Carbohydrates and Diabetes

Here's a good paper on the relationship between carbohydrate intake over time and diabetes.  The authors tracked both the quantity and quality of carbohydrates over the 20th century.  At first glance, there is a correlation between carbohydrate intake (grams per day) and the prevalence of diabetes over the past 20 years.  But the authors looked deeper and found that it was really the type of carbohydrate being consumed that has driven the increase in diabetes.

The research points out two major factors: corn syrup and refined cereals.  The consumption of these two items correlates directly with the rate of diabetes.

The daily amount of carbohydrate turned out not to be a key factor in this analysis.  In fact, people were consuming about the same amount of carbohydrates per day (500 grams) in 1909 as they were in 1994.  But back in 1909, much of this intake was in the form of whole grains.  Today this intake is more often in the form of refined grains such as flour, white bread, etc., - all foods that lower insulin sensitivity and increase the risk of diabetes.