Diet pattern linked to higher diabetes risk

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who eat lots of red meat, low-fiber grains, cheese and certain other foods may have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, new research hints.

The results of the study, reported in the journal Diabetes Care, also suggest that these foods promote diabetes, in part, by increasing inflammation in the body.

Type 2 diabetes is closely associated with obesity, and it's known that maintaining a healthy weight through a balanced diet and exercise can cut the risk of developing the disease.

However, there is also evidence that people with high levels of certain inflammation-related proteins in their blood have an elevated diabetes risk -- independent of their body weight.

For the new study, researchers looked at the association between overall diet patterns and blood levels of two proteins that are markers of system-wide inflammation: plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and fibrinogen.

They found that among 880 middle-aged adults, those who ate large amounts of certain foods -- red meat, cheese, refined grains, tomato products, eggs and fried potatoes -- tended to have higher levels of these proteins.

What's more, they faced a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes over five years. Compared with adults who ate the implicated foods least often, those with the highest intake were four times more likely to develop diabetes.

The findings suggest that increased inflammation is one reason this particular dietary pattern raises a person's diabetes risk, according to lead researcher Dr. Angela D. Liese of the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

The "flip side," she told Reuters Health, is that a well-balanced diet -- including fruits and vegetables, high-fiber grains, low-fat dairy and healthy sources of fat like olive oil and nuts -- is probably preferable and may lower diabetes risk.

That interpretation, Liese pointed out, goes beyond the actual study data. However, past studies have linked such eating habits to a lower diabetes risk.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, February 2009.