Diet high in fruits, vegetables may help reduce Type 2 diabetes

A diet high in fruits and vegetables may help reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 50%, a large new study suggests.

The study, which spanned about 10 years and included more than 22,000 people, looked at the link between participants’ chance of developing Type 2 diabetes and their blood levels of vitamin C and carotenoids (pigments found in colorful vegetables, such as carrots and tomatoes), considered reliable indicators of fruit and vegetable consumption.

The researchers calculated that every 66-gram (2.3-ounce) increase in fruit and vegetable consumption could lower risk by 25%. Another study, also just published, found that whole-grain foods — such as oatmeal, cold breakfast cereal, brown rice and dark bread, as well as foods with added bran or wheat germ — seemed to reduce the risk by 29%.

That one was based on data on food consumption involving nearly 195,000 people and spanning about 24 years. Type 2 diabetes, which usually develops in adulthood (although more children are being diagnosed with it because of increasing childhood obesity), makes it difficult for your body to properly digest sugar. Too-high levels of blood sugar can cause kidney, nerve and eye damage, heart disease and stroke.

Healthy eating is considered a key component to controlling, or preventing, Type 2 diabetes, along with exercise and possibly medication or insulin. In the United States, 34.2 million people have diabetes (about 10% of the population), according to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention, and more than 90% of them have Type 2.