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Walnut consumption lowered risk for type 2 diabetes in women
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It has been established that healthy diet and exercise are an important factor in the prevention of diabetes. According to study data from the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study 2, walnut consumption is associated with a lower risk for type 2 diabetes.
Researchers followed 58,063 women aged 52 to 77 years in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS; 1998-2008) and 79,893 women aged 35 to 52 years in the Nurses’ Health Study 2 (NHS II; 1999-2009) without diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline.
According to data, patients who consumed one to three servings (1 serving=28 g) of walnuts per month (HR=0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.99), one serving per week (HR=0.81; 95% CI, 0.70-0.94) and at least two servings per week (HR=0.67; 95% CI, 0.54-0.82) lowered their risk for type 2 diabetes compared with women who never or rarely consumed walnuts (P<.001).
After adjustments were made for BMI, the researchers found that the association between walnut consumption and risk for type 2 diabetes was somewhat weakened. The HRs were 0.96 (95% CI, 0.90-1.02) for patients who consumed one to three servings per month, 0.87 (95% CI, 0.75-1.01) for those who consumed one serving per week and 0.76 (95% CI, 0.62-0.94) for those who consumed at least two servings per week vs. women who never or rarely consumed walnuts (P<.002).
Additionally, researchers found the intake of total nuts (P<.001) and other tree nuts (P=.03) was inversely linked to a risk for type 2 diabetes, and this link was predominantly due to BMI.
These findings suggest that higher intake of walnuts led to a decreased risk for type 2 diabetes among women.
Disclosure: One researcher reports receiving funding support from the California Walnut Commission.
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