Green leafy vegetables reduce diabetes risk

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/bmj-glv081810.php

Public release date: 19-Aug-2010
Contact: Emma Dickinson
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Green leafy vegetables reduce diabetes risk
Research: Fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Eating more green leafy vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, finds research published today on bmj.com.

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Patrice Carter and colleagues reviewed six studies involving over 220,000 participants that focused on the links between fruit and vegetable consumption and type 2 diabetes.

The results reveal that eating one and a half extra servings of green leafy vegetables a day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 14%. However, eating more fruit and vegetables combined does not significantly affect this risk. Only a small number of studies were included in the meta-analysis and the benefit of fruit and vegetables as a whole for prevention of type 2 diabetes may have been obscured.

The authors believe that fruit and vegetables can prevent chronic diseases because of their antioxidant content. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach may also act to reduce type 2 diabetes risk due to their high magnesium content.

The authors argue that "our results support the evidence that 'foods' rather than isolated components such as antioxidants are beneficial for health … results from several supplement trials have produced disappointing results for prevention of disease."

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