Antioxidants protect against diabetes

Larissa Melville completed her traineeship in the editorial team of . After studying biology at Ludwig Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich, she first got to know digital media online at Focus and then decided to learn medical journalism from scratch.

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Exercise, adequate sleep and a normal body mass index (BMI) prevent diabetes.Eating a healthy diet is just as important. If this is rich in antioxidants, i.e. contains a lot of fruit, vegetables or tea, the protective effect is apparently particularly effective.

Free radicals damage important cell organelles and enzymes in the body. This is where antioxidants can help: They neutralize free radicals or prevent their formation. Studies have shown that the daily intake of antioxidants causes blood sugar levels to rise more slowly and less after a meal. "In addition, they possibly promote insulin sensitivity and this could prevent or at least delay the occurrence of diabetes," reports Prof. Guy Fagherazzi from the University of Paris-Saclay in an interview with

Noticeable effect

He and his colleagues investigated the association between the daily intake of antioxidants and the risk of diabetes in over 64,000 middle-aged women. The trial period was 15 years. The women had provided information about their diet by means of a detailed questionnaire, from which the researchers calculated the daily amount of antioxidants ingested.

The result: the test subjects who consumed a lot of antioxidants every day had an almost 30 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who ate only little. The more antioxidants consumed, the stronger the effect. But only up to an amount of 15 mmol per day, after which the effect remained at the same level. It is conceivable that the human body can only absorb a certain amount of antioxidants from food, the researchers write.

The association between increased consumption of antioxidants and a reduced risk of diabetes persisted when the researchers considered other risk factors such as weight, smoking, high blood pressure and genetic predisposition in the data analysis.

Blueberries, hazelnuts and chocolate

"We were able to show that an increased intake of antioxidants can contribute to a reduction in the risk of diabetes," summarizes Fagherazzi the results. But more studies are needed to better understand the biological mechanism.

A varied and healthy diet is recommended in any case, according to the expert. “Also, try to increase your consumption of various antioxidants such as those found in dark chocolate, tea, walnuts, plums, blueberries, strawberries and hazelnuts. Or to put it more generally: Eat more foods that are rich in polyphenols, vitamins C and E. "

Much but not too much

Antioxidants appear to have a positive effect on health, but one shouldn't overdo it: "Excessive intake could also damage the body, as is the case with other substances," warns Fagherazzi.

In people with type 2 diabetes, the pancreas still produces insulin, but not enough. In addition, the body cells are often resistant to insulin. As a result, very little sugar from the blood reaches the cells and the amount of sugar in the blood increases. Around seven million people in Germany live with this disease. And the number is increasing, because more and more people are overweight, do little physical exercise and generally lead an unhealthy lifestyle.

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