Improvement in Quality of Diet Lowers The Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

The risk of type 2 diabetes can be prevented by simply improving the overall quality of diet, a new study reveals.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that improvement in the diet quality index scores by 10 percent over four years lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by nearly 20 percent. In this study the researchers measured the quality of the diet with the help of 110-point Alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010.

The researchers suggest that people can improve their diet quality scores by consuming more of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, less saturated fats and artificially sweetened beverages. In this study the researchers observed whether the improvement in the diet was a marker of other lifestyle changes like loss of weight or increase in physical activity or it could lower the risk of type 2 diabetes independently.

"We found that diet was indeed associated with diabetes independent of weight loss and increased physical activity," said lead researcher Sylvia Ley, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. "If you improve other lifestyle factors you reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes even more, but improving diet quality alone has significant benefits...."

This finding is crucial as most often it is difficult for people to a follow a calorie restricted diet for a long. This study shows how by consuming less red meat and sugar sweetened beverages and more fruits and vegetables people can drastically improve the overall quality of life. This change not just boosts the quality of health but also lowers the risk of diabetes, a lifelong condition that causes a person's blood sugar levels to soar.

This benefit was seen regardless of how good or poor the diet was when they started this.

The finding was presented at the American Diabetes Association's 74th Scientific Sessions.