Fruit Yogurt Could Play an Important Role in Diabetes Management

Yogurt enriched with fruit or made from soy could play an important dietary role for people living with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, suggests new findings by University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers.

Led by Kalidas Shetty, the UMass Amherst scientists screened extracts from a sampling of dairy and soy yogurts for properties that could help keep diabetes and hypertension in check, such as the activity level of enzymes that help moderate blood glucose levels. The researchers found that fruit-enriched yogurts - especially those made with blueberries or made from soy - contain active natural compounds that may curb some aspects of diabetes, the researchers report in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Food Biochemistry.

The findings provide a strong rationale for further clinical studies, and for incorporating “healthy diet design” into disease management strategies, says Shetty. “What one eats should be part of an overall approach to therapy,” he says.

Doctoral students Emmanouil Apostolidis and Young-In Kwon collaborated with Shetty on the research.

Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for roughly 90 percent of U.S. cases, is often associated with obesity, high blood pressure and elevated levels of cholesterol. The disease is characterized by an abnormal rise in blood sugar right after a meal. This chronic high blood sugar, known as hyperglycemia, is associated with many of the complications that can arise from the disease, including the failure of various organs such as the kidneys, heart, eyes and problems with nerves and blood vessels.

Medications that prevent the spike in blood glucose often target certain enzymes—in particular, enzymes that are responsible for modifying carbohydrates before they can be absorbed by the small intestine. Carbohydrates are the major source of blood sugar and inhibiting these carb-altering enzymes—?-amylase and ?-glucosidase—slows the body’s absorption of sugars.

The researchers were also interested in a third enzyme—angiotensin-I converting enzyme or ACE-I—which plays a role in the constriction of blood vessels. Medications known as ACE inhibitors block the activity of this enzyme, and such medications are used in treating high blood pressure in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients.

Such medications have been shown to be an effective strategy for diabetes management, yet they can have unwanted side effects, says Shetty. Previous research by Shetty and others found that certain plant compounds also play a role in blocking all three of these enzymes, opening up the possibility that foods rich in such compounds may provide health benefits, but without the adverse side affects, he says.

So Shetty and his team went to the local supermarket and bought peach, strawberry, blueberry and plain yogurts made by four different brands, including a soy brand. The researchers took samples of each yogurt, and tested their ability to inhibit each of the enzymes of interest, using water or a buffer solution as a control.