African American women are more likely to develop diabetes during adulthood than their Caucasian counterparts. Several factors may play into this increased susceptibility, but researchers and physicians are still not 100 percent clear. Several studies have proven that certain diet and lifestyle choices decrease risk for developing Type 2 diabetes in white women, but few studies have looked at their effect in African American women.
A study published this month in Diabetes Care investigated which dietary factors affect diabetes risk in African American women. The study gathered information from more than 41,000 women who were participating in the Black Women's Health Study. They specifically wanted to determine if calcium and magnesium, both of which proved preventative in white women, would offer the same benefit to black women.
After an average follow-up of eight years about 5% (1,964) of the women in the study developed diabetes. The researchers found several factors that resulted in decreased risk including lower consumption of red meat, decreased saturated fat intake, and a more active lifestyle. But they also found that intake of calcium and magnesium to be postively coorelated with decreased risk for the condition.
Only magnesium intake, as determined by food choices and supplemenation, was associated with decreased risk after accounting for variables that may have greater effect, i.e. fitness and low saturated fat intake. Women with the greatest intake of magnesium had a 31 percent lower risk of developing diabetes than women with the lowest intake of the mineral.
The study did not separate magnesium intake based on source. The foods most associated with decreased risk were whole grains, which are high in magnesium as well as many other vitamins and minerals which may provide protection. So at this point the authors did not recommend women begin taking a magnesium supplement. But eating a diet with foods high in magnesium such as whole grains and dark leafy green vegetables won't hurt.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on October 27, 2006 02:17 PM
