Following a healthy plant-based diet may lower type 2 diabetes risk

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Following a healthy plant-based diet may lower type 2 diabetes risk

A comprehensive and exhaustive meta-analysis by Harvard scientists T.H. Chan presents the most convincing evidence to date that a herbal diet can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Not all vegetarian diets are the same
However, not all vegetarian diets are equivalent, with researchers suggesting that people interested in maintaining their health should consume plants and avoid sugar, refined white flour and processed foods if they really want to minimize the risk of diabetes.

"Herbal eating habits have become more popular in recent years. We therefore thought it was important to quantify their overall association with diabetes risk, especially since the composition of these foods can vary considerably," explains Frank Qian, the first author of this new research.

The meta-analysis gathered data from nine studies involving more than 300,000 subjects. In addition to demonstrating a direct link between an increase in plant-based eating habits and a decrease in the risk of diabetes, this research suggests that not all vegetarian or vegan diets provide the same health benefits.

A more vegan diet, focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, had the greatest reductions in diabetes risk compared to other vegetarian diets including sugar, refined flour and processed foods.

A herbal diet is more effective against type 2 diabetes
People with the highest respect for the healthier plant-based diet showed a 23% reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes compared to those consuming a more unhealthy, but still plant-based diet.

"The benefits may come from reduced consumption of meat and other animal products, the protective effects of plant components such as dietary fibre, a lower risk of overweight and obesity, or perhaps a combination of all these effects," Johnson said.

A wide range of recent studies have shown how diets can protect against or even reverse type 2 diabetes. However, much of this research has been devoted to low-calorie or ketogenic diets. This new research suggests that what you eat may be as important as the amount you eat, and it is not enough to cut meat if you are really trying to reduce the risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Data that highlight the importance of herbal diets
"Overall, these data have highlighted the importance of following herbal diets to achieve or maintain good health, and people should choose fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and other healthy plant foods as the cornerstone of these diets," said lead author Qi Sun.