The consumption of white wheat bread activates the body’s insulin response system1. Eating berries, such as strawberries, cranberries, and blackcurrants, can limit the amount of insulin needed for the body to process the starches found in bread. This is good news for a nation where eating starchy wheat products is a daily occurrence. The benefit associated with eating berries has been studied a great deal. This paper supports the findings that berries can reduce the insulin response system in the body and therefore reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in women.
Three different stages of the study were conducted to look at the effects of different types of berries on the insulin response in healthy women after eating white wheat bread or rye bread. Each study included 13-20 participants. The study was a single-blinded, randomized study. This means that the participants and those involved in the collection of the data did not know who was in each group, although the lead researcher did. This also meant that those who were in the study were divided into 2 groups (those who would eat berries with bread, and those who would not) in a way that age, weight, and other physiological traits and behaviors were similar in each group. Strawberries helped glucose metabolism by 36% and a mixture of berries improved it by 38%. The results were statistically analyzed. The statistical procedures used checked for normality—or consistency within the group—and to check for statistical significance.
The effects of berries on insulin response has been studied extensively, particularly in mouse studies2,3,4. These other studies administered the berries in different forms, such as smoothies or berry powder mixed in to food. The mouse studies gave mice a high fat diet (60% energy from fat), compared to the 25-35% energy from fat suggested for human dietary consumption. Even though these other studies did not look at the relationship between berries consumed with breads, all of the studies showed that eating berries or berry products decreased the insulin response in the humans and mice. An over-active insulin response is associated with an increased risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, therefore decreasing the overall insulin response may decrease risk for Diabetes.
From this paper we learn that consuming berries with the starchy wheat products, like bread, already in our diet, we may be able to improve our bodies’ response and reduce our risk for chronic diseases, like Diabetes. Although this is a subject still being studied, I think it would be safe to say including in-season berries in your diet is a healthy choice. Include berries into your consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Link to the article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23365108
Reference List
(1) Torronen R, Kolehmainen M, Sarkkinen E, Poutanen K, Mykkanen H, Niskanen L. Berries reduce postprandial insulin responses to wheat and rye breads in healthy women. J Nutr 2013;143(4):430-436.
(2) Torronen R, Sarkkinen E, Niskanen T, Tapola N, Kilpi K, Niskanen L. Postprandial glucose, insulin and glucagon-like peptide 1 responses to sucrose ingested with berries in healthy subjects. Br J Nutr 2012;107(10):1445-1451.
(3) Guo H, Xia M, Zou T, Ling W, Zhong R, Zhang W. Cyanidin 3-glucoside attenuates obesity-associated insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet-fed and db/db mice via the transcription factor FoxO1. J Nutr Biochem 2012;23(4):349-360.
(4) Tsuda T, Horio F, Uchida K, Aoki H, Osawa T. Dietary cyanidin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside-rich purple corn color prevents obesity and ameliorates hyperglycemia in mice. J Nutr 2003;133(7):2125-2130.
Reviewed by Viktoriya Wolff
