WOMEN who eat a low sugar, high fibre diet can lower their risk of diabetes by two and a half times, say researchers at Harvard University's School of Public Health. A higher risk of diabetes comes from eating a diet of white bread, potatoes, white rice and cola type soft drinks.
Whole grain breads, high fibre breakfast cereals, yoghurt, beans and peanut butter are beneficial because they lower the body's glycaemic load. White starchy foods raise the glycaemic load, forcing the pancreas to produce more insulin. Fruit and vegetable fibres have little impact either way.
The new research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that diet is significant even after the well known risk factors for adult onset diabetes are taken into account. These include age, obesity, family history, a sedentary lifestyle and smoking.
The study examined data from the multifaceted Nurses Health Study and included more than 65,000 nurses 40 to 65 years old, 915 of whom developed diabetes.