According to a recent study, presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions conference, Low carb diet may cause diabetes. The researchers collected data from 2,04,541 adults who did not have diabetes at the start of the study. These participants were also reported to be in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study or the Nurses' Health Study, Nurses' Health Study II between 1984 and 2017. They were examined for 30 years and then were asked to fill questionnaires which included data on their eating habits every four years. The aim of the study was to calculate the number of energy each participant obtained in a day from carbs, proteins, and fats.
On an average, carbohydrates should provide 45 to 65 percent of a person's energy, but in some participants' diets it was noticed to be just 40 percent. In addition, people who followed a low-carb diet and obtained their proteins and fats from animals had a 35 percent higher chances of developing type 2 diabetes. The statistics jumped to 39 percent when participants did not incorporate enough whole grains in their diets. On the other hand, participants who followed a low-carb diet and included plant-based proteins and fats had a 6 percent lower chances of developing diabetes.
The study concluded that the quality of carbs matter and not the quantity. The researchers also said that a low-carb, animal-based protein diet may spike the risk of diabetes because saturated fats are linked to insulin resistance. In fact, for those people who follow a plant-based low-carb diet, the effect can be balanced out by fibre and resistance starch in plant foods and the respective anti-inflammatory impact that reduces the risk of diabetes. Fibre also helps in managing insulin release in the blood, hence reducing the blood sugar levels naturally.
Also read: Diabetes Diet Chart: Manage Your Blood Sugar Level With This Low Carb Diet
