Health specialists have unveiled the most effective food for combating diabetes.
Have you ever thought that you might lower the risk for developing diabetes by chewing on some fresh fruit every day? Well, you definitely should, because it seems that this healthy habit is linked to a much lower incidence of diabetes, according to the researchers from the Oxford University.
A concluding study: How does fruit affect diabetes?
It’s a well-known fact that healthy diets abounding in fresh fruit and veggies always offer loads of health benefits. Still, up till now, researchers haven’t been quite sure regarding the high content of sugar found in fruit in relation to developing diabetes and other vascular complications that come with the medical condition.
The study involved tracking approximately 5,000 Chinese people throughout seven years. Researchers have documented new cases of the disease and they have also recorded the incidence of vascular complications and death in patients with pre-existing diabetes.
Gratifying results
The study conducted by Dr. Huaidong Du from the Oxford University, concluded that people who consumed larger quantities of fresh fruit lowered their risk of developing diabetes by 0.2%, in comparison to the other participants.
Researchers recruited over 500,000 Chinese adults during 2004 and 2008 from 10 different areas around China. For a period of sever years, the participants underwent all kinds of blood tests and physical measurements and their health was closely tracked. The results were the following:
- Patients free of diabetes who ate plenty of fresh fruit lowered their risks of developing the disease by 12%.
- Patients who were already diagnosed with diabetes prior to the start of the study lowered their risks of dying due to the disease by 17%, after eating fresh fruit more than three times a week. Their risks for developing diabetes-related complications were also reduced by 13-28%.
The health complications that are frequently associated with diabetes include heart disease, stroke, small blood vessels, kidney disease, eye affection and neuropathy.
A Future perspective
Dr. Du’s test is the first major study of a large perspective showing that a higher intake of fresh fruit is potentially beneficial for both primary and secondary prevention of diabetes. Another extremely essential final conclusion is the fact that, in case of patients who have already been diagnosed with diabetes, restricted consumption of fruit – a usual practice around many parts of the world – should not be encouraged anymore.
Anyway, as with everything else in our lives, there is no healthy excess, so our best choice will always remain moderation.
