In a study focusing on health professionals, attention focused on the association between fruit consumption and risk of developing type 2 diabetes. What they found was that simply eating three servings a week of fruit didn’t seem to affect whether or not the fruit-eater subsequently developed diabetes. Reasonable as that seems, one might find it surprising to learn that the actual numbers associated with specific fruits varied widely. Star of the fruit section seems to be blueberries, which are associated with a reduced incidence of type 2 diabetes, only 74% as many cases emerged. Surprising to me, grapes and raisins were also good bets and the ones associated with an increased incidence of diabetes were strawberries and cantaloupe, both of which were associated with an increased risk, of 3 and 10%, respectively. Another surprise, juice was associated only with an 8% increase, less than cantaloupe.
I guess it’s good for me that cantaloupe aren’t in season very long (I only eat local fruit), and now I know how to answer the question: are all berries the same? No – if you are at all worried about diabetes, stick to blueberries!
