Choose Carrots to Offset Diabetes Risk

Carotenoids are plant-based molecules, consumption of which associate with an array of health effects in humans – most notably, potential antioxidant activity.   I. Sluijs, from University Medical Center Utrecht (The Netherlands), and colleagues analyzed data collected on 37,846 men and women,  enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).  Participants were surveyed for dietary intake of specific carotenoid compounds, with mean total carotenoid intake found to be 10 mg/day.  During a mean follow-up of 10 years, the team followed the subjects for incidence of type-2 diabetes.  After adjusting for confounding factors, data revealed that the participants with higher beta-carotene intake were at a 22% reduction in diabetes  risk.  As well, those who consumed greater amounts of alpha-carotene foods demonstrated reduced risk.  Interestingly, the sum of all dietary carotenoids did not change diabetes risk.  The study authors write that: “This study shows that diets high in [beta]-carotene and [alpha]-carotene are associated with reduced type 2 diabetes in generally healthy men and women.”