Diabetes: The small sweet food that may help blood sugar control and prevent the condition

From express.co.uk

DIABETES is a chronic condition in which your blood sugar levels become too high. That's why one of the most important aspects of diabetes is blood sugar control. There's a small food, which may help this management and even prevent type 2 diabetes, according to research.

Diabetes occurs when your body has issues with producing a hormone called insulin. In patients with the condition, the insulin is either not effective, there’s not enough of it or there’s none at all. And insulin is what allows the sugar in your blood to enter other cells in your body.

Diabetes is a common condition, currently affecting almost five million people in the UK. This number is set to rise even further by 2030, reaching one in 10 people. Luckily, diabetes can be managed through simple dietary modifications. And type 2 of this condition can even be prevented in some cases.

The food which may be able to prevent type 2 diabetes and help manage blood sugar is blueberries. The blue little fruit can be bought for as little as 89p. According to a study published in the journal Nutrients, this cheap food can help your body manage blood sugar in a few different ways.

Diabetes: Blueberries may help blood sugar control and prevent the condition. (Image: GETTY)

One group of study participants had to eat blueberries and a slice of white bread, which is a source of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are then broken down into glucose in the body.

Another group had to eat 150 grams of blueberries daily for a period of six days, which was followed by having bread on the seventh day. 

Apart from the bread and blueberry combo, the last group of participants only had a slice of bread without any blueberries. 

All of these groups had their blood taken. And just 15 minutes after eating, the group which had bread with a side of blueberries at the same time saw lower blood sugar spikes. These results suggest that blueberries can help your body manage blood sugar after eating simple carbohydrates.

The researchers think this might be down to what happens in your digestive tract after you eat blueberries.

The study also found that those who ate blueberries for six days had lower insulin levels two hours after eating the bread. This might mean that eating blueberries daily could improve insulin sensitivity, the study reports.

Another study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that blueberries can even slash the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Blueberries can even slash the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. (Image: GETTY)

The study looked at more than 60,000 women and 30,000 men from different studies. Analysing this data, the research identified weakly whole fruit consumption as a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Blueberries were one of the fruits to achieve the best results.

This means that introducing the small sweet fruit into your diet may help lower your risk of diabetes and help control blood sugar.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1547176/diabetes-diet-blueberries-blood-sugar-control-prevention