A controversial set of new eating and drinking guidelines from Harvard Medical School explains how food and beverage choices can help people manage and prevent Type 2 diabetes, according to a recently published article from Diabetes News.
The study found that people who regularly ate whole grains were 40% less likely to develop diabetes. Cereals, breads and grains were the most beneficial from that group. These foods are digested slower, making people feel full longer and giving the body more time to manage the sugar intake. This helps both the blood sugar and weight control.
Additionally, the study found that women who ate peanut butter at least five times a week were 20-30% less likely to develop diabetes.
On the flip side, those who drank two or more sugary sodas or soft drinks per month were 24% more likely to develop diabetes than those who drank just one or fewer soft drinks. Drinking “fruit drinks” containing little actual fruit juice is also bad for your health. Those drinking two of them per day were 31% more likely to develop diabetes.
Here are some of the other key findings:
* Eating too much red meat can increase diabetes risk. Woman who ate one serving of red meat per day held a 20% higher risk for the disease than those eating just one per week.
* Processed meats can also be troublesome. Men that ate such meats five times a week were approximately twice as likely to develop diabetes than those eating processed meats just two times a month.
* Drinking coffee can help ward off diabetes. One cup a day can cut the risk by 13%, while drinking two can lower it by 42%.
* Alcohol can help prevent diabetes. One rink per day cut the risk of the disease by 43%.
* A separate article from Private MD notes that pistachios can help fight hunger and diabetes. Eating the nuts when also eating sugary foods can help reduce spikes in blood sugar levels.
For the Harvard study, participants reported their food and beverage intake. The researchers did note that their findings are limited.
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