Low-carb diet lowers type 2 diabetes risk in women who have had gestational diabetes

[DCUK NewsBot]

Women who have had gestational diabetes can reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by following a plant-based low-carb diet, according to new research. The study, conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, provides further evidence of the effectiveness of a low-carb diet in reducing the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Women who develop gestational diabetes have a significantly higher risk of type 2 diabetes later in life, and this study suggests that restricting carbohydrate reduces that risk. The researchers analysed data from 4,502 women, all of whom had a history of gestational diabetes. Over 20 years - from 1991 to 2011 - the participants answered food-related questionnaires, and the researchers calculated each participant's adherence to low-carb dietary patterns. 722 participants developed type 2 diabetes during the study, with the risk much lower for women who followed a low-carbohydrate diet. "In the 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]," wrote Wei Bao, MD, PhD, an epidemiologist at the NIH and a visiting assistant professor at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. "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 minimise their future risk for [type 2 diabetes]." The findings are published in Diabetes Care. Numerous studies have found that low-carbohydrate diets are effective for reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, improving weight loss and lowering blood glucose levels. The brand new Low-Carb Program, released on World Diabetes Day 2015, provides a structured, step-by-step guide to following the low-carb diet.

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[phoenix]

Did you read carefully what you had written in the main text when you compiled the headline? Did you make a typo and forget to include the word plant based . The reduction in risk is a comparison between Low carb higher in plants and those higher in animal fats and proteins rather than any overall reduction in risk.
Indeed in the body of the report you say


"The researchers analysed data from 4,502 women, all of whom had a history of gestational diabetes. Over 20 years - from 1991 to 2011 - the participants answered food-related questionnaires, and the researchers calculated each participant's adherence to low-carb dietary patterns. 722 participants developed type 2 diabetes during the study, with the risk much lower for women who followed a low-carbohydrate diet. "In the 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]," and you quote one of the researchers as saying

"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 minimise their future risk for [type 2 diabetes]."

Actual conclusion from paper
"Among women with a history of GDM, a low-carbohydrate dietary pattern, particularly with high protein and fat intake mainly from animal-source foods, is associated with higher T2DM risk, whereas a low-carbohydrate dietary pattern with high protein and fat intake from plant-source foods is not significantly associated with risk of T2DM." (nothing about reduced risk compared with normal either which is not surprising given the hazard ratio of being 1.19 (95% CI, 0.91-1.55)