Diabetic Risk Reduced by Eating Fruits

Diet can often play a role in both accelerating and reducing the risk of the development of Type 2 Diabetes. High fat, high carbohydrate, high caloric diets increase the rate of obesity which is associated with Type 2 Diabetes. Now, according to reports from the Harvard School of Public Health eating certain whole fruits may reduce the risk for Type 2 Diabetes, even though fruit juice consumption may increase the risk for diabetes.

Research about Diabetes Risk & Eating Fruit

Investigators combined data from 3 studies: the Nurses' Health Study of more than 66,000 patients, the Nurses' Health Study II of more than 85,000 patients and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study with over 36,000 patients. The participants in all 3 studies completed questionnaires assessing health and lifestyle factors, including diet, every 2 years.

The researchers excluded participants with a preexisting diagnosis of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer, as well as those who had missing data for fruit or fruit juice consumption or an extremely high or low caloric intake, and those who had an unclear date of diabetes diagnosis.

The analysis was adjusted for personal, lifestyle, and dietary risk factors for diabetes. The researchers concluded that every 3 servings of fruit per week were associated with a lower risk for Type 2 diabetes. When the researchers looked at individual types of fruit in a multivariate analysis, adjusted for the same factors, they found that 3 servings per week of some fruits were more closely associated with reduced risk of diabetes especially blueberries, grapes and apples.

If you or someone you know has a question about diabetes risk and eating fruit or needs an eye exam for diabetes please call Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center at 219-464-8223, or visit Northwest Indiana Eye & LaserCenter, Google+ or facebook.com/nwindianaeyeandlaser. 

Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center offices are located at 502 Marquette Street, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 and 1001 South Edgewood Drive, Knox, Indiana 46354