Here’s some sweet news for fruit lovers looking to lose weight: Researchers have found that peaches, plums and nectarines contain bioactive compounds that can fight off obesity-related diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
New studies by Texas AgriLife Research showed that fruits with stone pits contain a mixture of natural phenolic substances that have anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties that could be potent weapons against "metabolic syndrome." The condition is commonly diagnosed in overweight people with metabolic disorders that can lead to heart disease and other serious health problems.
The studies, to be presented at an upcoming meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia, found the fruits contain compounds from major phenolic groups – known as anthocyanins, clorogenic acids, quercetin derivatives and catechins – that have been shown to have a beneficial effect on cells and genes in the body.
Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, an AgriLife Research food scientist who led the study, noted the rise in obesity in the U.S. has led to an increase in diagnoses of “metabolic syndrome,” a constellation of inflammatory and obesity-related conditions that significantly raise heart disease risks (including high cholesterol, blood pressure, increased glucose and abdominal fat).
"Our studies have shown that stone fruits – peaches, plums and nectarines – have bioactive compounds that can potentially fight [metabolic] syndrome," Cisneros-Zevallos said. "Our work indicates that phenolic compounds present in these fruits have anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties in different cell lines and may also reduce the oxidation of bad cholesterol [LDL] which is associated to cardiovascular disease."