Fibre may help reduce the risk of diabetes by increasing the amount of nutrients absorbed by the body and reducing blood sugar spikes after eating, among other mechanisms. Matthias B. Schulze, Dr.P.H., and colleagues at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, conducted a study of 9,702 men and 15,365 women age 35 to 65 years.
Participants completed a food questionnaire when they enrolled in the study between 1994 and 1998, then were followed up through 2005—an average of seven years—to see if they developed diabetes. In addition, the researchers performed a meta-analysis of previously published work related to intake of fibre or magnesium and risk of diabetes.
During the follow-up period, 844 individuals in the study developed type 2 diabetes. Those who consumed more fibre through cereal, bread and other grain products (cereal fibre) were less likely to develop diabetes than those who ate less fibre.
When the participants were split into five groups based on cereal fibre intake, those who ate the most (an average of 17 grams per day) had a 27 percent lower risk of developing diabetes than those in the group that ate the least (an average of 7 grams per day). Eating more fibre overall or from fruits and vegetables was not associated with diabetes risk, nor was magnesium intake.
In the meta-analysis, the researchers identified nine studies of fibre and eight studies of magnesium intake. Based on the results of all the studies, in which participants were classified into either four or five groups according to their intake of fibre or magnesium, those who consumed the most cereal fibre had a 33 percent lower risk of developing diabetes than those who took in the least, while those who consumed the most magnesium had a 23 percent lower risk than those who consumed the least. There was no association between fruit or vegetable fibre and diabetes risk.
MEDICA.de; Source: JAMA and Archives Journals