Fruit consumption is recommended as part of a healthy diet. However, consumption of fruit in the form of juice is positively associated with type 2 diabetes risk, possibly due to resulting hyperglycemia. In a recent study, fruit juice prepared by nutrient extraction, a process that retains the fiber component, was shown to elicit a favorable glycemic index (GI), compared to eating the fruit whole, in healthy weight adults. The current study expanded on this to include individuals with obesity, and assessed whether the nutrient extraction of seeded fruits reduced GI in a higher disease risk group. Nutrient extraction was shown to significantly lower GI, compared to eating fruit whole, in subjects with obesity (raspberry/mango: 25.43 ± 18.20 vs. 44.85 ± 20.18, p = 0.034 and passion fruit/mango (26.30 ± 25.72 vs. 42.56 ± 20.64, p = 0.044). Similar results were found in those of a healthy weight. In summary, the current study indicates that the nutrient-extraction of raspberries and passionfruit mixed with mango lowers the GI, not only in healthy weight individuals, but also in those with obesity, and supports further investigation into the potential for nutrient extraction to enable increased fruit intake without causing a high glycemic response.
Although whole-fruit consumption is regarded as protective against type 2 diabetes (T2DM), conventionally prepared fruit juice is associated with increased T2DM risk, and current public health advice recommends its restriction. ‘Nutrient extractor’ style blenders are increasing in popularity worldwide as an alternative means of juicing fruit, but little is known about their effect on postprandial glucose levels. The current study investigated the effect of nutrient extraction on postprandial blood glucose response and glycemic index (GI) compared with a glucose control for both mixed fruit and a high GI fruit (mango). Remarkably, consumption of nutrient-extracted mixed fruit resulted in a significant lowering of the GI (32.7±8.5) compared with whole mixed fruit (66.2±8.2, P<0.05). For the high GI mango, there were no differences between nutrient-extracted and whole fruit, indicating that even for a high GI fruit the effect of nutrient extraction does not increase GI compared with the whole fruit. These findings suggest that, in contrast to conventionally prepared fruit juice, fruit juice prepared by nutrient extraction in some cases elicits a more favorable postprandial glycemic response than whole fruit and even for high GI fruits do not worsen the response. The mechanism responsible for this effect is currently unclear. However, these results suggest that fruit homogenized by nutrient extraction should be considered as a potential dietetic strategy for glycemic control.
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