Blueberries Cut Risk of Diabetes

Regular servings of blueberries can help reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes in men and women at risk for the disease. That’s according to a new study from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of the Louisiana State University System, published in the October issue of The Journal of Nutrition.

The study found that daily consumption of blueberries increased the participants’ insulin sensitivity, a key factor in preventing Type 2 diabetes. Although blueberries were already known to have preventative health benefits due to their high antioxidant content, this is the first reported human study to look at their affect on “whole-body insulin sensitivity in obese, non-diabetic, and insulin-resistant men and women with such precise metabolic techniques,” says Dr. William Cefalu, one of the leaders of the study along with Dr. April Stull.

“Our data suggested that the inclusion of blueberries in the diet of our treatment group as compared to a control group had favourable effects on factors related to the development of diabetes,” adds Cefalu.

Other benefits associated with blueberry consumption, particularly wild blueberries, include lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, preventing memory loss, lowering blood pressure, boosting the immune system, and fighting the effects of aging.