Study Shows Fresh Fruit Might Reduce Risk For Developing Diabetes

There's no doubt that adding fruit to your diet can boost your health with added nutrients including fiber and vitamin C. Now, a study published in PLOS Medicine suggests that eating fresh fruit may have other health benefits, such as reducing the risk for developing diabetes.

In study, the diet and health of 512,891 men and women in China aged 30 to 79 were tracked over a seven-year period. Researchers also tracked factors including smoking, the consumption of alcohol, and blood pressure.

Results showed that among participants who didn't have diabetes at the start of the study, there was a 12 percent lower risk of developing the disease in those who ate fresh fruit every day in comparison to those who didn't eat fresh fruit at all. Of the participants who were already diabetic at the beginning of the study, those who ate fruit more than three times per week had a 17 percent lower risk of death from the disease and other complications, such as heart and kidney problems, associated with it compared to those who didn't eat fruit.

However, researchers point out that the main limitation of the study was that it was observational; therefore they could neither control external factors that could have impacted the results nor take a deep dive as to why the dietary habit is linked to the disease.

To read about 20 things you didn't know about diabetes and diet, click here.