14
NEWS
UPF foods &
T2D risk?
A recent study has shown that various
food additive emulsifiers, including
total carrageenans, carrageenan gum,
tripotassium phosphate, sodium citrate, and
guar gum, can increase the risk for Type 2
diabetes.
Food emulsifiers, which are extensively
used to enhance the texture and improve
the shelf life of various ultraprocessed food
(UPF) items, have been previously shown to
increase the risk for cardiovascular disease
and cancer.
In this study, the dietary intake data
of 104,139 adults enrolled in the French
NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort study
from May 2009 to April 2023 were assessed
for 24 hours on three nonconsecutive days
at inclusion and every six months thereafter
to determine their risk for T2D. During a
mean follow-up period of 6.8 years, 1,056
incident cases of T2D were reported. Almost
all (99.7%) of the participants were exposed
to at least one food additive emulsifier, with
the main contributors being ultraprocessed
fruits and vegetables (18.5%), cakes and
biscuits (14.7%), and dairy products (10.0%).
The intake of the following emulsifiers
increased the risk for T2D: Total
carrageenans and carrageenan gum;
Tripotassium phosphate; Acetyl tartaric acid
esters of monoglycerides and diglycerides of
fatty acids; Sodium citrate; Guar gum; Gum
Arabic; Xanthan gum.
What tops exercise
for T2D?
Recent research has concluded that two days a week of a medically
supervised energy-restricted diet may lower blood glucose levels in
adults with overweight or obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
While daily calorie restrictions and increased physical activity
improve glycaemic control and induce diabetes remission in
patients with Type 2 diabetes, these approaches are challenging to
adhere to. Accordingly, researchers tested whether two days a week
of either a very low-calorie formula diet or a "weekend warrior"
physical activity pattern would be effective and more convenient.
This IDEATE study enrolled 326 Asian participants with
overweight or mild obesity and Type 2 diabetes and randomly
assigned them to receive a diet intervention, an exercise
intervention, or routine lifestyle education (control group) for
12 weeks.
The diet intervention group received an energy-restricted diet
of 790 kcal/d on two days each week, and the exercise intervention
group performed high-intensity interval training (four minutes of
aerobic activity, with a 10-minute total warm-up and cool-down)
and resistance training twice a week (four exercises, two sets of
eight to 12 repetitions).
Compared with the control group, patients in the diet
intervention group achieved greater reductions in HbA1c after
12 weeks, whereas HbA1c reductions in the exercise intervention
group did not differ significantly from the control group. The
likelihood of achieving diabetes remission was also higher in the
diet intervention vs the control group but not in the exercise
intervention group, while body weight, body mass index, and
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were more effectively
controlled in the diet intervention group only.
However, participants in both the diet and exercise intervention
groups showed reduced adiposity, liver fat content, and diastolic
blood pressure compared with those in the control group.