In this special edition, we review recent scientific, regulatory, and industry news on this big category, with a focus on the hottest ingredients for healthy blood sugar control.
First up, we look at the tantalizing data from researchers based in England who reported that supplementation with cacao-flavonoids and soy isoflavones may improve levels of biomarkers of heart disease in postmenopausal, diabetic women.
“Our study is the only combined flavonoid trial and the longest flavan-3-ol intervention to date, and our findings have potential clinical relevance.”
Next up, we revisit our coverage of a potential ‘game changer’ for the nutraceutical industry, according to ATM Metabolics. The Florida-based company is reportedly in advanced negotiations with some of the biggest food and beverage brands in the US and Europe about incorporating Emulin - the insulin-mimicking active ingredient in GNC’s top-selling glucose control supplement GC7X - into packaged foods and drinks.
Other ingredients attracting attention are the polyphenol-enriched soybean flour Nutrasorb ingredients, being developed by scientists from Rutgers University, North Carolina State University, and Nutrasorb LLC.
Recent data published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistryindicated that consumption of defatted soybean flour impregnated with Concord grape juice was associated with reduced blood sugar levels in diabetic mice.
ConAgra Foods also made the headlines recently when the company petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a health claim for an inverse relationship of whole grain consumption and the incidence of DMT2 (diabetes mellitus type 2).
Dr Mark Andon, Vice President Nutrition, Research, Quality, and Innovation at ConAgra Foods, said: “Dietary strategies that incorporate increased consumption of whole grains and whole grain products are likely to have a significant and substantially positive public health outcome to the US consumer.”
Back to the lab and researchers from Denmark reported their findings that an alginate gel may help blunt blood sugar spikes. Writing in the Journal of Functional Foods the University of Copenhagen scientists reported that extracts from brown seaweed may reduce blood sugar spikes by about 14% and offer benefits from people at risk of type-2 diabetes.
Finally, there was good news for coffee lovers when data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study found that consumption of coffee does not increase the risk of heart disease and may reduce the risk of developing diabetes by up to 30%.
