High glycemic diets increase the risk of Diabetes Mellitus

Results of the Nurses’ Health Study, a longitudinal study of diet and lifestyle factors among 65,000 Nurses followed since 1986, suggest that diets with a high insulin demand (high glycemic index) lead to an increased risk of diabetes.¹

In this study, Dr. Walter Willet at the Harvard school of Public Health, found that high glycemic diets (which included cola beverages, white bread, white rice, French fried potatoes, and cook potatoes) increased the risk of developing diabetes by 1.47 times compared with low glycemic diets.  Furthermore when dietary fiber was factored in, diets with a high glycemic index and low cereal fiber increased the risk by 2.5 times.

Another study of 43 thousand Finish men and women found a 35% risk reduction of developing diabetes in participants with high whole grain intake compared to participants with low whole grain intake.² Although not measured directly, this suggests that a low GI diet represented by a high whole grain intake reduces the risk of diabetes mellitus.

1.                  Dietary Fiber, Glycemic Load, and Risk of Non-insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus in Women.  1997 JAMA; 277:472-477

2.        Whole-grain and fiber intake and the incidence of type 2 diabetes.  2003 Am J Clin Nutr;77:622-9