Nutritional diet can help prevent, curb type 2 diabetes

A new study has revealed that specific nutritious foods and dietary patterns can help in preventing and controlling type 2 diabetes.

Foods such as oat cereal, yogurt and dairy products, green leafy vegetables, grapes, apples, blueberries and walnuts were associated with reduced diabetes risk. Drinking coffee and even decaffeinated coffee were also associated with lower type 2 diabetes risk.

Overall, a variety of eating plans, including the Mediterranean, low-carbohydrate/low glycemic index and high-protein diets, improved glycemic control and cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients with diabetes compared with control diets. This offers patients a range of options for diabetes management.

Osama Hamdy, Ph.D., said that people who eat a Mediterranean diet, with foods such as olive oil, whole grains and leafy vegetables and fruits, have a lower risk of developing diabetes even when they don't lose weight.

Foods associated with a higher risk of diabetes include red and processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, alcohol in excess quantities and refined grains, such as white flour.

Since almost all knowledge of dietary prevention and management of diabetes come from research in developed countries, more studies are needed in less developed regions to help patients with diabetes worldwide improve their health.

The study is published in Lancet.