USDA study shows grapes may provide protection against Type I diabetes
USDA study shows grapes may provide protection against Type I diabetes
FRESNO, CA -- Researchers are continuing to discover new ways in which a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is beneficial to health and helps ward off diseases. One new study, which appeared in the May 2007 issue of Journal of Nutrition, shows that "grapes may slow the progression of Type I Autoimmune Diabetes in lab mice," according to a press release from the California Table Grape Commission.
"The protective effect of grapes was quite significant and very exciting," said principal investigator Susan J. Zunino of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Services Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, CA, where the study was conducted.
The commission provided a standardized freeze-dried grape preparation used in the study but otherwise had no involvement, CTGC Communications Director Jim Howard told The Produce News.
The preparation, which is frequently requested by researchers to assure the scientific validity and reproducibility of grape health studies, is made from a blend of various fresh California table grape varieties and contains "all of the biologically active compounds contained in fresh grapes," he said.
However, the commission did not provide any funding for the study, which was supported by the USDA and the National Institutes of Health. Moreover, the initiative for the study came "entirely from outside the industry," Mr. Howard said.
"We don't send out a lot of health releases," he continued. "This [research process] is slow stuff. From the beginning, we chose to take a very credible science-based approach to research."
But the fact that the diabetes study "was accepted and printed in a peer- review journal is why it rose in our mind to a level where we were willing to send out this release," Mr. Howard said.
"This study further reinforces the growing evidence that grapes have anti- inflammatory and antioxidant properties that appear to offer significant health benefits across a number of disease states," said CTGC President Kathleen Nave.
According to the commission's release, the study "shows that consuming grapes protected against the destruction of insulin-producing cells (known as beta cells) in the pancreas, significantly reducing the incidence of diabetes in lab rodents. Naturally occurring antioxidants in grapes, known as polyphenols, are believed to be responsible for this beneficial impact.
"The results of this study showed that grapes reduced the infiltration of immune cells into the islets of Langerhans, the specific area of the pancreas where the insulin-producing beta cells reside, thus preventing their damaging effects on the beta cells. Grapes also reduced the levels of an inflammatory protein in spleen cells, known as TNF-alpha.
"In this study, we observed firsthand" the effects of grapes on "two or three critical components for the prevention of type I diabetes," Ms. Zunino said in the press release. "More studies are needed to more fully define the mechanisms of action for the grapes and their potential as a dietary intervention for diabetes."
"The protective effect of grapes was quite significant and very exciting," said principal investigator Susan J. Zunino of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Services Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, CA, where the study was conducted.
The commission provided a standardized freeze-dried grape preparation used in the study but otherwise had no involvement, CTGC Communications Director Jim Howard told The Produce News.
The preparation, which is frequently requested by researchers to assure the scientific validity and reproducibility of grape health studies, is made from a blend of various fresh California table grape varieties and contains "all of the biologically active compounds contained in fresh grapes," he said.
However, the commission did not provide any funding for the study, which was supported by the USDA and the National Institutes of Health. Moreover, the initiative for the study came "entirely from outside the industry," Mr. Howard said.
"We don't send out a lot of health releases," he continued. "This [research process] is slow stuff. From the beginning, we chose to take a very credible science-based approach to research."
But the fact that the diabetes study "was accepted and printed in a peer- review journal is why it rose in our mind to a level where we were willing to send out this release," Mr. Howard said.
"This study further reinforces the growing evidence that grapes have anti- inflammatory and antioxidant properties that appear to offer significant health benefits across a number of disease states," said CTGC President Kathleen Nave.
According to the commission's release, the study "shows that consuming grapes protected against the destruction of insulin-producing cells (known as beta cells) in the pancreas, significantly reducing the incidence of diabetes in lab rodents. Naturally occurring antioxidants in grapes, known as polyphenols, are believed to be responsible for this beneficial impact.
"The results of this study showed that grapes reduced the infiltration of immune cells into the islets of Langerhans, the specific area of the pancreas where the insulin-producing beta cells reside, thus preventing their damaging effects on the beta cells. Grapes also reduced the levels of an inflammatory protein in spleen cells, known as TNF-alpha.
"In this study, we observed firsthand" the effects of grapes on "two or three critical components for the prevention of type I diabetes," Ms. Zunino said in the press release. "More studies are needed to more fully define the mechanisms of action for the grapes and their potential as a dietary intervention for diabetes."
