Could chocolate and wine save us from type 2 diabetes?

By Tracy Kelly, Diabetes UK clinical adviser

According to research just published, eating high levels of flavonoids is linked to a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Flavonoids aren’t only found in healthy food such as berries, apples and pears, but also in wine and chocolate – so can it possibly be true?

The study does seem to show an association between flavonoids and lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Almost 2,000 women completed a food questionnaire designed to estimate total dietary flavonoid intake, then their blood samples were analysed for evidence of both glucose regulation and inflammation and were used to give an indication of insulin resistance. The researchers found that those who consumed plenty of anthocyanins and flavones (two specific types of flavonoids) had lower insulin resistance and were also less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

But we need to interpret the findings with caution. For one thing, there have been contradictory findings from other studies. For another, even if high flavonoid consumption and lower type 2 diabetes risk do tend to happen together, it doesn’t necessarily mean one is causing the other.

So what should people be doing to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes? Diabetes UK already recommends a healthy lifestyle that involves doing regular physical activity and eating a healthy diet to help maintain a healthy weight. This includes eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, many of which are rich in flavonoids. But we don’t advise going mad for red wine and chocolate, which also contain them.

Our advice is to limit your consumption of these – and that’s unlikely to change, even if further research does demonstrate that flavonoids reduce type 2 diabetes risk. That’s because any health benefit from the flavonoids would be dramatically outweighed by the calories in the chocolate and the alcohol in the wine!

So although this is interesting research, the findings don’t alter our recommendations for lowering your risk: eat a healthy, balanced diet and get plenty of physical activity.

Easy ways to cut down on sugar

The Action on Sugar campaign was launched yesterday to tackle concerns that we’re all consuming too much sugar. 

While the debate rages on what can be done about the national obesity problem, here are Healthy Food Guide’s practical tips on how to reduce your own sugar intake – plus we reveal which foods are higher in sugar than you may have thought.

7 ways to replace the white stuff:

1.     Get baking – if you like the occasional cake or biscuit, make your own so you can control the ingredients (you can normally halve the sugar content without affecting the quality). Look out for healthier sweet recipes in the pages of HFG.

2.     Try sugar substitutes – natural products like stevia are sweeter than sugar, with fewer calories.

3.     Use spices for flavour without the sugar – try cinnamon, mixed spice and ginger in stewed fruits, porridge and puddings.

4.     Watch the drinks – alcohol, fizzy drinks and juices are an easy way to overload on sugar without noticing. Try sparkling water with lemon slices and fresh mint sprigs, chilled herbal teas or diluted juice.

5.     Look out for hidden sugar in unlikely foods (see below) – look for ingredients ending in ‘ose’ on the ingredients label and check out the value for sugars: less than 5g per 100g is considered low in sugar while more than 15g per 100g is considered high (although this value refers to all sugars, not just added ones).

6.     Choose lower-sugar versions of cereals, baked beans, soups, canned tomatoes and ketchup.

7.     Eat fewer processed carbohydrates such as white bread, croissants, muffins, biscuits, cakes, chocolate and sweets. These convert rapidly to glucose in the blood, so high levels may contribute to energy highs and lows and cravings. Switch to wholegrains instead.

Do you know where sugar is lurking?

Food doesn’t have to taste sweet to contain sugar. Check out some of the more unlikely products you’ll find it in if you look closely…

* 30g cornflakes = ½tsp

* 1tbsp salad cream = ½tsp

* 1tbsp balsamic vinegar = ½tsp

* 1 slice bread = ½tsp

* 1tbsp tomato ketchup = 1tsp

* Half a large tin mushroom soup = 1tsp

* 2tbsp coleslaw = 1tsp

* A third of a jar of salsa = 1tsp

* 30g branflakes = 1½tsp

* 125g ready made Bolognese sauce = 2tsp

* 400g lasagna ready meal = 3tsp

* 400g chicken tikka masala ready meal = 3½tsp

Sugar in our diets: what's the risk?

By Paul McArdle, British Dietetic Association dietitian and diabetes specialist

The newly launched Action on Sugar Campaign is pushing for a reduction of 20-30% in the amount of sugars in our diet – sugar hidden in products we buy and the sugar we add to our food and drink. Can our sweet addiction really put us at risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes?

It's true most of us are consuming too much sugar, and much of the sugar we consume is already in pre-packaged or convenience foods.

Although sugar has fewer than half the calories of fat, it's very easy to consume large quantities of it, especially in the form of drinks, which doesn't leave you feeling very full or satisfied. Often foods with added sugar provide very few nutritional benefits and, therefore, 'empty calories'.

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) supports the call by the campaign group Action on Sugar for the food industry to reduce the sugar added to foods. If successful, the reduction in sugar may contribute to cutting the number of calories people are eating.

This is the main problem: the sugar we eat is part of a diet which is already too high in calories – indeed it may be contributing to this, and therefore to the increasing numbers of people who are overweight and obese. Small amounts of sugar, as part of a balanced diet and in people who are successfully managing their weight, is not necessarily a problem. Moreover, there are no research studies that have proved eating sugar causes type 2 diabetes. However, there are studies that look at links between dietary patterns and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

One such link is sugar-sweetened beverages. A very large study of men found an association between drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and developing type 2 diabetes. Over a 20-year period, it showed a 24% increased risk for those with the highest intakes of these drinks. This doesn't demonstrate they are the cause of the diabetes in the study population, as different types of research studies would be needed to determine that. Watch this space.