LEE ASHTON WINNER OF ALPRO FOUNDATION AWARD UK
Can a plant-based diet profile predict risk of diabetes?
The winner of the prestigious Alpro Foundation Award for Masters 2011 was announced as Lee Ashton from the University of Leeds. He was presented with his award at Nutrition and Health Live, held at the Olympia Conference Centre in London on 4th – 5th November 2011.
This year the UK scientific panel of Judges considered the winner to be an excellent study, making a significant contribution to the better understanding and promotion of the inclusion of plant-based foods
in supporting improved public health. According to Lee’s study, eating a healthy plantbased Mediterranean-style diet has been found to
prevent women from developing Type 2 diabetes. The study, based on the renowned UK Women’s Cohort Study, which recruited over 35,000 women, used results from a foodfrequency questionnaire to understand dietary habits and related these to the development of Type 2 diabetes in respondents after a five-year
follow-up period. Prior knowledge has shown that Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by healthy dietary
patterns. For his MSc, Lee devised a system whereby diet could be scored according to foods reported in the food frequency questionnaire, which could identify a woman’s dietary pattern. A higher score on the index is associated with substantially decreased odds of Type 2 diabetes.
The results of his analyses showed that substantial prevention of Type 2 diabetes may be attained through consumption of healthy dietary patterns rich in: fruit, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, low-fat milk, fish, nuts/pulses and legumes along with lower intakes of alcohol, red/processed meats, eggs, sugary drinks and
confectionary. Development of the dietary scoring tool, the Type 2 diabetes prevention index score, could be of great value for providing dietary advice on the prevention of Type 2 diabetes in both clinical and
public health settings.
