Nov 10
14
Another Faulty Study Reported on Diabetes
The latest report in the BMC Public Health from September 21, 2010 is another misleading report for consumers and I want to be the first to tell you to be cautious about what you hear.
The study was completed on women from northern Italy and 7182 women had their diets analyzed for selenium content. They found that average selenium intake was 55.7 micrograms per day. The recommended daily requirement is 70 micrograms per day.
After 16 years, 253 women of the 7182 women developed Type 2 diabetes. When the researchers ran a regression analysis, the ratios were compared and people were put into groups according to selenium intake. Dietary selenium intake was measured by a food-frequency questionnaire.
They concluded that increased dietary selenium intake was associated with an increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
This is hogwash! Before I comment on this, let me give you a chance to think about why this research may be faulty.
The main reason why this research is bad is because a dietary analysis of selenium content is filled with error. Most people cannot remember what they ate for breakfast; let alone what they ate two or three days ago. They cannot judge serving sizes accurately which introduces additional error into the picture. And most food tables are based on food values taken on foods from the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, food actually contained more nutrients. Every government study in the last decade has proven that foods have 40 to 70% less nutrients in them now than they did in the 1960s.
A much more accurate way to do this study is to measure blood values of selenium, which are very accurate.
Another problem with this study is that the researchers were very narrow-minded. Type 2 diabetes affects the body on many different levels and looking for one cause of diabetes, is in essence, totally ridiculous. Their study would have had more clout if they had compared other essential element values, especially those like chromium and zinc which have a direct relationship to diabetes in keeping blood sugar levels in the normal zone. But they chose not to, thinking that only one variable should be examined.
What happens to us in life and in disease is always multifactorial.
Source: BMC Public Health 2010 Sep 21; 10 (1): 564. A prospective study of dietary selenium intake and risk of type 2 diabetes. Stranges S, Sieri S, Vinceti M, Grioni S, Guallar E, Laclaustra M, Muti P, Berrino F, Krogh V.
