With today’s knowledge, no one can deny the role of a healthy eating pattern in the prevention of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). For people who remain skeptical, the question that most gouged their mind is likely to be: to what extent can an unhealthy diet put us at risk for diabetes?
There is limited evidence regarding the incremental dietary quality improvement in the prevention of T2DM. For this reason, a team of researchers from Harvard conducted a study that sought to assess the effect of diet quality on the risk of developing T2DM.
The Study
Last month, a study published in the journal Diabetes Care put the spotlight on the power of a healthy diet in the prevention of T2DB.
The AHEI score takes into account 11 components to determine the quality of the diet. A high-quality diet is defined as:
High consumption of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, whole-grains, omega-3 fatty acids, and other polyunsaturated fatty acids;
Low intakes of fruit juice, red and processed meat, trans fat, sugar-sweetened beverages, and sodium;
Moderate consumption of alcoholic drinks.
The study included more than 120,000 participants who did not have diabetes at baseline. To evaluate the quality of their diet, the researchers used the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), a scoring tool that includes foods and nutrients linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases. AHEI was measured every four years for over two decades.
The Results
Participants who had a more than a 10% reduction in the quality of their diet over four years increased their risk of T2DB by 34%. On the other hand, >10% increase in the AHEI score was associated with a 26% lower risk of T2DB.
“Improvement in overall diet quality is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas deterioration in diet quality is associated with a higher risk,” reported the authors.
This study comes to show that neglecting your diet over time gradually increases your risk of T2DB while looking after it can keep it at bay.
It’s never too late to jump on the healthy eating wagon!
