Special edition: Diabetes

First up, we look at the tantalizing data from researchers based in England who reported that supplementation with cacao-flavonoids and soy isoflavones may improve levels of biomarkers of heart disease in postmenopausal, diabetic women.

“Our study is the only combined flavonoid trial and the longest flavan-3-ol intervention to date, and our findings have potential clinical relevance.”​

Please click here to read: Cacao & soy compounds show heart health benefits for diabetic women: Study​

Next up, we revisit our coverage of a potential ‘game changer’ for the nutraceutical industry, according to ATM Metabolics. The Florida-based company is reportedly in advanced negotiations with some of the biggest food and beverage brands in the US and Europe about incorporating Emulin - the insulin-mimicking active ingredient in GNC’s top-selling glucose control supplement GC7X - into packaged foods and drinks.

Please click here to read: Novel plant blend could be a game changer in fight vs metabolic syndrome, claim inventors​

Other ingredients attracting attention are the polyphenol-enriched soybean flour Nutrasorb ingredients, being developed by scientists from Rutgers University, North Carolina State University, and Nutrasorb LLC.

Recent data published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry​ indicated that consumption of defatted soybean flour impregnated with Concord grape juice was associated with reduced blood sugar levels in diabetic mice.

Please click here to read: Polyphenol-enriched soybean flour shows blood sugar benefits​

ConAgra Foods also made the headlines recently when the company petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a health claim for an inverse relationship of whole grain consumption and the incidence of DMT2 (diabetes mellitus type 2).

Dr Mark Andon, Vice President Nutrition, Research, Quality, and Innovation at ConAgra Foods, said: “Dietary strategies that incorporate increased consumption of whole grains and whole grain products are likely to have a significant and substantially positive public health outcome to the US consumer.”​

Please click here to read: ConAgra to FDA: There is ‘ample evidence’ to support qualified health claim on whole grains and type II diabetes​

Back to the lab and researchers from Denmark reported their findings that an alginate gel may help blunt blood sugar spikes. Writing in the Journal of Functional Foods​ the University of Copenhagen scientists reported that extracts from brown seaweed may reduce blood sugar spikes by about 14% and offer benefits from people at risk of type-2 diabetes.

Please click here to read: Alginate gels may blunt blood sugar spikes​

Finally, there was good news for coffee lovers when data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study found that consumption of coffee does not increase the risk of heart disease and may reduce the risk of developing diabetes by up to 30%.

Please click here to read: Coffee poses no threat to hearts, may reduce diabetes risk: EPIC data​