Compounds Found In Strawberries, Apples Help Control After-Meal Glucose “Spikes”

Diabetics and pre-diabetics with metabolic syndrome might benefit someday from a laboratory research finding that the polyphenols and phenolic acids found in strawberries and apples seem to decrease glucose uptake in the intestines. British researchers suggested that in the future unsweetened drinks containing polyphenols, phenolic acids and tannins (PPTs) extracted from apples and strawberries may provide a dietary way to suppress, stop or regulate intestinal sugar absorption. That, in turn, would decrease after-meal glucose “spikes” that have been linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. According to the researchers, PPTs “were able to influence glucose uptake into the cells and transport … by inhibiting activities of the glucose transporters.”