An apple a day really does keep the doctor away! Eating just TWO portions of fruit daily can reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 36%, study finds
- Researchers studied eating habits of 7,000 volunteers from a diabetes study
- They found that eating two portions of fruit per day could reduce diabetes risk
- This only applies to portions of whole fruit with the flesh, skin and pulp
- It didn’t apply to drinking fruit juice which saw a spike in diabetes risk in some
Eating fruit is good for you, according to a new study that found two portions per day can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by up to 36 per cent.
More than 7,600 volunteers involved in an Australian diabetes and obesity study provided information on their fruit and fruit juice intake for this new research.
People who eat two servings of whole fruits – but avoided drinking fruit juice – were a third less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than someone who avoids fruit, the team from Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia discovered.
This only applied to whole fruits, such as peaches, pears and plums, were the person would eat the skin, pulp and flesh as this all contain vital nutrients and minerals.
Eating fruit is good for you, according to a new study that found two portions per day can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by up to 36 per cent. Stock image
Fruit eaters produced less insulin to lower their blood glucose levels, but this didn’t apply to fruit juice, as that often acted to increase a person’s diabetes risk.
Around 463 million adults are living with diabetes in 2019 and by 2045 this number is expected tor rise to 700 million, the researchers said.
Dr Nicola Bondonno, study author, said the risk factor was spread over five years, so eating two portions daily reduced your risk by 36 per cent for five years.
‘These findings indicate that a healthy diet and lifestyle which includes the consumption of whole fruits is a great strategy to lower your diabetes risk.’
Diabetes is a disease where people have too much sugar in their bloodstream, and it is a huge public health burden.
An estimated 374 million people are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
A healthy diet and lifestyle can play a major role in lowering a person’s diabetes risk and the team wanted to discover what role fruit played specifically.
The researchers studied data from 7,675 participants from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute’s Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study who provided information on their fruit and fruit juice intake.
More than 7,600 volunteers involved in an Australian diabetes and obesity study provided information on their fruit and fruit juice intake for this new research. Stock image
As well as the 36 per cent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, they found an association between fruit intake and markers of insulin sensitivity, meaning that people who consumed more fruit had to produce less insulin to lower their blood glucose levels.
‘This is important because high levels of circulating insulin (hyperinsulinemia) can damage blood vessels and are related not only to diabetes, but also to high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease,’ Bondonno said.
The research was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
In the UK about 90 per cent of diabetic adults have Type 2 diabetes
Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high.
There are two main types of diabetes:
– Type 1, where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin.
– Type 2, where the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells do not react to insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is far more common than Type 1.
In the UK, around 90% of all adults with diabetes have Type 2.
Reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes can be achieved through healthy eating, regular exercise and achieving a healthy body weight.
The main symptoms of diabetes include: feeling very thirsty, urinating more frequently (particularly at night), feeling very tired, weight loss, and loss of muscle bulk.
Source: NHS
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