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Suffering from diabetes? Eating broccoli can help keep it in check

When the researchers gave concentrated broccoli sprout extracts to 97 human type 2 diabetes patients in a 12-week randomised placebo-controlled trial, obese participants who entered the study with dysregulated disease demonstrated significantly decreased fasting blood glucose levels compared to controls.

Eating broccoli sprouts may help diabetes patients manage their blood sugar, according to a new study which offers a much needed alternative to address the worldwide epidemic.Eating broccoli sprouts may help diabetes patients manage their blood sugar, according to a new study which offers a much needed alternative to address the worldwide epidemic.

Type 2 diabetes affects more than 300 million people globally, and as many as 15 per cent of those patients cannot take the first-line therapy metformin because of kidney damage risks. Seeking a more viable path forward, researchers identified compounds that might counter the disease — associated gene expression changes associated with type 2 diabetes. The researchers, including Annika Axelsson of Lund University in Sweden, constructed a signature for type 2 diabetes based on 50 genes, then used data sets to screen 3,852 compounds for drugs that potentially reverse disease.

The most promising chemical — sulforaphane, a naturally occurring compound found in cruciferous vegetables — tamped down glucose production by liver cells growing in culture, and shifted liver gene expression away from a diseased state in diabetic rats.

When the researchers gave concentrated broccoli sprout extracts to 97 human type 2 diabetes patients in a 12-week randomised placebo-controlled trial, obese participants who entered the study with dysregulated disease demonstrated significantly decreased fasting blood glucose levels compared to controls. The researchers said that developing gene signatures to investigate large public repositories of gene expression data could be a valuable strategy to rapidly identify clinically relevant compounds.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/suffering-from-diabetes-eating-broccoli-can-help-keep-it-in-check/

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Eating broccoli daily may prevent hardening of neck arteries in older adults

One should include cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and sprouts in their daily diet because they are good for health and may also help prevent the hardening of neck arteries.

According to a new study, consuming these veggies three or more times each day can prevent hardening of neck arteries in elderly women and also decrease the risk of heart diseases.

A team of researchers have observed a 0.05 millimetre lower carotid artery wall thickness between high and low intakes of total vegetables.

Lead author Lauren Blekkenhorst, from the University of Western Australia,”That is likely significant, because a 0.1 millimetre decrease in carotid wall thickness is associated with a 10 per cent to 18 per cent decrease in risk of stroke and heart attack.”

In addition, each 10 grams per day higher in cruciferous vegetable intake was associated with 0.8 per cent lower average carotid artery wall thickness.

“After adjusting for lifestyle, cardiovascular disease risk factors (including medication use) as well as other vegetable types and dietary factors, our results continued to show a protective association between cruciferous vegetables and carotid artery wall thickness.”

For the study, the research team distributed food frequency questionnaires to 954 Australian women aged 70 and older.

The women noted their vegetable intake in a range from “never eating vegetables” to “three or more times per day”.

Vegetable types included cruciferous, allium (for example, onions, garlic, leeks and shallots), yellow/orange/red, leafy green and legumes.

Sonograms were used to measure carotid artery wall thickness and entire carotid trees were examined to determine carotid plaque severity.

However, due to the observational nature of this study, a causal relationship cannot be established.

Blekkenhorst said, “Still, dietary guidelines should highlight the importance of increasing consumption of cruciferous vegetables for protection from vascular disease.”

The study is detailed in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/eating-broccoli-daily-may-prevent-hardening-of-neck-arteries-in-older-adults-2096739

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