A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition examined the role of diet quality in increasing rates of insulin resistance in a Chinese population.
As you consume a meal, glucose (sugar) from the carbohydrates you ingest is released into the bloodstream. This triggers a response causing your body to produce the hormone insulin, enabling the glucose to be absorbed by the cells in your body to be used for energy. As the glucose enters your body’s cells, the concentration of glucose in your blood decreases. Insulin resistance is a condition in which cells cannot respond normally to insulin. This leads to high blood sugar, which eventually leads to type 2 diabetes.
Over the past 20 years, China has experienced rapid economic growth, concurrent with shifts in diet and physical activity. The diet of Chinese adults has shown declines in the intake of vegetables, legumes, and coarse grains alongside an increased intake of oils and animal-source foods.
A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition examined the association of changes in diet quality with biomarkers of diabetes.In this study, 4,734 adults were assessed between 1991 and 2006. The diet quality of these individuals was measured longitudinally by the tailored Alternative Healthy Eating Index (tAHEI) where high scores indicate high diet quality, and low scores indicate low diet quality.
Additionally, individuals who improved their diets over the course of the study also had lower values of diabetes biomarkers. Fasting blood glucose did show an association with any group studied.
Read the full article at Medical News Bulletin