Whole Grains Reduce Risk of Prediabetes

Researchers in Sweden have recently concluded that the risk of of prediabetes, a blood sugar elevation that often precedes diabetes in adults, can be lowered by the consumption of whole grains. The study followed 5,477 Stockholm residents without diabetes, who kept food diaries of the amounts of whole and refined grains they ate. Blood glucose levels of participants were recorded and then followed up on ten years later. The researchers discovered that subjects who consumed approximately two or more ounces of whole grains per day were found to be 27% less likely to become prediabetic. However, these results may not help Americans, because of the difficulty in obtaining whole grain foods in the U.S. American food manufacturers can label a food that contains eight grams per serving as ‘whole grain’; Sweden requires a food product to contain least half whole grains to receive the designation. Whole grains span the spectrum of grain, from brown rice to whole wheat, but to be whole, the entire kernel is used, including the grain hull. Refined grains, where the hull and other parts of the grain are removed are far more common in the U.S. The American Diabetes Association now estimates that one in four Americans are prediabetic and that nearly a quarter of people with the condition will develop full-blown diabetes. Further, fewer than three percent of Americans get the recommended 48 grams per day of whole grains. Because refined grains contain more calories and carbohydrates, which are risk factors for diabetes, researchers concluded that Americans should simply aim to consume less grain in general.