Critical Review: Research Paper on Fruit Intake and Glycemic Control

This report presents a critical review of a research paper investigating the impact of fruit consumption on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. The study, a randomized controlled trial, compared two groups: one advised to consume a high amount of fruit and another advised to consume a low amount of fruit. The primary outcome was the change in HbA1c levels over 12 weeks. The research found that while the high-fruit group increased fruit consumption, and the low-fruit group reduced fruit consumption, there was no significant difference in HbA1c levels or weight loss between the two groups. The review also discusses supporting research and conflicting medical opinions regarding fruit intake and diabetes, concluding that the study supports the recommendation that fruit intake should not be restricted in patients with type 2 diabetes. The report highlights the need for further research, while also discussing the importance of considering the type of fruit consumed. The critical discussion also looks at other studies and medical reports to provide a broader context of the issue.

Critical Review of a Research Paper on Nutrition
Universally, “type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)” is considered as amongst the most widely
recognized ailments. The cause of T2DM is intricate and is related to irreversible risk factors,
for example, hereditary, age, race and ethnicity and reversible factors, for example, diet,
physical movement. Dietary habits and inactive way of life are the main reasons for alarming
increase of DM. Various researches are being conducted all through the globe to discover an
answer for this lifestyle oriented disease. One research paper will be analyzed that has made
some important observation of impact of fruits on glycemic control in patients with type 2
diabetes.
Summary of the paper
Medical nutrition therapy is perceived as a significant treatment choice in type 2 diabetes.
Most guidelines suggest eating a daily diet with a high amount of fiber-rich food including
fruit. This recommendation is based on many beneficial outcomes of fruits on human health.
Anyway some researchers have worries that natural product admission negatively affects
glycemic control and accordingly suggest limiting the fruit consumption has a negative
impact on glycemic control and recommend to take less fruit because some fruits contain
high level of glucose. The researches did not find any supporting research to prove the
negative effects of fruit on diabetes 2. The goal was to research whether any reduction of fruit
intake to patients with type 2 diabetes influences HbA1c and body weight (Christensen,
Viggers, Hasselström and Gregersen, 2013).
Two parallel groups were made and a randomized controlled trial was conducted. The
essential parameter to study was a change in HbA1c during 12 weeks of intervention.
Members were selected at random to one of two interventions; medical nutrition therapy and
advice to take around two pieces of high fruit daily or medical nutrition therapy and advice to
take no more than two low fruits daily. All members had two counsels with a registered
dietitian. All evaluations were made by the "intention to treat" principle.
The population under study had a strength of 63 people with recently analyzed type 2
diabetes. All patients finished the preliminary. “The high-fruit group increased fruit
consumption of 125 grams (CI 95%; 78 to 172) and the low-fruit group had reduced fruit
consumption of 51 grams (CI 95%; - 18 to −83). HbA1c diminished in the two groups with
no difference between the groups (diff.: 0.19%, CI 95%; - 0.23 to 0.62).” The two groups
diminished body weight, but, there was no variation of glucose content between the groups.
It had however no effect on HbA1c, weight loss or waist circumference. The researchers
recommend that the intake of fruit should not be restricted in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Critical Discussion: The research is based on comparison of effect of fruits on diabetes type
2 patients between two groups of people, one of the group is having more fruit intake than the
other group. The researchers have concluded that there is no effect of extra intake of fruit on
type 2 diabetes. Similarly a number of researches have been conducted to ascertain the effect
of fruit on diabetes 2 and they have also come to the same conclusion (Wang, Liu, Mi &
Wang, 2014). One more research conducted in the similar line concluded that higher level of
fresh fruit consumption was associated with significantly lower risk of diabetes and, among

diabetic individuals, lower risks of death and development of major vascular complications
(Du et al., 2017). But there is no scientific basis for this conclusion. Some medical reports
suggest that eating too much fruit can lead to a situation of prediabetes as fruits contain
glucose and only fresh fruits are to be chosen and not dry fruits and should be taken within
the recommended level (Maria Prelipcean, 2019).
References
Christensen, A., Viggers, L., Hasselström, K., & Gregersen, S. (2013). Effect of fruit
restriction on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes – a randomized
trial. Nutrition Journal, 12(1). doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-12-29
Du, H., Li, L., Bennett, D., Guo, Y., Turnbull, I., & Yang, L. et al. (2017). Fresh fruit
consumption in relation to incident diabetes and diabetic vascular complications: A 7-
y prospective study of 0.5 million Chinese adults. PLOS Medicine, 14(4), e1002279.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002279
Maria Prelipcean, M. (2019). Fruit and diabetes: Limits, guidelines, risks, and tips. Retrieved
from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323310.php
Wang, B., Liu, K., Mi, M., & Wang, J. (2014). Effect of Fruit Juice on Glucose Control and
Insulin Sensitivity in Adults: A Meta-Analysis of 12 Randomized Controlled
Trials. Plos ONE, 9(4), e95323. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095323