Consuming more ultra-processed foods—from diet sodas to packaged crackers to certain cereals and yogurts—is closely linked with higher blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, researchers report.
“We set out to see which measurement was associated with blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes.
Participants included 273 African American adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and recruited through Austin-area churches.
Recent studies have indicated that eating more ultra-processed foods is linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, and early death.
Having an HbA1C below 7 is considered ideal for people with Type 2 diabetes, and people who consumed, on average, 18% or fewer of their grams of food from ultra-processed foods were more likely to meet this mark.
Researchers find a strong correlation between elevated blood sugar levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes and consuming more ultra-processed foods, such as packaged crackers, diet sodas, and specific cereals and yogurts.
The researchers explain in a paper published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics how eating more ultra-processed foods that are loaded with additives can raise average blood glucose levels over several months, a metric known as HbA1C, even more than simply eating foods high in sugar and salt.
The University of Texas assistant professor of nutritional sciences and senior author Marissa Burgermaster states that there are numerous approaches to evaluating and assessing healthy eating. In individuals with type 2 diabetes, our goal was to determine which measurement was linked to blood sugar control.
“We discovered that the more minimally processed or unprocessed foods a person ate, the better their blood sugar control was, and the more ultra-processed foods by weight in their diet, the worse their control was. “”.
Baseline data for the study came from the Texas Strength Through Resilience in Diabetes Education (TX STRIDE) clinical trial, which is currently underway and is being led by Mary Steinhardt at UT’s College of Education. Through churches in the Austin area, 273 African American adults with type 2 diabetes were recruited as participants. A blood sample for HbA1C measurement and two 24-hour diet recalls were provided by each participant.
Three commonly used indices that assess the overall nutritional value of a person’s diet were used by the researchers to score the diet recalls; however, blood glucose control was not connected with any of these measures. Instead, participants who consumed more whole foods or minimally processed foods and beverages had a better control, while those who consumed more grams of ultra-processed food or drink had a worse control.
More ultra-processed food consumption has been associated in recent research with increased rates of obesity, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, and early mortality.
Although the researchers found that the A1C increases were not solely related to added sugar and sodium, or that they would have correlated with the measures that assess the overall nutritional quality of the diet, ultra-processed foods are generally higher in these nutrients. Erin Hudson, a graduate student author of the paper, speculates that artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers, added colors, and synthetic flavors might be partially to blame. This would imply that dietary guidelines should start emphasizing ultra-processed foods more.
For study participants not receiving insulin therapy, a diet that included 10 percent more ultra-processed food grams was linked to an average increase of 0–28 percentage points in HbA1C levels.
In comparison, individuals who consumed 10% more minimally processed or unprocessed food overall had HbA1C levels that were, on average, 0–30 percentage points lower.
Those with Type 2 diabetes who consumed, on average, 18 percent or less of their grams of food from ultra-processed foods were more likely to meet the ideal HbA1C of less than 7.
National Institutes of Health funding was used for the study.
