Nibble nuts to nobble diabetes
13 December 2002
Nut consumption — including frequent intake of peanut butter — may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, a large study shows.
The latest findings from the US Nurses Health Study of more than 80,000 women also showed that eating nuts was not associated with weight gain — contradicting the conventional wisdom that high fat foods lead to obesity and heart disease.
The data showed an inverse association between eating nuts and risk of type 2 diabetes, i.e a higher nut consumption was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, the Harvard researchers wrote (Journal of the American Medical Association 2002; 288: 2554-60).
(An inverse association means an opposite or reversed effect on the 2 variables. In this example, a higher nut consumption was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.)
At baseline, 35 per cent of the women almost never consumed nuts, 36 per cent consumed them less than once a week, 24 per cent had them one to 4 times a week, and 5 per cent had them at least 5 times a week.
In 15 years of follow-up, 3200 cases of type 2 diabetes were documented.
The association between nuts and risk of type 2 diabetes remained consistent even after adjustment for age, body mass index, family history of diabetes, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use and total energy intake, the researchers said.
The researchers speculated that unsaturated fatty acids in nuts could be beneficial for glucose and insulin homeostasis (balance), and that other components such as magnesium and fibre helped to decrease insulin resistance.
There was only limited clinical evidence for the beneficial effects of mono-fats (mono-unsaturated fats) on glucose metabolism, Diabetes Australia research and development manager Alan Barclay said.
But the study backed a growing body of evidence that 'a handful of nuts 3 or 4 times a week' was beneficial in preventing cardiovascular disease.
Last Reviewed: 12 December 2002
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 13/12/02
