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Antioxidants appear to protect against diabetes
Alison McCook
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating a diet rich in antioxidants,
such as vitamin E, appears to ward off diabetes, new research reports.
A group of Finnish researchers found that people who ate diets
that contained the most vitamin E were 30 percent less likely to
develop type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, than
people who consumed the least amount of vitamin E.
People who consumed large amounts of carotenoids, a group of compounds
that produce the red, yellow, and orange colors found in many fruits
and vegetables, were also less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Vitamin C intake, in contrast, appeared to exert no effect on diabetes
risk.
Study author Jukka Montonen of the National Public Health Institute
in Helsinki told Reuters Health that more studies are needed before
researchers can recommend that people at risk of type 2 diabetes
switch to an antioxidant-rich diet to ward off the disease.
However, Montonen noted that antioxidants are present in whole
grains and fruits and vegetables, important ingredients for an overall
healthy diet.
"Our findings are in line with the general recommendation
to include plenty of vegetables and fruits in one's daily diet,"
the researcher noted.
Losing any excess weight and staying physically fit are two other
important steps people should take to ward off type 2 diabetes,
Montonen added.
Previous research has shown that vitamin E and other antioxidants
may protect people from type 2 diabetes by mopping up free radicals,
cell-damaging particles that are a byproduct of normal metabolism.
During the current study, Montonen and colleagues followed more
than 4,000 people between the ages of 40 and 69 for 23 years, noting
what they ate and who developed type 2 diabetes.
The researchers linked type 2 diabetes risk to a number of different
forms of vitamin E, carotenoids and vitamin C.
During the study follow-up, 164 men and 219 women developed type
2 diabetes.
Although overall intake of vitamin E and carotenoids appeared to
reduce the risk of diabetes, certain forms of those antioxidants
showed more of an inhibiting effect than others.
The researcher added that the complex nature of our diets makes
it difficult to pinpoint whether a single antioxidant can truly
reduce the risk of diabetes, perhaps explaining why vitamin C appeared
to offer no protection from the condition.
"Instead of isolated nutrients, people eat meals mixing different
foods, giving several nutrients a chance to interact. The effect
of the complex overall diet may conceal the effect of single nutrients,"
Montonen explained.
Montonen added that people who ate an antioxidant-rich diet may
simply have had a healthier diet overall, making it hard to determine
whether the protective effect came from antioxidants themselves.
The researcher noted that people who are trying to reduce their
risk of diabetes through diet should stick to fruits, vegetables
and other antioxidant-rich foods, rather than vitamin supplements.
"We do not know the beneficial amount or combination of the
antioxidants. Vitamin supplements should not be recommended for
prevention of type 2 diabetes," Montonen said.
SOURCE: Diabetes Care, February 2004.
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