Whole fruit, green leafy vegetables lower diabetes risk... News... Diabetes Australia

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04 March 2010

A message from the CEO of Diabetes Australia-NSW on Australian Government Health Reforms

The Australian Government yesterday announced major reforms to Australia’s health and hospital system.

26 February 2010

Diabetes increases dementia risk in older people

British researchers have found that older people with mild cognitive impairment are three times more likely to develop dementia if they have diabetes.

09 March 2010

Combined diet and exercise the key to improving insulin resistance

Combining diet and exercise rather than diet and exercise alone leads to significantly greater improvements in body fat distribution and insulin resistance, according to the findings of a new study.

04 March 2010

Salt intake linked with stroke, heart disease risk

A new Italian study suggests that by lowering our salt intake we could substantially reduce the amount of deaths from heart disease and stroke worldwide.

Whole fruit, green leafy vegetables lower diabetes risk

6 May 2008

The health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables are already well known but now a new study has found that fruit and vegetables may also reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, depending on what type and how you eat them.

Americans researchers from the Harvard Medical School and associates studied more than 71,000 women aged 38 to 63 years to determine the link between the development of type 2 diabetes and the consumption of all fruits and vegetables, specific groups and fruit juices.

The women did not have heart disease, diabetes or cancer when the study started and were followed for 18 years, during which time they completed a food questionnaire every four years.

The results, published in the 4 April Diabetes Care ahead of print, show that while increasing total fruit and vegetable consumption may not reduce diabetes risk, eating more whole fruit and green leafy vegetables can.

The researchers found that an increase of three servings a day of whole fruit was associated with an 18 per cent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

An increase of one serve of green leafy vegetables was associated with a nine per cent reduced risk of diabetes.

However, one extra serving of fruit juice a day was associated with an 18 per cent increase in diabetes risk and the researchers caution against considering 100 per cent fruit juice as a serving of fruit.

They suggest that replacing refined grains and white potatoes with fruits and vegetables could have a significant benefit for reducing diabetes risk.

The message – there are many reasons to increase your intake of fruit and vegetables, but if your goal is to reduce your diabetes risk, eat whole fruit, not juiced and include plenty of green leafy vegetables in your meals.

For tips on increasing your intake of fruit and vegetables, visit www.gofor2and5.com.au.

Source:
- Bazzano et al. Intake of Fruit, Vegetables, and Fruit Juices and Risk of Diabetes in Women. Diabetes Care Publish Ahead of Print published online 4 April, 2008