We already know that eating right can help prevent type 2 diabetes, but what does that mean beyond the usual watching your fats and carbs? A new study in the journal Diabetes Care suggests that a dose of a compound found in curry could help.
The compound, curcumin, which is found in the spice tumeric, has been the subject of earlier research that shows that it may fight inflammation and cell damage along with dementia.
The new study found that a daily dose of the spice appeared to prevent new cases of type 2 diabetes among people who were at high risk for the disease because they had high levels of blood sugar.
The researchers looked at 240 people who had high blood sugar. They were randomly assigned either curcumin or placebo tablets for nine months. At the end of the study, 19 of the placebo patients had developed diabetes while none of the curcumin patients had the disease.
It's important to note that this relative brief study is hardly definitive. It's just part of a growing body of research into how diabetes develops. In other words, don't go out and buy a boatload of curcumin tablets and think you've done all you need to do to prevent diabetes.
At this point, you're still better off following the conventional advice to eat healthy foods and get adequate exercise. But if you like curry (as I do), enjoy!
