Daily Aerobic exercise and pomegranate juice Intake may reduce type 2 diabetes risk

Iran: A combination of aerobic exercise and pomegranate juice (PJ) improves risk factors in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and thus could be recommended to prevent increased liver enzymes and insulin resistance in such patients, suggests an article published in BMC Nutrition.

Type 2 diabetes is a highly prevalent health problem in the community, with more than 415 million cases worldwide. The mortality rate in T2DM patients is significantly correlated to a sedentary lifestyle. Various reports have shown the effects of physical activity on liver enzymes in human studies and so different types of exercise, essentially aerobic training (AT) can be prescribed for T2DM management. Pomegranate juice can also be used for therapeutic purposes in T2DM, as it has strong antioxidant properties and prevents oxidative stress in tissues presented in T2DM.

Sasan Nemati, Department of Exercise Physiology, Razi University, Iran, and her team conducted a study aimed to examine the separate and combined effects of aerobic training (AT) and pomegranate juice intake (PJI) on insulin resistance and serum levels of liver enzymes in men with T2DM.

The study was a single-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial among T2DM patients aged 40–50years who evaluated the alterations of anthropometric indices, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and liver enzymes. Participants were randomly assigned into 4 groups: AT+PJI (n = 10); AT (n = 10); PJI (n = 10), and control (C) (n = 10). The AT program consisted of 60-75% of maximum heart rate (HRmax), 40-60 min/day, and 3 days/wk. The PJI group consumed 240 ml of pomegranate juice (sugar or additive-free) daily for 8 weeks.

Key findings from the result,

• AT+PJI, PJI, and AT groups decreased anthropometric indices, HOMA-IR, and liver enzymes after 8 weeks. In contrast, the C group significantly increased the mentioned variables after the intervention.

• Also, AT+PJI significantly lowered liver enzymes, anthropometric indices, and HOMA-IR than AT or PJI alone.

• There was no significant difference between AT and PJI groups but in these groups, significant improvements in the variables were observed compared to the control group.

Researchers faced a few limitations during the study mainly small sample size, not evaluating the HbA1c index, single-blind design, and not checking the nutritional profile of the pomegranate juice.

Overall, the findings indicate that both separate or combined AT and PJI improve anthropometric indices, insulin resistance, and liver enzymes in men with T2DM. Moreover, combined AT+PJI induces more favorable improvements.

These study results warrant its recommendation for T2DM patients to prevent increased liver enzymes and insulin resistance, the authors concluded.

Reference:

Nemati S, Tadibi V, Hoseini R. Pomegranate juice intake enhances the effects of aerobic training on insulin resistance and liver enzymes in type 2 diabetic men: a single-blind controlled trial. BMC Nutr. 2022 May 17;8(1):48. doi: 10.1186/s40795-022-00538-3. PMID: 35581639; PMCID: PMC9112513.