Nuts are a low-GI food that can control diabetes, say researchers

Nuts are a great low-GI (glycaemic index) food—they don’t cause your blood glucose and insulin levels to increase—that every diabetic should be snacking on, a new study has discovered.


Eating just 2 oz of nuts every day in place of carbohydrates helped to control the glycaemic load in people who have type 2 diabetes. 


University of Toronto researchers tested three different diets on a group of 117 diabetics who were given either muffins, muffins and nuts or just mixed nuts to eat.


The diabetics who ate the nuts-only diet saw their glycaemic load fall to levels close to what health regulators regard as ‘clinically meaningful’, an effect that is usually achieved only by taking drugs. What’s more, the group that ate nuts saw their weight fall, too (Diabetes Care, 2011; doi: 10.2337/dc11-0338).