According to Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, We already know that the health benefits of eating vegetables are far-reaching but this is the first time that there has been a suggested link specifically between green leafy vegetables and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However he warned that focussing on one type of food alone is not the key. We would be concerned if focusing on certain foods detracted from the advice to eat five portions of fruits and vegetables a day, which has benefits in terms of reducing heart disease, stroke, some cancers and obesity as well as type 2 diabetes, he added.

Further studies from Diabetes UK are looking into asparagus, garlic, chicory and Jerusalem artichokes in weight loss and prevention of Type 2 diabetes.

Type II diabetes “ New protector

In yet another development that was published on Wednesday in the British Journal of Pharmacology, Chinese scientists said a compound extracted from various Chinese herbs helped reduce the impact of Type 2 diabetes in mice. The product they studied is known as emodin that inhibits an enzyme called 11-Beta-HSD1. This enzyme plays a role in resistance to insulin, the hormone that helps clear excess sugar from the blood. Emodin can be extracted from Chinese rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) and Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) among others

Ying Leng of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica said, Researchers would need to develop chemicals that have similar effects as emodin, and see which if any of these could be used as a therapeutic drug.