New ways to tackle diabetes

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDAug 19 2010

Green Leaves Protect from Type II Diabetes: Study

According to a new analysis from the UK, a diet rich in green leafy vegetables may reduce the risk of developing diabetes. The inference was drawn from six studies that looked into fruit and vegetable intake and found that only food, including spinach and cabbage, was found to have a significant positive effect. The findings were published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

A portion and a half a day (106g) was found to cut type 2 diabetes risk by 14%. Experts urged people to aim for five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. The researchers from Leicester University reviewed data from the studies, including 220,000 adults. The link between vegetables and fruits and the development of diabetes, write researchers, is not direct, but “there was a general trend in that direction.”

The real reason is not apparent yet. However, the high antioxidant values and magnesium in these could be a reason. According to lead researchers Professor Melanie Davies, professor of diabetic medicine at the University of Leicester, and Dr. Patrice Carter, people should have five portions of fruit and vegetables daily. A National Diet Nutrition Survey survey in 2008/09 showed that, although fruit and vegetable intake has risen over the past decade, only a third of men and women eat the recommended five a day. “We know that intake of fruit and vegetables is important, but this study suggests that green leafy vegetables seem particularly important in preventing diabetes,” she said.

Along with this study, an editorial in the BMJ written by Professor Jim Mann from the University of Otago in New Zealand said a healthy diet with fruit and vegetable intake should not be lost “in a plethora of magic bullets,” even though green leafy vegetables clearly can be included as one of the daily portions.

According to Dr. Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, “We already know that the health benefits of eating vegetables are far-reaching, but this is the first time that there has been a suggested link specifically between green leafy vegetables and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes.” However, he warned that focussing on one type of food alone is not the key. “We would be concerned if focusing on certain foods detracted from the advice to eat five portions of fruits and vegetables a day, which has benefits in terms of reducing heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and obesity as well as type 2 diabetes,” he added.

Further studies from Diabetes UK are looking into asparagus, garlic, chicory, and Jerusalem artichokes in weight loss and prevention of Type 2 diabetes.

Type II diabetes – New protector

In another development published on Wednesday in the British Journal of Pharmacology, Chinese scientists said a compound extracted from various Chinese herbs helped reduce the impact of Type 2 diabetes in mice. The product they studied is emodin, which inhibits an enzyme called 11-Beta-HSD1. This enzyme plays a role in resistance to insulin, the hormone that helps clear excess sugar from the blood. Emodin can be extracted from Chinese rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) and Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), among others.

Ying Leng of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica said, “Researchers would need to develop chemicals that have similar effects as emodin, and see which if any of these could be used as a therapeutic drug.”