New Study Reveals Plant Compound That May Decrease Diabetes Risk by up to 27%

It’s no secret that here at EatingWell, we love plant-based foods. From fruits, vegetables and whole grains to legumes, nuts and seeds, plant-based foods offer a host of nutrients, including complex carbohydrates, protein, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Many also contribute necessary healthy fats. A plant-based diet has been shown to have many health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Some plant-based foods contain plant compounds called lignans, which function as inflammation-fighting antioxidants as well as phytoestrogens. If you’ve never heard of phytoestrogens before, these plant compounds act like estrogen in some of the body’s tissues. Because estrogen levels plummet during menopause, eating more phytoestrogen-rich foods may help quell menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes. Many plant-based foods contain small amounts of lignans, but they are especially concentrated in flaxseeds and sesame seeds.  

Might they have other health benefits? A new study published on August 7, 2024, in JAMA Network Open digs into this topic to see whether there is a connection between lignan consumption and type 2 diabetes. Let’s see what these researchers found.

How Was This Study Conducted & What Did It Find?

Researchers took data from several long-term studies, including the Nurses’ Health Studies (NHS and NHS II), the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) and the Men’s Lifestyle Validation Study (MLVS). Except for the MLVS, which lasted approximately two years, the other studies followed participants for up to or over three decades. 

At the time the participants entered the studies, they were free of type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease. A total of 201,111 participants were included, with an average age of 45 at baseline. About 80% of them were female. 

Participants in the NHS, NHS II and HPFS filled out food frequency questionnaires every two to four years. Participants in the MLVS filled out two sets of seven-day diet records over the course of the study. 

The food frequency questionnaires identified foods the participants ate that contained lignans. Researchers included the frequency of eating these foods as well as the foods' lignan content in their calculations. They further broke the lignans down into categories, since there are several types of lignans. This would help them see whether certain types of lignans held more value for certain health outcomes.

In addition to the food frequency questionnaires, participants also completed demographic and lifestyle questionnaires along with health outcomes every two years. This data included things like race, body weight, smoking habits, alcohol use, multivitamin intake and physical activity. Women who were going through menopause or had already gone through it were also asked about hormone therapy. 

Participants who answered that they were diagnosed with diabetes were given an additional questionnaire to fill out that inquired about symptoms, test results and medication for diabetes. These diagnoses were confirmed with medical record reviews. 

After all the data was collected, statistical analyses were run, including after adjusting for confounding factors (components that could affect the results). Researchers found that the results suggest that higher intakes of lignans were associated with a lower rate of diabetes. 

Specifically, they found that regularly including foods high in lignans was associated with approximately 8% to 27% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes. This was true for all types of lignans except for one—lariciresinol. 

One type of lignan also came out on top. The association for reduced risk of diabetes was strongest for secoisolariciresinol, especially for participants with obesity and premenopausal women.

While these researchers separated the types of lignans out, you will typically find several kinds of lignans in plant-based foods, so it’s more important to understand that eating lignans, in general, may help reduce your risk of diabetes. According to these researchers, lignan-containing foods that may be especially beneficial for reducing the risk of diabetes and better blood sugar control include flaxseed, whole grains and coffee. 

How Does This Apply to Real Life? 

Keep in mind that there is not one food, component of food or food group that acts as a magic potion to prevent any disease. Most diseases are complex and many lifestyle behaviors can influence their risk—including diet, exercise, stress management and sleep. 

Related: https://www.eatingwell.com/category/4248/diabetes-diet-center/ 

It’s important to note that having diabetes increases your risk of other diseases and conditions, including heart disease, dementia, blindness and loss of limbs. So preventing it or managing it if you have it is imperative. In some cases, you may even be able to reverse type 2 diabetes through diet and lifestyle changes. 

If you need help eating a more varied diet that includes plenty of plants, we have lots of dietitian-created meal plans to choose from. One of our Mediterranean diet meal plans would be a great place to start.

Moving your body more often also helps manage blood sugar and may reduce your risk of diabetes, as does managing your stressors and getting plenty of quality sleep. 

If you’re not ready for a full overhaul of your habits, try adding ground flaxseed to your meals. We recommend ground flaxseed over whole flaxseed, since the latter is harder to digest and your body better absorbs the nutrients in flaxseed when it’s ground up. It goes great in smoothies, yogurt and oatmeal. You can even add it to ground meat for meatballs, meatloaf or burgers. We’ve even seen some people mix it into their water and chug it down. Hey, whatever works!