Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Study found three separate ways to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels: increased fiber intake, increased magnesium intake, and low Glycemic Load.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 24 million Americans have diabetes and this condition now costs our healthcare system more than $174 billion per year (1). Now a new study (2) has found three separate ways to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels: increased fiber intake, increased magnesium intake, and low Glycemic Load.
In the study, 75.512 patients from 45 to 75 years of age participating in the Multiethnic Cohort Study (3) completed a food questionnaire (4) that included 8 frequency categories for foods and 9 for beverages. The researchers looked at fiber intake, magnesium intake, and Glycemic Load, which is a value given to food based on how it affects blood sugar levels (5) and is a predictor of diabetes (6). The patients were followed for 14 years during which 8,587 cases of type 2 diabetes occurred.
After adjusting for body mass index, physical activity, education, and total calorie intake, they found that men with the highest fiber intakes (greater than 14.2 g per day) had a 25% reduced risk of diabetes compared to those with the lowest intakes (less than 7.2 g per day). The same fiber intakes in women produced only a 5% reduced risk. When fiber intake was further divided into grain fiber and vegetable fiber, the highest intakes of grain fiber in both men and women (greater than 4.8 g per day) produced a 10% reduced risk, compared to the lowest grain fiber intakes (less than 1,9 g per day). The highest vegetable fiber intakes (greater than 5.3 g per day) reduced diabetes risk in men by 22% but had no significant reduction in women compared to the lowest intakes (less than 2.2 g per day).
For magnesium, the highest intakes (greater than 185.4 mg per day) produced a 23% and 16% reduced risk for men and women, respectively, compared to those with the lowest intakes (less than 129.3 mg per day). As for Glycemic Load, those in the highest 20% Glycemic Load score (1031) had “a significantly elevated diabetes incidence” compared to those consuming the lowest Glycemic Load diet (745). The risk was greatest in Caucasian men (50% compared to the lowest group)
For the researchers, “These findings suggest that protection against diabetes can be achieved through food choices after taking into account body weight, but…risk estimates may differ by ethnic group.”
Source: Hopping, Beth N., Eva Erber, Andrew Grandinetti, Martijn Verheus, Laurence N. Kolonel, and Gertraud Maskarinec. “Dietary fiber, magnesium, and glycemic load alter risk of type 2 diabetes in a multiethnic cohort in Hawaii.” The Journal of nutrition (2009): jn-109.
© 2009 by the American Society for Nutrition
Posted January 8, 2010.
Reference:
- Number of People with Diabetes Continues to Increase” from the CDC Website.
- Hopping BN. Dietary Fiber, Magnesium, and Glycemic Load Alter Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in a Multiethnic Cohort in Hawaii. J. Nutr. 2010 140: 68-74. First published online January 1, 2010; doi:10.3945/jn.109.112441.
- Liu S, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB, Giovannucci E, Colditz GA, Hennekens CH, Willett WC. A prospective study of whole-grain intake and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in US women. Am J Public Health. 2000;90:1409–15.
- Willett W, Manson J, Liu S. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of type 2 diabetes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76:S274–80.
- “Revised International Table of Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) Values—2008” posted on http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
- Gross LS, Li L, Ford ES, Liu S. Increased consumption of refined carbohydrates and the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the United States: an ecologic assessment. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79:774–9.
