Eating Plenty of Legumes May Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Mon, April 7, 2008 at 03:41AM The term “legumes” covers beans, peas, and derivatives such as chickpeas, soybeans, and lentils. There have been reports that a diet high in legumes might be beneficial in preventing type 2 diabetes, and now a much larger study has produced more convincing evidence. It’s published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Vanderbilt researchers worked with colleagues at the Shanghai Cancer Institute to analyze data from 64,000 Chinese women with no history of type 2 diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular disease. They were followed for an average of 4½ years. They had completed an interview and questionnaire on entry that assessed their dietary intake and physical activity level.
The study showed that the more legumes the women ate, the less their risk of developing type 2 diabetes; the 20% who ate the most legumes were 35% less likely, compared with those 20% who ate the least. And if just soybeans were counted, the women eating the most soybeans were47% less likely to develop diabetes that those who ate the least.
Can these findings be generalized to the US population? I think so – but at any rate, eating more beans and peas can only be good for you.
Reader Comments (1)
We just need to start eating the right way. A diabetic diet, for example, is simply a healthy eating plan stressing low calories and fat, high fiber and yes foods with polyunsaturated fats like soybeans. The same type of diet we should all be following.