Certain foods may help protect against diabetes and Westernised Asians risk diabetes

Young adults and protective foods

The eating patterns of 3,000 overweight adults aged 18 to 30 were observed for a decade in the US by researchers Pereira, Ludwig and colleagues. The study concluded that eating dairy products instead of refined sugars and carbohydrates, may protect overweight young adults from developing type 2 diabetes.

Study participants who consumed more dairy products had a 72% lower incidence of "insulin resistance syndrome". The syndrome includes a cluster of risk factors such as obesity (especially abdominal obesity), high blood sugar, high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol levels.

The reasons for the protective effects of dairy products remains something of a mystery. Dairy foods contain saturated fat, which people are usually advised to limit.
The researchers theorise that milk's other nutrients, such as calcium, potassium and magnesium, might protect against diabetes. Milk products also tend to be quite satisfying
or satiating which may prevent overeating. The study also found that study participants with diets high in dairy foods also consumed more grains, fruits and vegetables, and fewer sugar sweetened soft drinks.

Reference: Pereira MA, Jacobs DR Jr, Van Horn L, Slattery ML, Kartashov AI, Ludwig DS. Dairy consumption, obesity, and the insulin resistance syndrome in young adults: the CARDIA Study. JAMA 2002 Apr 24;287(16):2081-9 click here to read abstract

Older adults and protective foods

In another 12 year study (published in the Annals of Internal Medicine), 42,504 male health professionals aged 40-75 were followed-up. In that time 1300 volunteers developed type-two diabetes, which usually occurs after age 40. It was found that men who ate a "prudent" diet of vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry and fruit reduced their risk of contracting diabetes by 20 per cent. In contrast, diets rich in red meat, high-fat dairy products and refined flour increased the risk of diabetes by 60 per cent.The scientists said low fat diets offered little protection against type-two diabetes. Instead, lack of cereal fibres and magnesium, contained in whole grains, increased the risk of contracting the disease.Men who ate the "Western" diet of high animal fat and refined foods, had 10 times the risk of contracting diabetes than normal.

Meanwhile, an American study has found a strict regimen of diet and exercise was
more effective than medication in preventing diabetes. A healthy diet combined with exercise of a 30-minute walk five times a week, reduced the incidence of type-two diabetes by 58 per cent, said an article in The New England Journal of
Medicine. In contrast, those treated with metformin, which lowers blood sugar, saw diabetes reduced by 31 per cent.

The researchers said that by adopting a moderate diet and exercise program, many
people with one or more of the risk factors for type-two diabetes could stop the
disease before it became irreversible.

Westernised Asians risk diabetes

A study conducted in Singapore and Hong Kong on 3000 people concluded that even slightly overweight Asians are prone to diabetes. Professor Janus, an investigator of the study, said that "it seems that genetically, Asian people are more prone to diabetes, and this risk further increases when they adopt Western eating habits such as eating takeaways, fried foods, eating out more often, changing their cooking habits and exercising less. He also said that "the message to doctors is that slightly overweight Asians are prone to diabetes and should be encouraged to stick to their traditional, low-fat Asian diet... and this also applies to Asian-Australians as they are more likely to adopt adverse eating habits".