Eating a Low-Carb Diet May Reduce Risk of Diabetes, Says Study

Diabetes is a rapidly growing health issue in the United States, with reportedly over 37 million Americans living with it on a daily basis. According to the CDC, the majority of these cases are Type 2 diabetes, specifically. Although this disease mostly occurs in those over the age of 45, its cases among children and teens are also increasing.

There are uncontrollable factors that may increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, like age and genetics, but lifestyle factors including movement and diet play a significant role. New research from Tulane University has found that when it comes to your diet, limiting your daily intake of carbohydrates may help reduce your risk or manage existing diabetes.

These are certainly not the first findings on the potential benefits of a low-carb eating pattern on those with diabetes or prediabetes. For example, researchers at Stanford Medical Center say that low-carb diets like the keto or Mediterranean diet may help with management because of their ability to lower blood sugar levels.

However, these recent findings from researchers at Tulane are unique because they’ve discovered that a low-carb diet may be able to help unmedicated individuals with existing diabetes or prediabetes lower their blood sugar levels. 

What the study found

Researchers divided 150 participants into two groups: a low-carb diet group and a group with a “usual” diet. Each participant was between the ages of 40 and…