According to a team of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Massachusetts General hospital, naringenin, which is in grapefruit and other citrus fruit can help treat type two diabetes.
"It is a fascinating find," says Yaakov Nahmias, PhD, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem the paper's senior author. "We show the mechanism by which naringenin increases two important pharmaceutical targets, PPARα and PPARγ, while blocking a third, LXRα. The results are similar to those induced by long periods of fasting."
The liver is responsible for the regulation of carbohydrates and lipid levels in the blood. After a meal, the sugar goes into the blood and then the liver is made to create fatty acides for storage.
According to Science Daily:
During fasting, the process is reversed; fatty acids are released by fat cells, activate PPARα in the liver, and are broken down to ketones. A similar process, involving PPARγ, increases sensitivity to insulin.
Grapefruit contains the flavonoid naringin, which causes the bitter taste and breaks down in the gut into naringenin. In studies it is shown that symptoms of diabetes can be lessened by naringenin.
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