Diabetes - Stone Fruits May Help To Reverse Type II

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More than 25 million people in the United States suffer from diabetes, and doctors estimate there are tens of millions more who are borderline diabetic.

If you are diabetic or have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, there’s hope — diabetes is one of the few major diseases that is not only reversible, but also 100% preventable with proper diet and exercise.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that disrupts the body’s production of insulin, affecting how we process our main source of fuel: glucose. Approximately 90% of all diabetics are type 2. This high percentage is very probably linked to the most common trait among diagnosed cases: obesity.

Diabetes: A Growing Epidemic

Food scientist Luis Cisneros-Zevallos and colleagues from Texas AgriLife Research conducted a study that demonstrated that compounds found in stone fruits, such as peaches and plums, may help protect against metabolic syndrome, in which inflammation and obesity trigger chronic diseases and other health problems.

Cisneros-Zevallos stated, “In recent years obesity has become a major concern in society due to the health problems associated with it. In the U.S., statistics show that around 30% of the population is overweight or obese, and these cases are increasing every year in alarming numbers.”

Explaining the team’s results, he added, “Our work indicates that phenolic compounds present in these fruits have anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties in different cell lines and may also reduce the oxidation of bad cholesterol LDL which is associated with cardiovascular disease.” Cisneros-Zevallos and his group also noted that stone fruits provided a defense against breast cancer and a significant boost to the immune system.

How Fruit and Diabetes Go Together To Help Reduce Diabetes

Stone fruits such as peaches, plums and nectarines have been found to contain a bio-active compound that can effectively fight type 2 diabetes.

What makes these fruits work so effectively are the unique chemical compounds that eradicate the different components of the disease.

Phenols found in stone fruits have a proven positive effect on metabolic syndromes such as elevated blood sugar, high cholesterol and hypertension.

When blood sugar and cholesterol levels are stable and hypertension under control, your chances of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease are drastically decreased.

Fruit and Diabetes- Fighting Compounds in Stone Fruits

1) Anthocyanins – color fruits and vegetables with a reddish-based pigment. These compounds increase your body’s production of insulin.
2) Clorogenic Acids – the main acid found in coffee, tomatoes and carrots. They regulate blood sugar levels.
3) Quercetin – provides bright color to fruits and vegetables. Possibly lowers build-up of sorbitol in your kidneys, nerves and eyes.
4) Catechins – the primary compound in black, red and green tea. Encourage a healthy weight, maintain blood sugar levels, and lower cardiovascular risk.

These antioxidant-rich compounds have been proven beneficial individually, but together they create substantial possibilities for long-term diabetes control.

By regulating blood sugar, increasing insulin production, maintaining healthy weight, and helping to prevent diabetic damage to cells, they safely and naturally prevent and reverse this metabolic disease.

Fight Diabetes with Fruits Rich in Phenols:

• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Plums
• Cherries
• Red Grapes
• Berries
• Apples (Granny Smith and Fuji specifically)

Poor nutrition, lack of sleep and irregular physical activity are the primary instigators of obesity. Obesity leads to metabolic syndrome…and metabolic syndrome leads to diabetes and heart disease.
Don’t let diabetes win. It is preventable and reversible. Start fighting back…one piece of fruit at a time.

Further Related Reading:

• The Benefits of Cherries are More Than A Wonderful Snack
• This Energy Nutrient May Decrease the Chances of Developing Diabetes
• Daily Ways to Prevent A Stroke By Eating White Fruits

http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/stone-fruit-and-diabetes

Peaches, Plums, Nectarines Give Obesity, Diabetes Slim Chance

By Staff Editor
Jun 19, 2012 - 2:04:09 PM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - COLLEGE STATION – Peaches, plums and nectarines have bioactive compounds that can potentially fight-off obesity-related diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to new studies by Texas AgriLife Research.

The study, which will be presented at the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia next August, showed that the compounds in stone fruits could be a weapon against “metabolic syndrome,” in which obesity and inflammation lead to serious health issues, according to Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, AgriLife Research food scientist.

“In recent years obesity has become a major concern in society due to the health problems associated to it,” said Cisneros-Zevallos, who also is an associate professor at Texas A&M University. “In the U.S., statistics show that around 30 percent of the population is overweight or obese, and these cases are increasing every year in alarming numbers.”

While he acknowledged that lifestyle, genetic predisposition and diet play a major role in one’s tendency toward obesity, “the major concern about obesity is the associated disease known as metabolic syndrome.

“Our studies have shown that stone fruits – peaches, plums and nectarines – have bioactive compounds that can potentially fight the syndrome,” Cisneros-Zevallos said. “Our work indicates that phenolic compounds present in these fruits have anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties in different cell lines and may also reduce the oxidation of bad cholesterol LDL which is associated to cardiovascular disease.”

What is unique to these fruits, he said, is that their mixture of the bioactive compounds work simultaneously within the different components of the disease.

“Our work shows that the four major phenolic groups – anthocyanins, clorogenic acids, quercetin derivatives and catechins – work on different cells – fat cells, macrophages and vascular endothelial cells,” he explained. “They modulate different expressions of genes and proteins depending on the type of compound.

“However, at the same time, all of them are working simultaneously in different fronts against the components of the disease, including obesity, inflammation, diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” he explained.

Cisneros-Zevallos said this is believed to be the first time that “bioactive compounds of a fruit have been shown to potentially work in different fronts against a disease.”

“Each of these stone fruits contain similar phenolic groups but in differing proportions so all of them are a good source of health promoting compounds and may complement each other,” he said, adding that his team plans to continue studying the role of each type of compound on the molecular mechanisms and confirm the work with mice studies.

The studies on the health benefits of stone fruit are funded by the California Tree Fruit Agreement, The California Plum Board, the California Grape and Tree Fruit League and the Texas Department of Agriculture. The Cisneros-Zevallos lab team in this study included Freddy Ibanez, Paula Castillo, Paula Simons and Dr. Congmei Cao.

http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Diabetes_Issues_640/Peaches_Plums_Nectarines_Give_Obesity_Diabetes_Slim_Chance.shtml