Beans, Legumes May Help Control Blood Sugar, BP In T2D.

HealthDay  (10/23, Reinberg) reports, "People suffering from type 2 diabetes can see an improvement in both their blood sugar levels and blood pressure if they add beans and other legumes to their diet," according to a study  published online Oct. 22 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

        MedPage Today  (10/23, Fiore) reports, "In a randomized controlled trial" involving 121 patients with type 2 diabetes, those "who ate at least an additional cup of legumes per day had a greater reduction in HbA1c than patients who increased their insoluble fiber consumption for 3 months (-0.5% versus -0.3%, P<0.001)," researchers reported. In addition, "the legume diet reduced blood pressure and heart rate relative to the high insoluble fiber diet."

        WebMD  (10/23, Doheny) reports that an accompanying editorial  "questions if the beans by themselves deserve all the credit. 'The group that ate the low glycemic index diet also ate considerably more fiber,'" the editorialist observed. Reuters  (10/23, Joelving) also covers the story.