Expert Q&A

Q: What is pre-diabetes?  Are there ways to prevent it?

A: There are more than 50 million Americans with pre-diabetes (also known as metabolic syndrome), a cluster of health factors that typically precedes the development of type 2 diabetes, and greatly increases the risk for other diseases including heart disease and stroke.  With more than 20 million Americans living with type 2 diabetes, our goal as scientists is to find ways to stop the progression from pre-diabetes to full-blown type 2 diabetes, and food choices play a critical role.

Q: Based on the findings of this study, how might cherries play a role in reducing risk factors for type 2 diabetes?

A: The results of the recent animal study found diets enriched with antioxidant-rich tart cherries significantly lowered insulin and fasting glucose levels after 90 days -- key markers for type 2 diabetes.  Plus, adding cherries to the diet also lowered the animal's total cholesterol levels and triglycerides -- factors linked to heart disease.

Diet and lifestyle changes are important in preventing diabetes.

Q: What is it about cherries that helped reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes?

A: The research suggests that antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins -- the plant pigments that give cherries their deep red color -- may react to help lower blood sugar and insulin levels.

These findings add to the evidence that anthocyanin-containing foods, such as tart cherries, in reasonable portion sizes may have the ability to enhance health and potentially lower the risk of serious conditions, such as pre-diabetes.

Q: What are the implications of your study?

A: This study was a very interesting study.  The findings in animals were that some of the set-up conditions for pre-diabetes -- changes in insulin, glucose, and things like cholesterol and triglycerides -- can be altered and made better with the modest daily consumption of tart cherries.  The results certainly warrant additional clinical research in humans.

Q: What quantity of cherries would a human need to consumer to reap the same benefits as those found in the study?

A: Since this was an animal study, it's hard to make a direct link from how much the animals ate to how much a human should eat to get the same benefit.  But it may be relatively small, perhaps a cup a day of cherries -- which is not an enormous amount of cherries -- to have the same kind of beneficial effect.  More research is needed to translate this science into a dietary recommendation.

Q: Based on this study, what is the potential for cherries as a food that can help lower disease risk and improve overall health?

A: As we continue to investigate the link between food intake and lowering disease risk, continuing to explore the benefits of teart cherries bring to the table will be extremely valuable.

 Click here to learn more about this study.