A balanced plant-based diet could reduce the chances of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a large-scale study.
- A very plant-based diet could reduce the risk of diabetes by 24%, even in the presence of a genetic predisposition and other diabetes risk factors such as obesity, older age or lack of physical activity.
- A diet based on plants, fruits and vegetables would boost metabolic, but also liver and kidney, functions.
- In France, in 2020, more than 3.5 million people were treated for diabetes, or 5.3% of the population. In more than 90% of cases, it is type 2 diabetes. It occurs mainly in adults but can appear as early as adolescence.
Type 2 diabetes, which concerns 90% of people with diabetes, is a chronic disease characterized by excess sugar in the blood called hyperglycemia. We have known for a long time that a balanced diet logically helps to ward off the risk of developing the disease, but what exactly should we eat or not eat? A recent study, published in the journal Diabetes & Metabolismhighlights the therapeutic role of plant-based diets.
A healthy diet based on plants, fruits and vegetables against diabetes
To reach these conclusions, researchers from the Medical University of Vienna (Austria) relied on data from some 113,000 adult volunteers from the UK Biobank, observed over a period of 12 years. On the menu of the experiment: a healthy diet based on plants, fruits, vegetables and whole natural products, while other volunteers continued their classic diet.
As a result, it appeared that a very plant-based diet reduced the risk of diabetes by 24% among participants, even in the presence of a genetic predisposition and other risk factors for diabetes such as obesity, l advanced age or lack of physical activity. But the diet must be drastic, according to researchers, because plant-based diets combined with unhealthy industrial products (candies, refined cereals, sugary drinks, etc.) are associated with an increased risk of type diabetes. 2.
A plant-based diet protects the body’s essential functions
“Our study is the first to identify biomarkers of central metabolic processes and organ functions as mediators of the health effects of a plant-based diet”, notes nutrition professor Tilman Kühn, who led the study, in a press release. In other words, this is the first time that we have identified the protective effects of such a diet on metabolic functions – without taking into account weight.
Another discovery: while the liver and kidneys play a major role in preventing diabetes, this research also revealed that a healthy plant-based diet “may improve liver and kidney function and thus reduce the risk of disease.”
