A group of American and Chinese researchers found that increased vegetable intake is associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in Chinese women. The researchers found no association between fruit intake and type 2 diabetes. The results of this research were published in the March 2008 issue of The Journal of Nutrition.
A total of 64,191 Chinese women, with no history of type 2 diabetes or other chronic diseases at the beginning of the study, were given food-frequency questionnaires to ascertain dietary intake. During the course of the study, 1,608 new cases of type 2 diabetes were documented.
The researchers evaluated intake of fruit and vegetables to determine any possible impacts on development of type 2 diabetes. Overall vegetable intake—and all individual vegetable groups—were inversely associated with developing type 2 diabetes. However, they note that fruit intake was not associated with the incidence of diabetes in the study group. This led the researchers to conclude that vegetable consumption may protect against the development of type 2 diabetes.
