Diets high in fat and low in carbohydrate may decrease the risk of diabetes

This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2008 Feb;87(2):339-46

Study title and authors:
Low-carbohydrate-diet score and risk of type 2 diabetes in women.

Halton TL, Liu S, Manson JE, Hu FB.
Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18258623

The study examined the association of dietary carbohydrate, protein and fat with type II diabetes. The study included 85,059 women and lasted for 20 years.

The study found:
(a) Those that ate the most carbohydrate had a 26% increased risk of type II diabetes compared to those who ate the least carbohydrate.
(b) Those that consumed diets with the highest glycemic load had an 147% increased risk of type II diabetes compared to those who consumed the lowest glycemic load.
(c) Those that ate the most fat had a 9% decreased risk of type II diabetes compared to those who ate the least fat.
(d) Those that ate the most animal fat had a 4% decreased risk of type II diabetes compared to those who ate the least animal fat.

This study shows that diets high in fat and low in carbohydrate may decrease the risk of diabetes.