(27-07-12) Eat strawberries, prevent diabetes?

by Katie Brind''Amour

(NaturalNews) Scientists at the University of Warwick have identified a
potential preventive effect of strawberries on Type 2 Diabetes risk. Although
strawberries have previously been identified as effective at battling high
cholesterol and post-meal blood glucose levels, professor Paul Thornalley's
research has now demonstrated that strawberry extract actually stimulates the
protein "Nrf2" in our bodies, which activates antioxidant activity and
decreases blood lipids.

Eating strawberries or strawberry extract may offer a simple, natural solution
to improving cardiovascular health. Now that researchers know how strawberries
stimulate this protective effect, they can focus on determining how much and
which form of strawberries will work best to fight cardiovascular disease and
diabetes.

Eating fruit despite diabetes
Of course, a proper diet has always been the first line of defense in
preventing diabetes naturally and - coupled with maintaining a healthy body
weight - is the best natural treatment for achieving safe blood glucose levels.
Many diabetics focus so much on carbohydrate counting and the avoidance of
sugar that they virtually eliminate fruit from their diet. Unfortunately, this
habit may prevent them from benefiting from the natural disease-fighting
properties of some of nature's most delicious foods (such as strawberries).

In fact, when incorporated carefully into the diabetic diet, eating a variety
of fruits can be the key to maintaining energy levels, improving memory,
fighting neurodegenerative illness, safeguarding cardiovascular health,
achieving healthy skin and organs, and even preventing common diabetes
complications.

So why the diabetic war on fruit?

Many diabetics believe that fruit sabotages blood glucose levels and eats up
large portions of their carbohydrate budget for meals. Eaten in correct serving
sizes and as part of an otherwise balanced diet; however, virtually any fruit
can be a regular addition to the diabetic diet. In general, diabetic and non-
diabetic diets should be composed of lean protein, low-fat dairy products,
whole grains, lots of vegetables, and a variety of fruit.

Serve up some strawberries with Greek yogurt and walnuts for breakfast, snack
on some grapes and whole grain crackers in the afternoon, or whip up a mango
salsa to serve with fish at dinner. In general, the more variety, the better.
Berries, bananas, apples, and citrus all boast wonderful health benefits, and
can be easily monitored for portion size and identified on glycemic index
charts. After a few weeks with strawberries and other fruits in the diet,
things may start looking up as your diabetes risk and health woes go down -
naturally!

Sources for this article include:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk

http://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/seven-day-meal-plan

http://ndep.nih.gov/media/nottoolate_tips-508.pdf?redirect=true

http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_diabetes.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22293281

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22191015

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