A low-carbohydrate, high-quality diet rich in magnesium may help reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes, according to findings published in Diabetes Care.
Adela Hruby, PhD, MPH, of the nutritional epidemiology program at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and the department of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues evaluated data from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS; 1984-2012; n = 69,176), NHS2 (1991-2013; n = 91,471) and the Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study (1986-2012; n = 42,096) to determine the association between magnesium intake and carbohydrate quality on the risk for type 2 diabetes.
Participants completed food frequency questionnaires every 4 years for dietary intake assessment.
Through 28 years of follow-up, researchers observed 17,130 incident cases of type 2 diabetes. The risk for incident type 2 diabetes was 41% lower in NHS, 45% lower in NHS2 and 41% lower in the Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study with the highest category of total magnesium intake (average, 390-470 mg per day) compared with the lowest category (average, 229-280 mg per day; P for trend < .0001) after adjustment for age and energy intake.
The risk for type 2 diabetes was 15% lower with the highest total magnesium intake compared with the lowest intake in pooled estimates of the fully adjusted model from all three cohorts (pooled HR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.8-0.91). The risk for developing diabetes was 4% lower with each additional 50 mg per day of magnesium intake (pooled HR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.95-0.98).
No significant interaction between magnesium and glycemic load was found, but there were statistically significant interactions between magnesium and cereal fiber and between magnesium and glycemic index (P for interaction < .0001). – by Amber Cox
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.