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Letter: Different diabetes

Published 2 November 2005

From Kathryn Latham

In your article on the “slumber gene”, the “slumber secrets” include a claim that “meals with a low glycaemic index (GI) might help stave off diabetes” (15 October, p 14). This is not accurate. A low-GI diet may help stave off most cases of type 2 diabetes but not type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is influenced by diet, lifestyle factors and in some cases genetics, while type 1 is an autoimmune disease and cannot be prevented by eating a low-GI diet.

Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK

Issue no. 2524 published 5 November 2005

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