Eating real fruits lowers your risk for diabetes, says physician

Afternoon Drive with John Maytham chats to Professor Jennifer Rooke physician and owner of a lifestyle medicine clinic about cutting carbs and sugar in a bid to lose weight and live healthier.

As the famed supermodel Kate Moss once said: "Nothing feels better than skinny tastes." And with the media backlash that ensued, Moss and may others have hopefully learned that losing weight - no matter the cost - is a dangerous knock on your body and self-esteem.

Afternoon Drive with John Maytham chats to Professor Jennifer Rooke, a physician and owner of a lifestyle medicine clinic, about cutting carbs and sugar in a bid to lose weight and live healthier.

Rooke's lifestyle clinic, which is based in Morehouse Healthcare in Atlanta, USA, advices patients to eat real food in order to live healthier.

She says contrary to what diet culture prescribes, which is often supplements and diet programmes, consuming real food and fruits is the best way to go about shedding those extra kilos.

Eat real food! That's the best advice I can give to anyone who's trying to lose weight and to be healthier - real food is the answer.

Jennifer Rooke, Board certified physician in preventive medicine

The physician explained that unlike artificial sugars, fruits are packaged with fiber and nutrients that nourish the body, thus cutting them out becomes counterproductive.

She added that people who eat fruits have a lowest risk of diabetes.

Think of fruits as a package. Mother nature put sugar into a package with fibre and potassium to lower your blood pressure and calcium and all sorts of nutrients in that.

Jennifer Rooke, Board certified physician in preventive medicine

Rooke spreaks about a certain theory about diabetes that attributes cravings for sugar as the body's way of communicating a need for more nutrients.

People are not getting enough wholegrains, which contributes to the higher likelihood for health problems, such as diabetes, says Rooke.

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