Getting your 5-a-day has never been so important, especially if you want to protect your wellbeing from the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. According to a new study, eating lots of blueberries and apples may substantially reduce your risk of developing the disease.
For the study, which was funded by the American government, researchers gave 200,000 male and female health professionals regular questionnaires over 24 years, in order to track their dietary habits. 12,611 cases of type 2 diabetes were diagnosed during the study, though no participant began the study with the disease.
The results were that the participants who ate 2 or more servings of blueberries, or 5 or more apples each week, had a 23% lower risk of diabetes than those who ate none. This is in-keeping with a previous study from the Journal of Nutrition, who found that the overweight participants with insulin resistance, which is a precursor to type 2 diabetes, saw a 10% improvement in their insulin sensitivity when they drank two blueberry smoothies a day for six weeks.
So what’s so good about apples and blueberries? One suggestion is that the health benefits of these fruits come from their high content of flavonoids. These are natural plant compounds that have been widely studied for their health benefits, and a particular type of flavanoid, anthocyanins, are what give blueberries their deep blue pigment.
However, An Pan, PhD, a research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and a co-author of the AJCN study, warned that blueberries and apples do not singularly and intrinsically prevent diabetes, but they are a contributing factor. However, stocking up on your favourite fruity treats can be no bad thing, as eating lots of fruits and other produce is linked to many health benefits such as lower blood pressure, a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer and reaching an optimal body weight. Perhaps this is why you’re recommended to get at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day. Why don’t you try throwing some blueberries in with your cereal at breakfast? Or snacking on an apple with yoghurt or peanut butter? You’ll never see the benefits until you try.