Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: When someone is diagnosed with diabetes, almost every fruit becomes a golden apple for him or her. But this is not so.

One can still enjoy the seasonal mango and grapes provided he/she consume them in moderation. Doctors encourage diabetics to consume particular fruits that are not only beneficial to the body but also control insulin.

Here is a list of fruits that can help people fight diabetes.

Cherry: with a glycemic index value as low as 29, cherries are a perfect example for taste and health. Their powerful antioxidant property in the form of anthocyanins in combination with low GI value helps in regulation of steady blood sugar level.

Cherries have anti-oxidant properties, plus they are low in carbs and glycemic levels. 12 cherries a day is all a diabetic patient needs.

Peach: it may have a velvet coat, but a peach is a good source for vitamin A and C. It is also low in carbs, rich in potassium and fibre.

Apple: when you are eating an apple, do not peel it. The skin is rich in antioxidants, besides apples are a good source of fibre and vitamin C.

Pear: loaded with potassium, fiber and low in carbs, pears should be part of diabetic patients’ diet.

Melon: watermelon, muskmelon or honeydew; pick any melon as it is rich in vitamin B and C, as well as beta-carotene, potassium and lycopene. A slice of any of these melons will give you the necessary vitamins you need.

Apricot: low carb, high in fibre, rich in vitamin A, apricots are a great option for diabetics.

Red grapefruit: grapefruit reminds you of an orange or sweet lime, but it is sweet, sour and juicy. Grapefruits are the healthiest option for diabetics. It is advisable to have half a grapefruit a day.

Separately, a new study has suggested that children with hearing loss who are diagnosed by three months of age and receive interventions by six months develop a far greater vocabulary than those whose diagnosis and treatment come later.

Yet 17 years after early detection guidelines were established, nearly half of babies with hearing loss aren’t meeting them, the study found.

“We still have some work to do,” said lead author Christine Yoshinaga-Itano, an audiologist and research professor at the Institute of Cognitive Science. “Because the brain is so pliable in those early months, the sooner we can get them diagnosed and get them access to language, the more likely they will be able to develop on track with their peers.”

Funded by the Centres for Disease Control, the paper is the first multistate study to assess the impact of early hearing detection intervention (EHDI) 1-3-6 guidelines. The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing, founded by late CU Professor Marion Downs, established the guidelines in 2000. They recommend that all newborns be screened for hearing loss within one month, those who test positive be evaluated by a specialist within three months, and those diagnosed with hearing loss begin interventions (such as family support services, listening and spoken language intervention, sign language instruction, cochlear implants or hearing aids) within six months.

The study looked at 448 children with hearing loss in both ears, ages eight months to 39 months. Only 58 percent had met the EHDI 1-3-6 guidelines.

Researchers also measured the number of words the children used either in spoken or sign language at different ages and compared it to hearing peers. (On an average, children have about 600 words in their expressive vocabulary by 30 months).

A Vocabulary Quotient (VQ) score on par with a hearing peer would be 100. Children with hearing loss who had met the guidelines and had no additional disabilities scored 82 on an average, the low end of normal range. Those who had not met the guidelines scored below 70, ranking in the lowest 10th percentile.

The study was a follow-up to Yoshinaga-Itano’s landmark 1998 study in paediatrics. It similarly found that while those who were diagnosed and received interventions by six months developed language on par with their peers, those diagnosed later had poorer outcomes.

“We showed that failure to diagnose hearing loss early can create an environmentally induced and preventable secondary disability, making children function much like children with cognitive delay,” she said. That study helped kick-start the universal newborn hearing screening efforts.

The new study also found that children who have more hearing at birth, parents with a better education, or parents who are deaf (and already familiar with sign language or other means of communicating) also have better vocabulary scores.

Published in Daily Times, July 23^rd 2017.