 | | | | Related Healthscout Videos | |
|
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Eating large amounts of fiber can reduce your risk for diabetes as long as you consume the right kind.
A recent study conducted by German researchers links high consumption of grain fiber -- like that found in cereals and breads -- to a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The same could not be said for fiber that comes from fruits and vegetables.
Text Continues Below
The findings come from research involving about 9,700 men and 15,000 women who were free of diabetes at the outset. All completed food questionnaires and were followed for about seven years. During the follow up, 844 developed diabetes. Compared to those who consumed the least amount of grain fiber (about 15 grams per day), those who consumed the most (about 29 grams per day) were about 27 percent less likely to develop the disease.
The same researchers also reviewed the medical literature on the role of both fiber and magnesium in preventing type 2 diabetes, finding grain fiber is linked to about a 33 percent lower risk and magnesium to about a 23-percent lower risk.
"The evidence from our study and previous studies, summarized by means of meta-analysis, strongly supports that higher cereal fiber and magnesium intake may decrease diabetes risk," conclude the authors. "Whole-grain foods are therefore important in diabetes prevention."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2007;167:956-965
|
.gif)
