Some fruits (not juice) reduce diabetes risk

[MeSci]

As some of us have problems controlling blood glucose, this may be relevant to us too.

It's from Physician's First Watch.

Certain Whole Fruits Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk
By Amy Orciari Herman

Adults who frequently consume certain whole fruits, including apples, grapes, and blueberries, have a significantly lower risk for type 2 diabetes than those who eat little fruit, according to a BMJ study.

Three cohorts of U.S. healthcare professionals, comprising nearly 190,000 adults without diabetes at baseline, regularly completed food-frequency questionnaires. During some 3.5 million person-years of follow-up, over 12,000 developed type 2 diabetes.

The risk for diabetes was significantly reduced with every three servings per week of blueberries (hazard ratio, 0.74), grapes and raisins (0.88), apples and pears (0.93), bananas (0.95), and grapefruit (0.95). Consumption of fruit juice, on the other hand, was associated with increased risk (hazard ratio for one or more servings/day: 1.21).

"These results support recommendations on increasing consumption of a variety of whole fruits, especially blueberries, grapes, and apples, as a measure for diabetes prevention," the researchers conclude.

Link(s):
BMJ article (Free)

 

[perchance dreamer]

Interesting. The grape recommendation surprised me because I assumed they were high glycemic. Some googling showed they are actually low/medium glycemic.

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Sweet potatoes are lower glycemic than white potatoes in spite of having more natural sugars.

 

[peggy-sue]

But baked potatoes have a lower GI than mashed - even when it comes to something very basic such as a potato, HOW it is prepared and cooked makes a difference to the GI.
Big lumps of something have a lower GI than a mush of the same something.

Which is odd, given soup lasts longer in the stomach and keeps hunger at bay for longer than the same nutritional content served up as a meal (as in, in lumps).

The problem with fruit juice is there is no fibre in it to slow down the passage of sugars in the gut so that bacteria can work on them.

 

[alex3619]

The other issue with whole fruit is it contains more antioxidants per serve. The fact that blueberries are listed, a very high antioxidant fruit, might be important. Grapefruit will have a high antioxidant to calorie ratio, as would blueberries. The problem with thinking about sugars is that all berries should show up as good, having a high antioxidant to sugar ratio. So something is wrong with our understanding, presuming this study is right.

Another point is that many skins of fruit have very high antioxidants, and even antioxidants you don't get much of in the fruit. A few of these fruits listed are eaten whole, with the skin, or can be. Bananas and grapefruit are the exception to that though.

I am aware that apple skins may be good for gut health. I wonder how much better off we would be if we could safely eat fruit skin, given that most fruit sold is not organic.

 

[peggy-sue]

I do keep reading about how wonderful blueberries are - but why are they such a boring, tasteless fruit?

 

[perchance dreamer]

Peggy-Sue, I'm with you on blueberries. But it's the plain ones I don't like. I love them frozen or cooked and pureed in a sauce, but the raw blueberries don't excite me at all.

 

[MeSci]

The other issue with whole fruit is it contains more antioxidants per serve. The fact that blueberries are listed, a very high antioxidant fruit, might be important. Grapefruit will have a high antioxidant to calorie ratio, as would blueberries. The problem with thinking about sugars is that all berries should show up as good, having a high antioxidant to sugar ratio. So something is wrong with our understanding, presuming this study is right.

Another point is that many skins of fruit have very high antioxidants, and even antioxidants you don't get much of in the fruit. A few of these fruits listed are eaten whole, with the skin, or can be. Bananas and grapefruit are the exception to that though.

I am aware that apple skins may be good for gut health. I wonder how much better off we would be if we could safely eat fruit skin, given that most fruit sold is not organic.

and vegetable skins. I understand that potato skins have nutritive qualities. I don't peel them even though I can't access organic ones at the moment. I just scrub them, and hope that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages!

 

[MeSci]

I do keep reading about how wonderful blueberries are - but why are they such a boring, tasteless fruit?

I was given some blueberries. I eventually overcame their resemblance to rabbit droppings and ate a few. I was not impressed. I put the remainder in pasta sauce to disguise them!

I wouldn't worry if you don't like them. Particular foods are forever being touted as the new 'superfoods', but I suspect that most of them are no better than many commonly-eaten foods. Maybe the superfood myths are created by people with vested interests. And people are suckers for news that there is some kind of magic bullet for their health, be it a drug or a 'superfood'.

I picked and ate some wild blackberries on the way back from the postbox yesterday. I expect they are pretty beneficial, and they grow in profusion round here.

 

[Little Bluestem]

I was given some blueberries. I eventually overcame their resemblance to rabbit droppings and ate a few.

I like all kinds of blueberries. I especially like to eat frozen ones in hot weather. The above, however, is not helping any.

I picked and ate some wild blackberries on the way back from the postbox yesterday. I expect they are pretty beneficial, and they grow in profusion round here.

Now I am really jealous! I didn't get out blackberry picking at all this summer.

 

[rosie26]

The only way I like eating blueberries is throwing some into a bowl of made up muesli with a couple of tbsp. of strawberry yoghurt and milk for breakfast.

 

[August59]

I do keep reading about how wonderful blueberries are - but why are they such a boring, tasteless fruit?

The variety or when it's picked may have something to do with that I suppose. Bluberries are grown and harvested for commercial sale around where I live and if you pull them when there ripe, they have lots of flavor and sweet. The only thing sweeter around here is a fresh pulled peach, but there are no organic growers around here so we have to peel them, but occasionally I'll go for it.

We used to have a lot of parcels of land that had wild strawberries on them and we would pick till the chiggers got to itching so bad I could not stand it anymore. We had near my house that was at least 6 acres of wild strawberries and I'll be do gone if they didn't run I-77 right through the middle of it. Sorry, got off to reminiscing a little.

 

[Little Bluestem]

Those poor blueberries. They don't like being called boring and worse.


This is what a happy blueberry looks like.
<Somebody needs to go to bed!>

 

[MeSci]

I like all kinds of blueberries. I especially like to eat frozen ones in hot weather. The above, however, is not helping any.

Sorry! Try to forget I said it.

 

[MeSci]

We used to have a lot of parcels of land that had wild strawberries on them and we would pick till the chiggers got to itching so bad I could not stand it anymore. We had near my house that was at least 6 acres of wild strawberries and I'll be do gone if they didn't run I-77 right through the middle of it. Sorry, got off to reminiscing a little.

I love wild strawberries! They grow well in Cornwall, and I have spread them round my garden. This year I have put some containers on top of my coal bunker to save me having to bend down to pick them.

 

[MeSci]

Those poor blueberries. They don't like being called boring and worse.


This is what a happy blueberry looks like.
<Somebody needs to go to bed!>

You mean they like being eaten?