Replace your rice and potatoes with lentils!
Eating pulses reduces blood glucose levels by up to 35% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes, study reveals
Eating lentils instead of rice or potatoes could help prevent or manage type 2 diabetes, a study has found. The vegetarian staple can reduce blood glucose levels by slowing down digestion and the release of sugars into the bloodstream.
Scientists at the University of Guelph in Canada discovered replacing half a serving of rice or potatoes with lentils caused blood sugar to fall by up to 35 per cent. This could lead to dietary advice for people with type 2 diabetes or those at risk of the condition, in which high glucose levels are a key factor.
The food could be preventative too; con- sistently high blood sugar in healthy people can contribute to the insulin resistance which causes diabetes. The researchers say lentils – which have in the past been found to lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol – are nutrient rich and hope their findings will encourage more people to eat them.
The Canadian scientists carried out a study on 24 healthy adults in which they were fed either white rice, white potatoes, or either of those mixed with red or green lentils. Participants' blood sugar levels were measured before they ate and then for two hours afterwards. Those who ate half rice and half lentils had up to 20 per cent lower blood glucose than when they ate just rice. Replacing half the potatoes with lentils led to a 35 per cent lower level than eating just potatoes. In the past scientists have claimed lentils may also help to prevent high blood pressure and reduce cholesterol, and they are a good source of dietary fibre. Professor Alison Duncan said: 'Pulses are extremely nutrient-dense food that have the potential to reduce chronic diseases associated with mismanaged glucose levels.' High levels of glucose in the blood is the main effect of type 2 diabetes and can cause tiredness, blurred vision, thirst, and infections.
It happens because people with the condition develop a resistance to insulin, the hormone which enables to body to absorb glucose. Consistently high levels of blood sugar in a healthy person may lead to their body being less able to process sugars properly, and could contribute to this insulin resistance.
The researchers found lentils slowed down the digestive system which, combined with the fibre in them, prevents the body absorbing glucose.
The team's findings were published in the Journal of Nutrition.