Study into blaeberries for treating diabetes

Fri, 04 Jun 2010
A new study into the possible benefits of blaeberries for treating diabetes is underway in Aberdeen. Experts from the University of Aberdeen, led by Dr Nigel Hoggard, from the Rowett Institute for Nutrition and Health, are hoping that extracts from the fruit, a part of the blueberry family, will provide help in controlling the condition.

The researchers are looking for 60 local overweight men, aged between 40 and 70 and with type 2 diabetes, to take part in the three-week study. The volunteers must be using their diet to control their diabetes, rather than insulin, and would be expected to take the fruit in a concentrated capsule form three times a day.

Dr Hoggard said "The exact link between type 2 diabetes and obesity has never been pinpointed. We think the answer to their connection lies in fat tissue. When fat increases, this is associated with a low-grade inflammation, and the release of a number of hormones into the blood . It is these hormones, and how they act on the glucose in our body, which we believe causes type 2 diabetes to occur."

Blaeberries are known to be naturally very high in a chemical substance called polyphenols, which the researchers hope could reduce the inflammation that occurs when fat increases. The blaeberry has been believed to be a traditional folk remedy for treating diabetes for centuries.

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