A review of six studies involving 220,000 men and women found that those who consume one and a half extra servings of green leafy vegetables per day reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus by 14 percent. The researchers believe that the antioxidants and magnesium found in green leafy vegetables such as spinach are responsible for the diabetes risk reduction. The results, published in the British Medical Journal, did not find that eating more fruits and other types of vegetables was associated with a decreased diabetes risk.
ACSH’s Jeff Stier cautions to keep the results of this study in context. “People may read this and start to drink juices or take pills with high levels of antioxidants and magnesium in order to reduce their risk of diabetes,” he says. “But the study hasn’t been able to isolate which of these antioxidants and minerals exactly, if any at all, are responsible for improving health. Therefore, people should eat their vegetables, but shouldn’t take vitamins just to reduce their risk of diabetes.”