A high fibre diet can help stabilise blood sugar levels in people who suffer from adult-onset (type II) diabetes.

A recent study confirms earlier research that a high fibre diet can effectively help control blood sugar. US researchers studied the effect of diet containing differing amounts of fibre in 13 patients with adult onset diabetes. For the first six weeks, the study participants were put on a diet with only a moderate amount of fibre - 24g daily of which 8g was soluble and 16g insoluble fibre - the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

For the following six weeks the patients were then put onto a high fibre diet - 50g daily with 25g soluble fibre and 25g insoluble. The researchers then compared the effects of the diets on glycaemic control and blood fat concentrations.

The results revealed that the high fibre diet lowered blood sugar levels by 8.9 per cent more than the ADA's diet and 24 hour plasma insulin levels by further 12 per cent. The high fibre diet also lowered bloodlevels of harmful LDL cholesterol levels without affecting the more beneficial HDL cholesterol levels.

Total cholesterol levels were 6.7 per cent lower on a high fibre diet and gastrointestinal absorption of cholesterol was 10 per cent lower. The researchers stated that the improvements were attributable to the high level of soluble fibre in the diet.