: “The study suggests that people who adopt a Mediterranean-style diet can also reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes.

“But while the Mediterranean diet can often be a healthy one, the evidence that it is particularly effective at reducing risk of Type 2 diabetes is not conclusive.

“The best way to reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes is by losing any excess weight through a healthy balanced diet.”

http://www.express.co.uk/news/health/422389/Keep-diabetes-at-bay-the-low-carb-and-Mediterranean-diet-way

How am I not surprised by that statement.

Graham

6 comments:

Lowcarb team member said...

And what is her advice for those of us who have no excess weight??

I do hope I never meet an official of DUK. I might not be responsible for my actions.

These people advise the government and are considered to be representatives of all diabetics in this country.Good grief. But then you fat beerswilling types etc etc.

Perhaps they only employ those who hate T2s.

We must just be faking it Graham

Kath

Anonymous said...

'How am I not surprised by that statement.'
My sentiment exactly.Meanwhile those following DUK advice still find their blood sugar numbers are not improving. It is very sad
Sue

Lowcarb team member said...

"We must just be faking it Graham"

Hi Kath,

That reminds me of the DCUK forum last year when some Type 1 members were insinuating that all low carbers were liars and couldn't count ! Perhaps we should all change our forum names to 'Pinnochio' ! Ha Ha!

Best regards

Paul

Lowcarb team member said...

I must start measuring my nose instead of my bg levels.

I have to say that I have noticed some pre-diabetics and some who may be self diagnosed (wrongly) muddying the waters a little in a few other places. Probably not deliberately but could confuse others.I am sure some genuinely think that we are liars as lowcarbing doesn't work for them in the same way,or at all, possibly because its not diabetes causing the problem .

Don't know about yours Paul but my nose is more turned-up than long. But I do know that no one pulls our strings!

Kath

Lowcarb team member said...

Kath said...

And what is her advice for those of us who have no excess weight??

Just the same advice Kath a healthy? balanced diet which for me with my calorie requirements would mean around 440 carbs per day. Even someone on a 2000cal diet that would be 250 carbs.

Those that have no excess weight to lose make up about 20% of Type 2 which is as many if not more than the total Type 1s but as far as DUK (and Sid) go we may as well not exist.

Graham

diabetes said...

High complex carbohydrates include legumes, potatoes, corn, rice and grain products. Aside from legumes, you actually want to AVOID all the rest to prevent insulin resistance. Nearly all type 2 diabetics need to swap out their grains and sugars for other foods, such as protein, green veggies and healthy sources of fat.