GREATER consumption of fresh fruit has been associated with a lower incidence of diabetes, as well as reduced occurrence of complications in people with diabetes.
Researchers found that people who reported elevated consumption of fresh fruit had a lower associated risk of developing diabetes which corresponds to an estimated 0.2 per cent reduction in the absolute risk of diabetes over 5 years.
In people with diabetes, higher consumption of fresh fruit was associated with a lower risk of mortality corresponding to an absolute decrease in risk of 1.9 per cent at 5 years, and with lower risks of microvascular and macrovascular complications.
In addition to the health benefits of consuming fresh fruit, Du and colleagues emphasize the value of their findings for Asian populations where fruit consumption is commonly restricted in people with diabetes. The main limitation of this observational study is that the effects of fruit consumption can be difficult to distinguish from those of participants’ other dietary and behavioural characteristics.