Dietary fiber role in type 2 diabetes prevention

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview that demonstrates the prevention role of dietary fiber in type2 diabetes. Due to the frequent incidences of type2 diabetes and its related complications, a small percentage of reduction in the cases could save thousands of lives and economic loss spending on healthcare and medication. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review has been performed over the electronic databases Medline PubMed and SciELO (The Scientific Electronic Library Online). The reference list of identified articles has also been reviewed. For this search, the following descriptors were considered: diabetes mellitus, hyperglycemia, diet therapy, dietary fiber and insulin sensitivity. Findings – The updated publications indicated that valuable efforts have been done to clarify the beneficial effect of dietary fiber consumption on type2 diabetes. Dietary fiber plays a role as a promising alternative therapeutic means toward type2 diabetes mellitus prevention. Originality/value – This review is unique in its comprehensive nature. This paper will reflect the role and mechanism of dietary fiber in the prevention of type2 diabetes.