A recent publication concluded that acute glycemic control in individuals with well-controlled type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is not significantly influenced by serving orange juice, whole orange pieces or a sugar-sweetened beverage with a standard high-carbohydrate meal.
The article in Nature, “Acute glycemic response of orange juice consumption with breakfast in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over trial,” was written by authors from Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. They are Kenneth Verboven, Lisa Van Ryckeghem, Tin Gojevic and Dominique Hansen with Hasselt University in Belgium; Ralf Schweiggert and Christof B. Steingass with Geisenheim University in Germany; and Carrie H.S. Ruxton with Nutrition Communications in the United Kingdom.
The article noted thatsugar-sweetened beverages are associated with an increased risk of obesity and T2DM and show clear differential metabolic responses compared with 100% fruit juice, which is unsweetened by law. The study investigated whether the postprandial glycemic response following a standardized breakfast differed when accompanied by 100% orange juice, equivalent whole orange or a sugar-sweetened control beverage in individuals with well-controlled T2DM.
Fifteen individuals with T2DM participated in a randomized cross-over trial. They consumed a standardized breakfast served with either 1) 250 milliliters of 100% orange juice, 2) a sugar-sweetened, orange-flavored beverage or 3) whole orange pieces with identical total sugar content.
Following a single intake, no significant differences were found in acute glucose or insulin responses when either of the three options were consumed with a standard high carbohydrate meal.
The article noted that sugar-sweetened beverages are frequently consumed in middle-to-high income societies but have been associated with an increased risk of T2DM and are not recommended for people with existing T2DM. It pointed out that the evidence for 100% fruit juice, a source of natural fruit-based sugars which are classified as ‘free sugars,’ shows a clear differential metabolic response compared with sugar-sweetened beverages in human experimental studies.
“A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials suggested that long-term consumption of 100% orange juice does not have an adverse impact on indices of glycaemic control or insulin sensitivity in study populations varying in health states,” the article stated. “This may result from the fact that citrus fruits are an important source of dietary flavonoids, a group of polyphenols which were originally classified as generic antioxidants. Of particular interest is hesperidin, a naturally occurring glycoside of the flavanone hesperetin, found abundantly in citrus fruits.”
Source: Nature
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