Type 2 diabetes is a serious health
concern in the United States and across the globe. New research
shows that a high consumption of legumes significantly reduces the risk of developing the disease.
The legume family consists of plants
such as alfalfa, clover, peas, peanuts, soybeans, chickpeas, lentils,
and various types of beans.
As a food group, they are believed to
be particularly nutritious and healthful. One of the reasons for this
is that they contain a high level of B vitamins, which help the body
to make energy and regulate its metabolism.
Additionally, legumes are high in fiber
and contain minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. They
also comprise a variety of so-called phytochemicals - bioactive
compounds that further improve the body's metabolism and have been
suggested to protect against heart disease and diabetes.
Finally, legumes are also considered to
be a "low glycemic index food," which means that blood
sugar levels increase very slowly after they are consumed.
To make people aware of the many health
benefits of legumes, the year 2016 has been declared the
International Year of Pulses by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations. Pulses are a subgroup of legumes.
Because of their various health
benefits, it has been suggested that legumes protect against the
onset of type 2 diabetes - a serious illness that affects around 29
million people in the U.S. and more than 400 million adults
worldwide. However, little research has been carried out to test this
hypothesis.
Therefore, researchers from the Unit of
Human Nutrition at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona,
Spain, together with other investigators from the Prevención con
Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED) study, set out to investigate the
association between legume consumption and the risk of developing
type 2 diabetes in people at an increased risk of cardiovascular
disease.
The study also analyzes the effects of
substituting legumes with other foods rich in proteins and
carbohydrates, and the findings were published in the journal
Clinical Nutrition.
The team investigated 3,349
participants in the PREDIMED study who did not have type 2 diabetes
at the beginning of the study. The researchers collected information
on their diets at the start of the study and every year throughout
the median follow-up period of 4.3 years.
Individuals with a lower cumulative
consumption of legumes had approximately 1.5 weekly servings of 60
grams of raw legumes, or 12.73 grams per day. A higher legume
consumption was defined as 28.75 daily grams of legumes, or the
equivalent of 3.35 servings per week.
Using Cox regression models, the
researchers analyzed the association between the incidence of type 2
diabetes and the average consumption of legumes such as lentils,
chickpeas, dry beans, and fresh peas.
Overall, during the follow-up period,
the team identified 266 new cases of type 2 diabetes.
The study revealed that those with a
higher intake of legumes were 35 percent less likely to develop type
2 diabetes than their counterparts who consumed a smaller amount of
legumes. Of all the legumes studied, lentils had the strongest
association with a low risk of type 2 diabetes.
In fact, individuals with a high
consumption of lentils (defined as almost one weekly serving) were 33
percent less likely to develop diabetes compared with their
low-consumption counterparts - that is, the participants who had less
than half a serving per week.
Additionally, the researchers found
that replacing half a serving per day of legumes with an equivalent
portion of protein- and carbohydrate-rich foods including bread,
eggs, rice, or potatoes also correlated with a reduced risk of
diabetes.
The authors conclude that:
"A frequent consumption of
legumes, particularly lentils, in the context of a Mediterranean
diet, may provide benefits on type 2 diabetes prevention in older
adults at high cardiovascular risk."
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