Last week, we reported that high consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks seems to increase the risk for type 2 diabetes among African-American women. In the most recent issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, investigators from England reported that high levels of vitamin C in the blood are associated with a substantially decreased risk of diabetes.
The researchers studied a population of people, ranging from age 40 to age 75, who completed food questionnaires. The study population was followed for 12 years - in that time, 735 cases of diabetes were identified among 21,831 health individuals. After analyzing the information from the food questionnaires, the researchers found that individuals with high vitamin C levels in the blood were substantially less likely to develop diabetes. They found that higher fruit and vegetable intake was also associated with a significantly decreased risk of diabetes.
These findings highlight a potentially important public health message - promoting a diet rich in fruits and vegetables could help in the prevention of diabetes.
Tags: african american women, archives of internal medicine, cases of diabetes, consumption, diabetes, diet, drinks, England, fruit and vegetable, fruits and vegetables, investigators, medicine, prevention of diabetes, public health message, questionnaires, risk, study population, type 2 diabetes, vegetable intake, vitamin c levels
