Health Potential
Maple syrup was known to have naturally occurring minerals, such as thiamine,calcium and zinc. Seeram was enlisted to study the plant’s antioxidants, known to exist in plant structures such as the leaves and the bark, and found 13 that were not previously known to be in the syrup. Several of those had anti-diabetic, anti- bacterialand anti-cancerproperties.
The Journal of Clinical Nutrition in their previous study published in 2007, found that maple syrup contains polyphenols such as abscisic acid (ABA), which is said to stimulate insulin release through pancreatic cells at the same exact way as berries increase sensitivity of the fat cells to insulin, making the maple syrup beneficial for those with diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
A researcher from the These University of Rhode Island, Navindra Seeram said that: discoveries of new molecules from nature can also provide chemists with leads that could prompt synthesis of medications that could be used to fight fatal diseases.
“Nature is the best chemist, that is what i continue saying, and when it comes to the number and variety of beneficial compounds found in it maple syrup is becoming a champion food,” Seeram said. “It’s important to note that in our laboratory research we found that several of these compounds possess anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, which have been shown to fight bacterial illnesses, diabetes andcancer.”
Seeram has collaborated with Chong Lee, as part of his diabetes research, a professor of food sciences and nutrition in URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences. Together they have found that the beneficial anti-oxidant compounds from maple syrup - phenolics, inhibit 2 carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes that are very importantfor Type 2 diabetes management.
Enhances Liver Function
Dr. Keiko Abe of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences ,conducted the pilot study, which showed that healthy laboratory rats fed with a diet in which few of the carbohydrates were replaced with pure maple syrup from Canada, showed significantly better results in liver function tests than the controled groups fed with a diet with a syrup mix containing a similar sugar content as maple syrup.
The clinical professor and medical director of hepatology at New York University Plainview, Dr. Melissa Palmer said: “It is very important to understand the factors leading to impaired liver function — our lifestyle choices including lack of exercise, stress and poor diet, as well as exposure to environmental pollutants that produce tissue-damaging free radicals”. “The preliminary results of this research are emphasizing and encouraging the importance of choosing a healthy and natural diet to help counteract the environmental factors and lifestyle that may impact liver function, and one of them is our choice of a sweetener. The research published in addition to Dr. Abe’s recent findings, suggests that pure maple was found to be rich in polyphenolic antioxidants and contains minerals and vitamins, making it a better choice of sweetener” notes Palmer.
Source: healthimpactnews.com , preventdisease.com