This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Plant-based low-carb diet lowers type 2 diabetes risk in women with previous gestational diabetes
Women with a history of gestational diabetes can lower their risk for developing type 2 diabetes by consuming a low-carbohydrate diet with high protein and fat from plant-sourced foods, according to research in Diabetes Care.
Wei Bao, MD, PhD, an epidemiologist at the NIH and a visiting assistant professor at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, and colleagues examined the long-term risk for developing type 2 diabetes in women with previous gestational diabetes who consumed one of three low-carbohydrate diet patterns, as women with gestational diabetes are typically advised to limit their carbohydrate intake during and after pregnancy to improve glycemic control.
“In this prospective cohort study with up to 20 years of follow-up, we observed that a dietary score representing a low-carbohydrate, high animal protein and high animal fat dietary pattern was significantly associated with [type 2 diabetes] risk among women with a history of [gestational diabetes],” Bao and colleagues wrote. “By contrast, a dietary score representing a low-carbohydrate, high vegetable protein and vegetable fat dietary pattern was not associated with the risk of developing [type 2 diabetes].”
Bao analyzed data from 4,502 women with a history of gestational diabetes participating in the ongoing Nurses’ Health Study II cohort, as part of the Diabetes and Women’s Health study. Participants were followed from 1991 to 2011. Women completed validated food-frequency questionnaires every 4 years; researchers calculated overall, animal- and plant-based low-carbohydrate diet scores to represent adherence to the different low-carbohydrate dietary patterns. Researchers used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate HRs.
During follow-up, 722 incident type 2 diabetes cases were documented. Comparing the highest quintiles with lowest quintiles, HR for developing type 2 diabetes was 1.36 (95% CI, 1.04-1.78) for women who consumed an overall low-carbohydrate diet, 1.4 (95% CI, 1.06-1.84) for women who consumed a low-carbohydrate, animal protein-based diet, and 1.19 (95% CI, 0.91-1.55) for women who consumed a low-carbohydrate, plant-based diet after multivariable adjustment. In mediation analyses, updated BMI explained 66% of the total effects of the overall low-carbohydrate diet score on type 2 diabetes risk and 64% of the effects of the low-carbohydrate high animal protein diet score on type 2 diabetes risk.
“Women with a history of [gestational diabetes] who follow a low-carbohydrate dietary pattern may consider consuming plant sources rather than animal sources of protein and fat to minimize their future risk for [type 2 diabetes],” the researchers wrote. – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.