A NEW study has found that berries rich in polyphenols could cut risk of Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The Finnish study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed the polyphenols decreased the post-meal glucose responses to sucrose in healthy subjects.
Sucrose increases postprandial blood glucose concentrations and high-sugar diets have be associated with increased risk of obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease.
Several in-vitro and in-vivo studies from the paper have suggested that the berry polyphenols can influence carbohydrate digestion and absorption and thereby postprandial glycaemia.
The researchers investigated the glycaemic effect of a berry puree made from bilberries, blackcurrants, cranberries and strawberries, sweetened with sucrose.
The berries delayed and reduced the glycaemic response, indicating reduced digestion and/or absorption of sucrose from the berry meal.
This study further builds the evidence for berries and their health benefits for those with metabolic disease or dysfunction.
Watch this space later in the year, when Liverpool John Moores University publish their findings on CurraNZ on this subject matter.
SOURCE: British Journal of Nutrition
Title: Berries modify the postprandial plasma glucose response to sucrose in healthy subjects.
