Red wine ingredient linked to lower diabetes risk

(Telegraph) - Ingredients found in foods including red wine and chocolate could help prevent the development of diabetes, researchers have claimed.

People who have a high intake of flavanoids, compounds also found in herbs and berries, had lower insulin resistance and better controlled blood sugar levels, a study found.

Both are qualities which are known to protect the body against the onset of Type 2 diabates, a condition which affects more than two million people in Britain.

The scientists, from the University of East Anglia, analysed the amount of flavanoids 2,000 healthy women consumed as part of their diet while monitoring their glucose regulation, insulin resistance and other markers of inflammation in their blood.

They found that two particular classes of flavanoid, known as flavones and anthocyanins, were linked to lower insulin resistance, which should lower the risk of Type 2 diaberes.

Flavones are contained in herbs such as parsley and thyme, and some vegetables including celery, while anthocyanins are found in dark coloured berries and fruits, and red wine.

Those who ate the most anthocyanins were also at lower risk of chronic inflammation, which is linked to a number of conditions including diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer.

The results, published in the Journal of Nutrition, also showed that women whose diet was rich in flavones - another compound found in chocolate - had higher levels of a protein which helps regulate glucose levels.

Prof Aedin Cassidy of the University of East Anglia, who led the study, said: "This is one of the first large-scale human studies to look at how these powerful bioactive compounds might reduce the risk of diabetes.

"What we don't yet know is exactly how much of these compounds are necessary to potentially reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes."