RESEARCH - Soy yogurt could help control diabetes: study

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Soy yogurt could help control diabetes: study

Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:07 AM GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Soy yogurt, especially with fruit in it, may help

control both type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, U.S. researchers

reported on Thursday.

Although people with diabetes are usually discouraged from eating sweet

snacks, soy yogurt and some dairy yogurts rich in fruit seem to help

regulate enzymes that affect blood sugar levels, the researchers report in

the Journal of Food Biochemistry.

" What one eats should be part of an overall approach to therapy, " said

Kalidas Shetty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 15 million Americans and up to 150

million people globally, is characterized by an abnormal rise in blood sugar

right after a meal. This effect, known as hyperglycemia, can damage blood

vessels, the kidneys, heart, eyes and nerves.

Shetty was interested in studying certain plant compounds that affect

enzymes targeted by diabetes drugs, notably alpha-amylase and

alpha-glucosidase.

He also wanted to check on foods' effects on angiotensin converting enzyme

or ACE inhibitors, medicines used to fight high blood pressure.

Shetty and his team went to a local supermarket and bought peach,

strawberry, blueberry and plain yogurt made by four different producers,

including a soy brand.

Tests in their lab showed that soy blueberry yogurt strongly affected all

three of the enzymes. Peach and strawberry yogurt also affected

alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase.

The researchers tested the yogurt varieties for antioxidants and plant

compounds called phenols. Phenols and polyphenols give red wine and tea some

of their heart-healthy benefits.

Plain soy yogurt was the most potent, with blueberry dairy yogurt scoring

second on phenol and antioxidant content, the researchers said.

Soy yogurt was also the best at inhibiting ACE, which causes blood vessels

to narrow and raises blood pressure.

Shetty noted that type 2 diabetes is most prevelant in poor communities and

especially among Native Americans.

" Cost-effective dietary changes are essential for fighting this disease, and

traditional diets that have a higher content of these protective

antioxidants are an important part of the solution, " Shetty said.

" We should be able to use diet along with other therapies, and diabetes is a

disease where this especially makes sense. "

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables, along with regular exercise, can

prevent and help control diabetes and high blood pressure alike.

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Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org