USDA Agricultural Research Service
Carrots may be good for the eyes, but lovers of the antioxidant-rich vegetable need to watch out for diabetes, according to new research.
Research on mice coordinated at Australia's Monash University revealed that animals who lacked an enzyme to eliminate free radicals--known scientifically as reactive oxygen species, or ROS--had the lowest risk for developing a pre-diabetic condition called insulin resistance. When researchers added antioxidant supplements to the mice's diets, allowing the animals to eliminate ROS, the mice developed insulin resistance.
When muscle tissue becomes resistant to insulin, blood sugar levels remain consistently out of balance and diabetes can develop.
Antioxidants include beta carotene, selenium, lycopene, lutein and vitamins A, C, and E. These nutrients appear in particularly high concentrations in carrots and the so-called "superfruits" such as blueberries and goji berries. Meat, fish and poultry, in particular, contain healthy amounts of vitamin A. Multivitamins usually contain the full array of antioxidants.
Speaking for the research team, Tony Tigans explained in a press release that "ROS molecules, such as hydrogen peroxide, are important for normal cell function. We have shown that ROS present in muscle enhance insulin action and help lower blood sugar levels." He went on to note that eating a healthy diet would meet most people's needs for getting a beneficial amount of antioxidants, which do provide health benefits but have shown mixed-to-poor results for preventing cancer, heart disease and, now, diabetes.
"Our results indicate that the widespread use of antioxidants by the general public as a preventative measure is something that should be discouraged, particularly if you are otherwise healthy," Tigans said.
The report on the research by Tigans and his colleagues appears in the October issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.
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