Research spotlights three healthy diets that lower diabetes risk, regardless of ethnicity

Sticking to one of three well-established healthy eating patterns effectively lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes, based on a meta-analysis of more than 800,000 participants’ diets, led by the UK University of Cambridge. 

Overall, study participants’ ethnicities or known ethnic differences across their dietary cultures did not significantly influence this health outcome, nor did any pre-existing diabetes risk.

The three diets investigated are the Mediterranean Diet, the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). These are all recommended for general health and their potential to reduce chronic disease risk.

All three diets prioritize the intake of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and unsaturated fats, while limiting the consumption of sweets, red and processed meat, and butter or margarine.

“Although more research is needed in specific populations, this study strengthens the evidence that the Mediterranean, AHEI, and DASH dietary patterns may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes across diverse ethnic groups, and that they can be promoted across all populations,” say the authors.

Dieting and diabetes

The authors pinpointed 33 published studies that link these dietary patterns and type 2 diabetes prevalence. Taking all the evidence into account, their findings showed that people who were in the top 10% for adherence to each dietary pattern had “significantly lower” risks of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with the 10% lowest adherence.

Specifically, the risk was 17% lower for the Mediterranean Diet, 21% lower for AHEI, and 23% lower for the DASH.

The researchers underscore that the potential benefits of these diets did not appear to vary significantly across African, Asian, European, and Hispanic ethnic groups. Additionally, individuals’ own diabetes risk did not pose a significant influence on the outcome.

Some of the reduced risks were not statistically significant among Hispanics and mixed ethnic groups, which may be due to the limited data available from non-European ethnic groups in existing studies, note the researchers.

Compared to participants with the least healthy diet adherence, the type 2 diabetes risk was 17% lower for the Mediterranean Diet, 21% lower for AHEI, and 23% lower for the DASH.Over one-third of the data in this analysis came from people of European descent, emphasizing the need for more research from underrepresented populations.

The meta-analysis will be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Vienna, Austria (September 15–19).

This analysis contributes to a larger ongoing review examining the link between various other dietary patterns, including plant-based eating — vegetarian and vegan diets — and type 2 diabetes risk.

In future analyses, the researchers will set out to understand if there are similar benefits across different ethnic groups for these other dietary patterns.

Diabetes and diet

Dietary interventions to offset diabetes have taken center stage in research this month, with one recent clinical trial finding that modifying the DASH diet — commonly prescribed to lower blood pressure — may also lower glucose in adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

In a separate paper, Harvard University (US) scientists flagged that French fries contribute to a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This study examined how potato cooking styles may influence diabetes risk, while encouraging that replacing any kind of potato with whole grains results in a greater overall health impact.

Looking at sweetened beverages, a third analysis suggested that consuming one artificially sweetened soft drink per day may increase the threat of type 2 diabetes by 38%. This study warned that this risk is 23% greater than for consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages like regular sodas.