It’s the Variety of Fruit-and-Veggie That Lower Diabetes Risk

A new report states that, people who consumed the most servings of fruit and vegetables in a week had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes over 11 years, versus people who ate the fewest.

According to senior researcher Dr. Nita G. Forouhi, of the Institute of Metabolic Science in Cambridge, UK, diabetes risk was lower among people who ate a wider variety of fruit and vegetables -- regardless of the actual quantity. That suggests people should not only focus on how many servings they get each day, but also the variety.

 

According to Forouhi, "The finding on variety of intake is new and exciting, because it demonstrates that independent of the quantity consumed, we have the potential to gain additional and important benefits from choosing a mixture of different fruits and vegetables as part of a balanced diet."

 

For the study, they looked at data from 3,704 adults ages 40 to 79 who were part of a larger study on nutrition and chronic diseases. Of those people, 653 developed type 2 diabetes over 11 years.

All of the study participants had kept a week-long food diary at the study's start. Dr. Forouhi's team found that 16% of people who'd reported the highest combined fruit and vegetable intake -- typically about six servings of fruit and vegetables per day -- developed diabetes over the coming years, compared to 21% of those with the lowest intake, which averaged about two servings per day.

 

That low-intake group closely matches the average American. U.S. studies suggest that adults typically get two to three servings of fruit and vegetables combined each day.  Of course, fruit and veggie lovers may be different from non-lovers in a number of ways, Dr. Forouhi acknowledged -- including weight, exercise levels, smoking habits and education.

 

But when her team accounted for those factors, a high intake of fruit and vegetables was still linked to a 21% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

 

The researchers found a similar pattern when it came to variety. People who averaged 16 different types of fruit and vegetables per week were about 40% less likely to develop diabetes than people who averaged eight types.

 

The results underscore the standard diet advice for overall health: Eat your fruits and vegetables.  Variety may be key, Dr. Forouhi said, because it helps ensure a range of nutrients. To get a good variety, Dr. Forouhi suggests that people incorporate a range of colors into their fruit and vegetable choices.

 

But, she added, that all needs to be part of a generally healthy lifestyle.