Intelligent Study Reveals: Type 2 Diabetes Can Be Avoided With the Right Kind of Diet
Fruits and vegetables contain phytonutrients—or plant chemicals—known as flavonoids. These natural compounds have powerful antioxidant effects that allow them to scavenge harmful free radicals and reduce the oxidative damage that contributes to disease.Extensive studies have explored the anti-diabetic benefits of individual antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, but researchers took a slightly different tack for this study. In order to get a more comprehensive view of the relationship between food and diabetes, they examined the benefit of an overall high-antioxidant diet.
The scientists reported that the odds of diabetes diminished as antioxidant consumption increased, and noted that antioxidant capacity may play an important role in reducing the risk of diabetes in middle-aged women.
The Secret to Success: Antioxidants Work at a Molecular Level to Fight Diabetes
The latest study is not the only research showing the amazing effects of dietary flavonoids.Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that anthocyanins in blueberries significantly lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The team reported that the flavonoids worked against diabetes by helping to maintain blood glucose levels, promoting glucose uptake, and stimulating insulin production from the beta-cells of the pancreas.
In addition, flavonoids improved the performance of fat-burning enzymes, while decreasing harmful LDL cholesterol and reducing levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin.
And, they significantly raised levels of a pair of antioxidant, disease-fighting enzymes—superoxide dismutase and glutathione. They also helped to decrease advanced glycation end products. AGEs are toxins that can trigger and worsen diabetes.
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Offer up a Rich Bounty of Flavonoids
Virtually all fruits and vegetables are good sources of antioxidant flavonoids. And, these compounds have a synergistic effect—meaning that they complement and potentiate each other’s powers.Apples, grapes, and onions are rich in the flavonoid quercetin, while citrus fruits offer up the flavonoids hesperidin, tangeritin, kaempferol, and naringenen.
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and kale contain kaempferol and luteolin, while blueberries and other purplish-blue plant foods are your best bet for obtaining anthocyanins, beneficial plant pigments with anti-diabetic effects. Anthocyanins are also found in cranberries, cherries, blackberries, currants, raspberries, and mulberries—as well as in purple grapes, red cabbage, and eggplant skins.
Orange vegetables, such as carrots and squash, contain healthy amounts of beta-carotene.
(Bonus: fresh fruits and vegetables tend to be high in vitamin C, which is itself a potent antioxidant. They are also naturally high in dietary fiber, which can help ward off the obesity that contributes to diabetes).
Enlist fresh, organic fruits and vegetables as your “first line of defense” against diabetes The roster of foods that can help you fight diabetes is extensive—and delicious!
In addition to the foods already listed, flavonoid-packed fare to put on the menu includes plums, prunes, walnuts, strawberries, parsley, celery, onions, peppers, eggplants, green leafy vegetables, and hazelnuts.
Antioxidant-rich beverages include teas—black , green, and chamomile—red wine (in moderation) and coffee, which has been shown in studies to protect against type 2 diabetes.
Naturally, it would be best to choose organic varieties to avoid unwanted exposure to toxic chemicals—used in the growing process of most commercial brands.
For maximum antioxidant benefit, experts recommend eating fruits and vegetables raw, lightly steamed, or sautéed. (However, since the antioxidant capacity of carrots and celery increases when they are lightly cooked, steaming them is a smart choice).
Researchers have long reported that diets high in fruits and vegetables are strongly associated with a lower risk of developing heart disease and cancer – the two leading causes of death in the United States. Now, thanks to the latest studies, we know that putting fresh fruits and vegetables on the menu can help us take aim at another deadly disease as well.