London, Nov 10 (IANS): People who consume food rich in antioxidants may observe a decrease in type 2 diabetes, reveals a new study.

The study confirmed that fruits, vegetables, dark chocolates, walnuts, prunes, blueberries, strawberries or hazelnuts and other hot beverages like coffee and tea suffice to the high antioxidants level required for the diabetes control. Also, moderate consumption of alcohol at times adds on to curbing the risk.

"This link persists after taking into account all the other principal diabetes risk factors: smoking, education level, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, family history of diabetes and, above all, BMI (Body Mass Index), the most important factor," clarifies Francesca Romana Mancini, lead author of the study and researcher at the French Institute of Health and Medical Research in France.

The researchers studied over 64,223 women for a period of 15 years. All the participants were free from diabetes risk at the time of inclusion in the study.

The researchers prepared a database calculating the 'total dietary antioxidant capacity' of each participant based on their responses over various food items.

The study published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, noted that diabetes risk diminished with the increasing amount of antioxidant consumption among the participants.

Women with the highest antioxidant scores had a reduction in diabetes risk of 27 per cent compared with those having the lowest scores.

Another study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, mentioned that even low calorie diet can reverse the risk of type 2 diabetes.