Consumption of Certain Fruits Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk

Eating certain whole fruits may reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes, according to the results of 3 combined prospective longitudinal cohort studies, by Isao Muraki, PhD, MD, from the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts and published in online August 29 in BMJ.

However, juice consumption may up the risk for diabetes. To get a better assessment of the role fruit might have in diabetes risk, the investigators combined data from 3 studies: the Nurses' Health Study (n = 66,105), Nurses' Health Study II (n = 85,104), and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (n = 36,173).

Over the course of 3,464,641 person-years of follow-up, 12,198 participants developed type 2 diabetes. In a multivariate analysis adjusted for personal, lifestyle, and dietary risk factors for diabetes, every 3 servings of fruit per week were associated with a lower risk for type 2 diabetes.

When the researchers looked at individual types of fruit in a multivariate analysis, adjusted for the same factors, they found that 3 servings per week of some fruits were more closely associated with reduced risk than others: blueberries, grapes and raisins, apples and pears, bananas and grapefruit. Conversely, the intake of cantaloupe or fruit juice was associated with an increase in the risk for type 2 diabetes.

In a secondary analysis, the investigators found that the consumption of high glycemic load fruits was linked to a lower risk for type 2 diabetes, as was consumption of moderate glycemic index fruits.