On April 5, a study published in the leading medical journal The Lancet clearly pointed out the huge shortcomings in the diet of Chinese.
The Lancet: China's diet has the highest glycemic index.
This is a prospective cohort study of 127594 participants aged 35 to 70 years from 20 countries around the world, including North America, Europe, South America, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. These participants had no prior history of diabetes, but during a median follow-up of 11.8 years, there were 7326 cases of type 2 diabetes.
In a multivariate adjusted analysis, the researchers found that diets with a higher glycemic index (GI) were significantly associated with a higher risk of diabetes. Also, participants in the highest quintile of glycemic load had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those in the lowest quintile of glycemic load (GL). In addition, individuals with a higher BMI had a stronger correlation between glycemic index and diabetes compared to those with a lower BMI (body mass index). It is worth mentioning that the median glycemic index of China was 85.9, while the Chinese subjects had the highest dietary glycemic index of 88.9, followed by 88.2 in Southeast Asia and 88.0 in Africa.
In China, many elderly Chinese people eat carbohydrates for three meals a day, such as steamed buns and fritters in the morning, a bowl of noodles at noon, and porridge and pickles in the evening. Such a high intake of carbohydrates not only easily leads to malnutrition, but also may aggravate problems such as dementia and osteoporosis. Combined with the data from the Lancet, it is not difficult to understand why the incidence of diabetes in the Chinese population has remained high.
Fortunately, the problem is not unanswered, and the researchers concluded that a diet with a low glycemic index (GI) and low glycemic load (GL) may prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.
So, what exactly are low glycemic index (GI) and low glycemic load (GL) diets? Are they reliable?
Are low glycemic index diets reliable?
The glycemic index, or GI, was proposed in 1981 by David J.A. Jenkins, a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, Canada. It indicates the degree to which the intake of 50 grams of available carbohydrate food causes an increase in blood sugar levels in the body over a certain period of time (usually 2 hours). The higher the GI value, the faster the food causes a rise in blood sugar. A low GI diet is one that selects foods that have a low GI value, such as whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, while avoiding high GI foods such as white rice, white bread, and sugary drinks.
A low glycemic load (GL) diet takes into account the total amount of carbohydrates in the food and the GI value. GL is calculated as: GL = GI× carbohydrate content (g) / 100. A low GL diet is when you choose foods that have low GL values to reduce blood sugar fluctuations.
These diets have been shown to have potential benefits for the prevention and control of diabetes in several studies. For example, a 2-year clinical trial conducted by Virta in the United States had a total of 262 participants. It was found that 53% of people with diabetes who followed a low-carb diet successfully reversed type 2 diabetes, meaning that their blood sugar levels were kept within the normal range.
Reference Links:
①[Statista: Diabetes in China](https://www.statista.com/topics/6556/diabetes-in-china/#topicOverview) ② [The Lancet: Global Diabetes Prevalence](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01301-6/fulltext)
③ [The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology: Glycemic Index Study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(24)00069-X/abstract)
④ [Wikipedia: Glycemic Load](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_load)
⑤ [Spokane Faculty: Glycemic Index](https://faculty.sfcc.spokane.edu/inetshare/AutoWebs/Health101/Diabetes/Glycemic-Index.htm)
⑥ [Medium: The Deadly Effects of Fructose](https://drjasonfung.medium.com/the-deadly-effects-of-fructose-part-2-aab046146fb7)
⑦ [PLOS ONE: Glycemic Index and Diabetes](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0165378)
⑧ [Frontiers in Endocrinology: Low-Carb Diet Study](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2019.00348/full#T2）