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Spinach and Other Green Leafy
Vegetables May Reduce
The Risk of Diabetes
Important New Research Supports The Evidence
On The Benefits Of Vegetable Source Antioxidants,
Carotenoids, Minerals and Phytochemicals For
Helping Prevent Diabetes.
Increasing intakes of green leafy vegetables may reduce
the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by about 15 per cent,
according to a meta-analysis of six studies.
Researchers from the University of Leicester in the UK
state that the benefits of the vegetables may be linked to
their antioxidant content, with other observational studies
highlighting the likes of beta-carotene, vitamin C, polyphenols
and magnesium.
Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the researchers
state, however, that the their results “support the evidence that
foods rather than isolated components such as antioxidants are
beneficial for health”.
“The results support the growing body of evidence that lifestyle
modification is an important factor in the prevention of type 2
diabetes,” wrote the researchers. “The potential for tailored
advice on increasing intake of green leafy vegetables to reduce
the risk of type 2 diabetes should be investigated further.”
Diabetes affects an estimated 24 million Americans, equal to
8 percent of the population. The total costs are thought to be
as much as $174 billion, with $116 billion being direct costs
from medication, according to 2005-2007 American Diabetes
Association figures.
In an accompanying editorial in the BMJ, Professor Jim Mann
from the University of Otago in New Zealand, and Dr Dagfinn
Aune from Imperial College, London (UK), said that the findings
are a useful reminder that giving dietary advice may be just as
good, if not better, than prescribing drugs.
The researchers and their co-workers searched the literature
and found six studies that met their criteria. The studies
provided data for 223,512 people aged from 25 to 70. While
no overall association was seen for the consumption of
vegetables, fruit, or fruit and vegetables, a greater intake of
green leafy vegetables was associated with a 14 percent lower
risk of type-2 diabetes.
“Further investigation is warranted to understand the
mechanisms involved in the proposed relation between
green leafy vegetables and risk of type-2 diabetes,” added
the researchers.
Sources: British Medical Journal 2010
“Fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of type 2
diabetes mellitus: systematic review and meta-analysis”
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