Eating Chocolate Daily May Help Prevent Diabetes: Study

From ndtv.com

London:  Chocoholics, rejoice! Consumption of a small amount of chocolate each day may help prevent diabetes and insulin resistance, a new study has claimed.

Researchers who analysed data of 1,153 people aged 18-69 years found that those who ate 100 gm of chocolate a day - equivalent to a bar - had reduced insulin resistance and improved liver enzymes.

Insulin resistance is a well-established risk factor to cardiovascular disease, researchers said.

They hypothesised that chocolate consumption may have a beneficial effect on insulin sensitivity and liver enzymes and therefore decided to analyse a national sample of adults, taking into account lifestyle and dietary factors, including the simultaneous consumption of tea and coffee.

This is because both drinks can be high in polyphenol, the substance which may provide chocolate with its beneficial cardiometabolic effects, researchers said.

"Given the growing body of evidence, including our own study, cocoa-based products may represent an additional dietary recommendation to improve cardio-metabolic health; however, observational results need to be supported by robust trial evidence," said Saverio Stranges from University of Warwick in the UK.

"Potential applications of this knowledge include recommendations by healthcare professionals to encourage individuals to consume a wide range of phytochemical-rich foods, which can include dark chocolate in moderate amounts," said Stranges.

"However, it is important to differentiate between the natural product cocoa and the processed product chocolate, which is an energy-dense food," he added.

More than 80 per cent of participants claimed to eat an average of 24.8 gm of chocolate a day. The study also found that those who claimed to eat chocolate were younger, more physically active and had higher levels of education than those who claimed not to eat chocolate on a daily basis.

"It is also possible that chocolate consumption may represent an overall marker for a cluster of favourable socio-demographic profiles, healthier lifestyle behaviours and better health status," said Alaa Alkerwi from Luxembourg Institute of Health.

"This could explain, at least in part, the observed inverse associations with insulin and liver biomarkers," said Alkerwi.

The findings were published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

http://www.ndtv.com/health/eating-chocolate-daily-may-help-prevent-diabetes-study-1400868

Empowering children with diabetes

From health.gov.au

A new resource for schools to help their students with diabetes was launched today by Minister for Health Sussan Ley.

Mastering Diabetes provides user-friendly information to teachers and parents about type 1 diabetes so that affected children can be better supported at school, helping to maximise their education and learning.

“The resource kit provides information about diabetes and how to manage it in a school setting, with an aim of developing a trust and understanding between families and staff to support and care for affected children,” Ms Ley said.

“It teaches the community how to talk about diabetes, tackles myths, and aims to reduce the impact of the condition on a child’s educational opportunities.

“It is vitally important that everyone is properly informed about diabetes, and that teachers and other carers can help children be better understood, navigate and succeed at school by giving them a voice in managing their condition.”

“Part of the National Diabetes Strategy launched by the Government in November 2015, Mastering Diabetes is an innovative targeted resource to promote healthy eating and an active lifestyle, while increasing community understanding of diabetes to improve overall health and wellbeing”, Ms Ley said.

The pack has been developed after feedback from parents for more support for children with type 1 diabetes in the educational setting and an identified gap in information for teachers and other school staff.

Developed by Diabetes Australia and funded through the Government’s National Diabetes Services Scheme, the information kit will be sent throughout Term 2 to all Australian families who have a child with Type 1 diabetes, to share with their school, teachers or carers.

https://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2016-ley032.htm

"It took me 8 months, but I was able to reverse my type 2 diabetes"

By Becky Fletcher

Current figures suggest there are 3.9 million people living with diabetes in the UK. By 2025, this figure is expected to hit 5 million. Of these 3.9 million Brits, 90% have type 2 diabetes – a metabolic disorder that results in high blood glucose levels and is often cause by lifestyle choices. Over time complications may include heart disease, stroke, kidney and eye disease, and nerve damage.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

​Type 2 diabetes often requires the use of anti-diabetic medication or insulin to keep blood sugar levels under control. However, in some cases it may be possible to 'reverse' type 2 diabetes through lifestyle changes.

 

What does diabetes 'reversal' mean?

​According to Diabetes.co.uk, diabetes reversal is a term that usually refers to significantly reducing insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes. By doing so, it may be possible to reduce dependency on diabetes medicine – some people can get blood sugar levels down without the use of any medication.

How can you reverse diabetes?
​The book Reverse Your Diabetes: Take control of type 2 diabetes with 60 easy-to-prepare recipes, by Dr David Cavan, reveals how a person with type 2 diabetes can modify their day-to-day diet in order to help stabilise blood glucose levels, control diabetes and potentially reverse the diagnosis.
His theory is based on the latest scientific research that shows weight loss (in particular reducing visceral fat) when combined with an increase in physical activity has the potential to reverse type 2 diabetes. Research indicates that effective ways to 'reverse' diabetes include very low-calorie diets, low-carbohydrate diets, exercise and weight-loss surgery. Talking about research Dr Cavan says:

​"If you have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes then, by reducing your calorie intake and weight, there is a chance you could become free from diabetes. The fact diabetes may return in association with later weight gain emphasises that this is not a permanent 'cure' for diabetes."

​Dr Cavan adds that even partial reversal associated with modest weight loss and lower glucose levels will significantly improve the long-term health outlook for many people.
Having said this, it is obviously incredibly important for people with type 2 diabetes to consult their doctor or a specialised medical professional to work out the best course of action for them. But three people reveal how lifestyle changes have altered their diabetes diagnosis for the better:

"It took about eight months to reverse my type 2 diabetes" says Julian, 53, from Southampton: "My diet before I was diagnosed was poor. I'm a photographer and always ate rich food at weddings and events, and thought I could go home and do the same. I ate lots of curries, takeaways, as well as beer and sweets most evenings. I walked quite a bit, but very slowly – I assumed this was enough."
"I found out I had type 2 diabetes during routine blood tests for low blood pressure. I was devastated. Ironically, the week before I had photographed an assignment for Diabetes UK, which was about a man who had lost a leg because of the condition. I changed my diet that very day. Everything from that point on became home-cooked, I ditched the takeaways, sweets and cut down on the beer. I started walking five miles a day until, eventually, I ran – a bit like Forrest Gump!"
"It took about eight months to reverse my type 2 diabetes. I was told it was for life, so didn't ever expect to be free of it. Now I cycle about 250 miles every week, so that keeps me healthy (my doctor loves me for it) and I check my bloods now and then, but they're pretty stable now. I've lost a total of eight stone and feel epic!"

"My diabetes diagnosis ended up being a positive experience for me" says Marie, 49, from Scotland: ​"For the most part my diet was pretty healthy – except for my weakness of sweet things. I also felt too tired to be active. I thought I was going through the menopause. I was having lots of hot flashes, a lack of concentration and fatigue, especially in the afternoons. I was warned that I was at risk of diabetes, but stuck my head in the sand."

"When I got the diagnosis, I knew I had to get things sorted, so spoke to a dietician, but my symptoms persisted. I looked at a diabetes forum and read that people had success with reduced carbohydrate diets and blood sugar testing. Diet-controlled diabetics are often not provided with a glucometer, but the next day I bought one and tested my levels before and after eating. The results showed that what I thought were blood sugar dips were blood sugar spikes!"
"I reduced my carbohydrate levels, increased my fats, exercise and the rest is history. I don't like the word 'reverse' as I control my diabetes with diet, activity and hard work. This might sound daft, but my diabetes diagnosis ended up being a positive experience for me. I'm fitter and healthier than I have been in years."

"Because of my symptoms, I was thought to be type 1" says Craig, 37, from Edinburgh: ​"Prior to being told I had diabetes, I had a sweet tooth and drank sugary fizzy drinks. Symptoms included excess urination, a fuzzy head, increased thirst and weight loss, but the scariest indicator was blurred vision. Over the course of three days, my vision deteriorated so much that I had to stop driving."

"I read about the low-carbohydrate/high-fat diet in a forum and thought it I'd try it. I'm also more conscious of being physically active and have lost three stone since being diagnosed. Because of my symptoms, I was initially thought to be type 1 but, after four months, my insulin intake was reduced to practically nothing and then stopped entirely. Sometimes the symptoms of both types can blur. I got the news I was 95% likely to be type 2 diabetic four months later."
"I still have diabetes – my blood glucose would go out of control if I ate what I want – but immediately after I switched to a low-carb diet, my levels dropped to normal. My last HbA1c (a test of the average level of blood glucose over the preceding three months) was normal without taking any medication. I still test my blood glucose about once a day and will continue to do so, as it helps me feel in control."

 

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/a26392/how-people-reversed-type-2-diabetes/

 

 

Find the Best Activity Tracker for You

By Allison Tsai

Not long ago, if you wanted to track your activity at a fancy affair, you’d have to clip a pedometer to your waistband. Thankfully, today’s activity trackers blur the line between fashion accessory and health monitoring device.
While trackers vary in appearance and features, their goals are the same: to help you boost activity and lose or maintain weight. But whether you’ll respond to these techniques isn’t so clear-cut.

Success Factors

While activity-tracking devices don’t work as well for weight loss as weekly weigh-ins with a trained professional, they can help you establish a baseline for activity, says Sheri Colberg-Ochs, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, particularly if you have no idea how much you’re moving on a daily basis. Trackers provide self-monitoring and feedback, two important factors in weight-loss success—at least in the short-term. And many trackers offer apps to help you succeed. Extra features include social support, goal-setting, and the ability to plan workouts.
Tracking activity is useful for diabetes management, too. Users can compare their activity levels on days when their blood glucose is in range with levels on out-of-range days to see how activity affects their blood glucose, says John Jakicic, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health and Physical Activity and director of the Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

Special Features

When it comes to activity trackers, one size doesn’t fit all. Some people may seek out something competitive (like the app Zombies, Run!, which turns an ordinary workout into a game of survival). Some might prefer to get social with a group. And others may want to journal on their own. Buying a tracker may not even be necessary: Apple and Google each have an app that uses a phone’s motion sensor to track steps—a fine choice for someone who wants a no-frills tracker.

Friendly Features

1. Fun With  Friends 
Social features play a big role when it comes to sticking with activity trackers, says Elizabeth Lyons, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Texas Medical Branch. The main commercial tracker brands allow you to connect with other users, exchange in-app messages and notes of encouragement, challenge others to hit step goals, and compare your weekly totals with those of your friends. When Lyons and her team analyzed trackers’ features, they found that Jawbone and Fitbit offered the most social opportunities in their apps.
2. Activity Specific 
Before you buy a tracker, make sure it can accurately quantify your preferred activities. The Misfit is the only waterproof tracker, so swimmers have one choice, says Lyons. Other monitors, such as the Atlas wristband, specifically track weight-lifting activity but not lifestyle activities, such as walking.
3. New Ways to Log Food 
Several activity trackers have integrated food logs or sync with popular apps to record your meals—a habit, studies show, that’s helpful when combined with setting calorie goals. Maintaining a food journal can be tedious. But many trackers and apps have found new ways to capture the information. Now you can scan bar codes, search through food listings, and create frequent meals that can be quickly added to your daily log.
4. Fashion Forward
Consider how the tracker looks and how you plan to wear it. Colberg-Ochs says she prefers not to wear something around her wrist; for her, a tracker that clips to clothing would be best. After trying out 19 different monitors for her analysis, Lyons stuck with the Apple Watch, while her colleagues chose different favorites.

Roadblocks to Use

Many people have “shiny object syndrome”—an attraction to new technology that they never integrate into their lives. Loss of interest is the biggest threat to long-term use of activity trackers. “It’s really easy to ignore after a while,” says Lyons. “If you just don’t check the app even if you’re wearing [the tracker], it’s not on the forefront of your mind.”
On the flip side, people can be so tuned in to their trackers that they note every missed goal—and that can really impact their mood. “What you don’t want is for people to say, ‘I just spent $200 on this thing and, forget it, I’m throwing it in a drawer and I’m never using it again,’ ” Jakicic says.
Correct Counts?
Breathe a sigh of relief: Most name-brand activity trackers are relatively accurate in terms of step counting—within about 10 percent of a research-grade monitor, says Elizabeth Lyons, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Texas Medical Branch. And while there is a margin of error, it’s more likely a tracker would underreport rather than overreport, says Sheri Colberg-Ochs, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
Counts for calories burned and active minutes (time spent doing moderate to vigorous activity) may be less precise. Calorie inaccuracies have more to do with people being unaware of how much they really weigh, says Lyons. A lot of activity trackers calculate burned calories based on a person’s weight. But it’s only accurate if you’ve entered the correct weight.
“I would actually trust calories before I would trust [active] minutes,” says Lyons. That’s because the devices track lower-body movement rather than full-body movement. So playing tennis, rowing, cycling, and other activities may not register correctly on your tracker.

Future of Trackers

When doctors hand out simple pedometers to their patients, exercise increases for three to six months, says John Jakicic, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health and Physical Activity and director of the Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh. But take a step into the future, where activity trackers may:

Sync with electronic medical records so your doctor could see your progress and discuss it with you at your next appointment.

Aid the artificial pancreas with algorithm feedback to account for exercise and help the system make automatic adjustments to the insulin it doles out.

http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2016/may-jun/back-on-track.html

Eating chocolate each day could reduce heart disease, diabetes risk

From Science Daily

A new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition appears to back up the adage that a little of what you fancy does you good.

Including a small amount of chocolate each day could help prevent diabetes and insulin resistance. That's one of the research findings from the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), the University of Warwick Medical School, the University of South Australia and the University of Maine.
Data of 1,153 people aged 18-69 years old who were part of the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk in Luxembourg (ORISCAV-LUX) study were analysed. It was found that those who ate 100 g of chocolate a day -- equivalent to a bar -- had reduced insulin resistance and improved liver enzymes. Insulin sensitivity is a well-established risk factor to cardiovascular disease.
The academics hypothesised that chocolate consumption may have a beneficial effect on insulin sensitivity and liver enzymes and therefore decided to analyse a national sample of adults, taking into account lifestyle and dietary factors, including the simultaneous consumption of tea and coffee. This is because both drinks can be high in polyphenol, the substance which may provide chocolate with its beneficial cardiometabolic effects.
Prof Saverio Stranges, Visiting Academic at the University of Warwick Medical School and Scientific Director of the Department of Population Health at LIH said: "Given the growing body of evidence, including our own study, cocoa-based products may represent an additional dietary recommendation to improve cardio-metabolic health; however, observational results need to be supported by robust trial evidence.
"Potential applications of this knowledge include recommendations by healthcare professionals to encourage individuals to consume a wide range of phytochemical-rich foods, which can include dark chocolate in moderate amounts. However, it is important to differentiate between the natural product cocoa and the processed product chocolate, which is an energy-dense food. Therefore, physical activity, diet and other lifestyle factors must be carefully balanced to avoid detrimental weight gain over time."
More than 80% of participants claimed to eat an average of 24.8 g of chocolate a day. The study also found that those who claimed to eat chocolate were younger, more physically active and had higher levels of education than those who claimed not to eat chocolate on a daily basis.
Dr Ala'a Alkerwi, the Principal Investigator of the study at LIH said: "It is also possible that chocolate consumption may represent an overall marker for a cluster of favourable socio-demographic profiles, healthier lifestyle behaviours and better health status. This could explain, at least in part, the observed inverse associations with insulin and liver biomarkers."
The paper concluded that further observational research and randomised controlled studies are needed to understand the role chocolate may play in insulin resistance and cardiometabolic disorders.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160428124108.htm

Type 2 Diabetes - The Best Foods To Combat Inflammation

By Beverleigh H Piepers

One of the top leading "killers" so to speak in today's society is excess inflammation. While inflammation per say is unlikely to become fatal, the problem is with what's associated with the inflammation.
When inflammation is high in your body, there is usually a lot of free-radical damage to innocent cells and tissues. Inflammatory markers are usually elevated if you have...

heart disease,

obesity,

Type 2 diabetes,

arthritis,

chronic fatigue syndrome, and

autoimmune conditions disorders such as lupus, multiple sclerosis or Chron's disease.

In short, inflammation must be stopped. One of the best ways to prevent high inflammation levels in your body is through making a few smart changes to your lifestyle.

Along with getting sufficient sleep at night, the foods you eat on a daily basis will also contribute to bettering or worsening inflammation. Let's go over a few of the best foods to eat if you want to get this health issue under control...
1. Olive Oil. One of the frequently used healthy fats, olive oil, is perfect for combating inflammation. This unsaturated oil is excellent for drizzling on top of salads and in addition to decreasing inflammation levels can also help to lower your risk of developing heart disease.
As it has a lower smoke point, avoid using olive oil, especially extra-virgin olive oil, at high cooking temperatures.
2. Flaxseed Oil Or Ground Flaxseed. The next way to beat inflammation is to add flaxseed to your meal plan...

• sprinkle these on your morning bowl of oatmeal,
• add flaxseed to your pancake or muffin recipe, or
• use the oil when cooking a different dishes.

Flaxseed contains essential omega-3 fatty acids, which are a must if you hope to promote longevity.
3. Avocados. Need a creamy substitute for mayonnaise? Try avocado. Avocado is often overlooked as a healthy fat and is ideal for combating inflammation and will also leave your skin and hair looking their best.
As an added benefit, avocados are also an excellent source of dietary fiber and will help Type 2 diabetics stabilize their blood sugar levels.

4. Fatty Fish. Finally, don't overlook fatty fish. You should aim to eat at least two servings of fatty fish - salmon or mackerel - each and every week.
Fatty fish is excellent as it will provide omega-3 fatty acids, which help control inflammation by improving your omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio. People who have too much omega-6 in their meal plan are pro-inflammatory, so this needs to be controlled.
If you focus on adding these foods into your diabetic meal plan on a regular basis, you can feel confident you are doing your part to combat inflammation throughout your body and helping to stabilize your blood sugar level.

Although managing your disease can be very challenging, Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight and your blood sugar levels. Hang in there, the longer you do it, the easier it gets.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Type-2-Diabetes---The-Best-Foods-To-Combat-Inflammation-In-Several-Conditions-Including-Diabetes&id=9390071

Type 2 diabetes people 'let down' over delayed treatment

From EurekAlert

People with Type 2 diabetes are being 'let down' because they are being forced to wait for further treatment when needed.
Research has shown the average waiting time for increased treatment from the start of insulin is 3.7 years.
Maintaining tight control of blood sugars in people with Type 2 diabetes can lead to significant reductions in related complications, previous evidence has shown.
However 'clinical inertia', which is the term given for the delay of increasing medication needed for patients, is preventing this from happening, according to a study published in the Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism journal.
The research was carried out by NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) East Midlands, an organisation which turns research into cost-saving and high-quality care through cutting-edge innovation.
Professor Kamlesh Khunti, Director of CLAHRC East Midlands and Professor of Primary Care Diabetes & Vascular Medicine at the University of Leicester based at the Leicester Diabetes Centre, said: "Of the 11,000 patients we studied, only a third of those needing further medication were actually given it.
"Clinical inertia is a global phenomenon, which is putting people with Type 2 diabetes at further risk of preventable complications associated with the condition.
"Failure by healthcare professionals to intensify medication in the pursuit of tighter glycaemic control is due to a number of complex reasons related to patient and health care professional factors. However, we need to make great efforts to reverse these trends and improve patients reaching tight glucose targets from diagnosis of diabetes"
The study concluded that more should be done to avoid clinical inertia and patients should have their treatment intensified where appropriate.
Long-term complications and mortality associated with Type 2 diabetes can be significantly reduced if therapies are initiated earlier.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/uol-t2d042616.php

Study Reveals Importance of Food Labels in Fight Against Diabetes

From Yale News

The often ignored or misunderstood labels that, as required by law, provide nutritional information on all food packaging may hold a key to reducing the negative consequences of diabetes in underserved populations, a new Yale School of Public Health study has found.

In a paper published in the American Journal of Public Health, Grace Kollannoor-Samuel, M.D., M.S., a Ph.D. student at the School of Public Health, found that Latinos with diabetes who received guidance from community health workers on how to shop for groceries according to the nutritional information on food labels were more likely to continue that practice over time. The study found that about 15 percent of the total protective effect of this intervention against high blood glucose levels could be attributed to improved dietary quality as a result of food label use. Type-2 diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States, and there are high rates of the disease among Latinos, a population with limited access to health care.

“This randomized controlled study is the first ever published showing the major role that food label education plays at helping low-income individuals in the United States manage their type 2 diabetes,” said Professor Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, Ph.D., a co-author of the study.

Kollannoor-Samuel said that community health workers are key to the success of this tactic for improving diabetes self-management in underserved populations. “[They] can translate generic health-related recommendations given in doctor's offices into simpler, easy to follow, pragmatic yet culturally sensitive health-messages,” she said. “In our trial, community health workers were able to provide effective culturally-sensitive hands-on food label education in home and grocery store settings. This might be very relevant in a community such as our study population who suffer from significant health disparities. “

Kollannoor-Samuel conducted this study as part of her Ph.D. dissertation at the School of Public Health, where she expects to receive her degree this spring. She collaborated on this study, which was one of four included in her dissertation, with Pérez-Escamilla, her mentor, and Fatma Shebl, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor at the School of Public Health. “Dr. Pérez-Escamilla is the best mentor a Ph.D. student can ask for,” she said. “And Dr. Shebl’s statistical intelligence and guidance were crucial in the completion of my dissertation.”

After graduation, Kollannoor-Samuel plans to expand her research on food labels to include other populations with or without chronic diseases. She also would like to explore the protective effects of food label use on diabetes incidence or glucose control, and how it’s modified by factors such as fast food or soda consumption.

 

 

http://publichealth.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=12579

It’s possible to reverse type-2 diabetes in some people—and it’s not even that difficult

By Akshat Rathi

As a growing middle class worldwide consumes more sugar, meat, soda, and other processed foods, the number of people suffering from the obesity-related disease type-2 diabetes has quadrupled in the last 40 years, to some 400 million people worldwide.

 

The disease, in which the body doesn’t produce or process insulin properly, has been considered chronic and incurable, a condition that only gets worse with age—so efforts have focused on prevention. But new research suggests that, for some people already diagnosed with diabetes, following an extreme diet could reverse the disease.

 

Researchers at Newcastle University created an extreme diet plan for a small trial involving 30 type-2 diabetes patients. For eight weeks, the patients drank a diet milkshake three times daily and ate some 200 grams of non-starchy vegetables, totaling about 700 calories a day.

 

At the end of the regimen, the average weight loss among participants was about 14 kg (33 pounds). And in many of them, the diabetes disappeared. Nearly half the participants had no symptoms of diabetes for nearly six months after they went back to eating normally. The results of the study were published in Diabetes Care.

 

Reversal of diabetes has been studied in those undergoing bariatric surgery, where reduction in the size of the stomach reduces patients’ ability to eat large quantities and often results in major weight loss. But this is the first study where the reversal has lasted for as long as six months.

 

It is worth noting that most of those who experienced reversal of symptoms had had diabetes for less than four years. They were also, in general, healthier than those who didn’t experience reversal of symptoms while on the extreme diet.

 

We still don’t understand why such reversal is possible. A leading hypothesis is that, following weight loss, removal of excess fat from the liver and pancreas can kickstart insulin-producing cells to normalize sugar levels.

 

Though the study hints at a cure, larger and longer-term trials are necessary to understand the method’s effectiveness. Still, patients who underwent the trial say they are happy they did it. Four years after the trial, at least one of those patients, Richard Doughty, still has no symptoms of diabetes. He eats about 1700 calories per day, but follows a strict exercise regime to lose many of those calories.

 

The diet is tough, but not impossible. “I’ve learned to enjoy my shift in lifestyle, and I like a whole range of food I didn’t know about before,” Doughty writes in the Guardian.

 

For those who can’t stick to such a diet in the long term, experts suggest that even a temporary reversal of symptoms can be beneficial, reducing the risks of diabetes-associated complications, such as kidney damage, loss of vision, heart attacks, and stroke.

 

http://qz.com/669254/its-possible-to-reverse-type-2-diabetes-in-some-people-and-its-not-even-that-difficult/

Final piece of type 1 diabetes puzzle solved

By James Gallagher

A complete picture of the areas that the immune system attacks to cause type 1 diabetes has finally been revealed by scientists.

The study, published in the journal Diabetes, discovered the fifth and final critical target at which the immune system errantly takes aim.
The team at the University of Lincoln say the findings could help develop new ways to prevent and treat the disease.
Diabetes UK said the findings were "impressive".
In type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys the beta cells that make insulin - the hormone needed to keep blood sugar levels under control.

Studies looking at the unique antibodies made by patients with type 1 showed there were five key targets that the immune system attacked.
But working out exactly what they were has been like identifying someone from their silhouette.
Studies long ago discovered some of the targets, but the final one has proved elusive for two decades.
Dr Michael Christie, who led the research at the University of Lincoln, told the BBC: "With this new discovery, we have now finished identifying what the immune system is targeting - we have the complete picture."
The targets are:

• Insulin
• Glutamate decarboxylase
• IA-2
• Zinc transporter-8
• And the final piece of the puzzle, tetraspanin-7

The more technically named ones are largely involved in secreting or storing the hormone insulin.
Knowledge of some of these targets is already being used in a trial at King's College London that is aiming to stall the progression of type 1.
But Dr Christie says having the complete picture could help transform care for type 1 patients.
He said: "Once the immune system decides it wants to get rid of something it's very hard to stop, so diabetes has proved to be a difficult disease to prevent.
"So we're hoping that, by having identified the major targets in the disease, we can find ways to prevent it by blocking the immune response to these five proteins without leaving that person vulnerable to infections.
"With recent improvements in our understanding of the disease I'm very hopeful we'll develop a treatment now; I have a lot more confidence than even five years ago."

There are 2 main types of diabetes:-

Type 1 - where the pancreas does not produce any insulin

Type 2 - where the pancreas does not produce enough insulin - or the body's cells do not react to insulin.

 

Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age, but usually appears before the age of 40, particularly in childhood.
Around 10% of all diabetes is type 1, but it is the most common type of childhood diabetes, so it is sometimes called juvenile diabetes or early-onset diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is largely caused by poor lifestyle. Around 90% of adults with diabetes have type 2, and it tends to develop later in life than type 1.
Source: NHS Choices

---

Dr Emily Burns, from the charity Diabetes UK, said: "In order to prevent type 1 diabetes, we need to fully understand how the immune response that damages insulin-producing cells develops in the first place.
"Dr Christie's impressive research is helping us to do just that.
"We hope that the findings here will be used to improve the identification of those at risk of type 1 diabetes and, in the long term, inform the crucial development of therapies."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36113773

Diabetes: can you really eat to beat it?

By Richard Doughty

Just over four years ago, my GP gave me unwelcome news: I had type 2 diabetes. I was shocked. I didn’t match the stereotypical patient profile of an overweight couch potato. Aged 59, I was thin, fit and 5ft 7in tall, drank frugally, went running every week and weighed just 10st 7lb. The outlook was not good, with the risk of heart attacks, strokes, blindness, amputations and a 36% greater chance of dying early. I thought, this can’t be happening to me; there has to be a way through. I started trawling the web for information and unearthed a report about a research trial at Newcastle University, led by Professor Roy Taylor.
The results suggested you could reverse type 2 with a daily 800-calorie diet for eight weeks, depending on how quickly and how much weight you need to lose. Taylor’s team discovered that type 2 is caused by fat clogging up the pancreas, preventing it from producing sufficient insulin to control blood sugar level. They calculated you need to reduce your pre-diagnosis body weight by a sixth to starve your body into using up the rogue fat lodged in your pancreas and allow it to function normally. “The body does not like any fat lying around in the pancreas, so it consumes that first,” says Taylor. The daily 800-calorie diet comprises either three 200g liquid food supplements of soups and shakes, and 200g of non-starchy vegetables or the tastier 800g equivalent of calorie-shy meals you measure out yourself, plus 2-3 litres of water.
It sounded tough, but what could I lose? I chose the supplement route. It was like a leap in the dark – I’d always loved my food. After giving in to a normal meal after taking my first supplement, I began in earnest the next day. I would accustom my mind to what was on offer and look forward to the next meal, savour what I ate and enjoy it for what it was. I blanked off thoughts of favourite meals and began to take each day as it came. And I followed Taylor’s advice on drinking water to stave off hunger, which was rarely a problem – my body just seemed to get used to it.
Around day six, my glucose was 4.1, the lowest yet. The next day I treated myself to a chocolate shake to celebrate. Two months later, my doctor declared the diabetes had resolved itself. My glucose level was 5.1mmol/l, well below the diabetes mark of 6. I was free of it, but I now had another equally important task – maintaining my new body weight. How much should I eat? “About two-thirds of what you were used to before the diet,” says Taylor.
Which is what I’ve been aiming for – and achieving – ever since. I weigh 8st 6lb, go running on average three times a week, attend a gym, eat healthily and burn around 1,750 calories a day. I am not diabetic any more.
The research I followed is now the subject of a bestselling diet book, The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet by Dr Michael Mosley. Publication could not be more timely, given a WHO report last month reporting that 422 million adults now have diabetes, four times that of 1980.
So, nearly four years down the line, is my diet still successful? Yes – but it takes close monitoring and willpower. We all know that diets are notoriously hard to stick to – unless the incentive is powerful enough. In my case, it is.
What keeps me religiously counting calories on supermarket labels, running in all weathers and reducing the amount I eat and drink (and sadly I do mean alcohol) is knowing that my health could otherwise be seriously at risk. In fact, diet and exercise have left me much healthier, with lower blood pressure, fewer aches and pains, and a more active, alert mind. As well as eating healthily I aim for three 30-minute runs, two visits to the gym including weights (I build up forearm muscles that soak up excess energy before it gets stored as fat) and 15-minute sessions of interval bike training, plus press-ups, sit-ups and the plank (an exercise to help lose excess fat round the stomach).
It sounds tougher than it really is – I’ve learned to enjoy my shift in lifestyle, and I like a whole range of food I didn’t know about before. I positively look forward to my muesli, I can cook stews, grill meat, appreciate all types of fish. Treats are allowed; just compensate by eating frugally in the days after – particularly at Christmas – to balance up your calorie count.
Exercise is basically survival – I can’t afford to take in calories without shedding them as well. It does take effort but I feel so much better afterwards. Regardless of one’s situation, tenacity, focus and single-mindedness are key to reversing type 2 diabetes. Without support, many people will fail to stick to the diet and a change in lifestyle. One of the burning questions being researched now is whether our doctors and nurses can deliver that support and if so, how?

How to lower your blood sugar level: Richard’s 800-calorie daily diet four years ago…

Breakfast Double choc, choc mint, banana or wild cherry food supplement shake (powder mixed with water).
Lunch Chicken and vegetable or curry-flavoured soup.
Supper Home-made pea/carrot/onion soup or roasted non-starchy vegetables, vanilla shake (my favourite – it tasted like ice-cream).
Plus 2-3 litres intake of water/herbal tea daily. Strictly no treats, alcohol, pasta, rice or potatoes.

…and the 1,750-calorie diet he follows now

Breakfast Home-made muesli – uncooked porridge oats mixed with sultanas, blueberries, plums or other berries. Plus almonds and skimmed milk. Toasted rye bread with thin layers of Benecol spread and jam. Occasional scrambled eggs over a giant grilled tomato.
Lunch Main meal of the day – from a choice of chicken, tinned tuna, fresh oily fish, steamed non-starchy vegetables cooked al dente, just 50g of brown rice or wholegrain spelt/spinach pasta. Or go Greek with olives, hummus, feta cheese and salad. Fresh fruit (berries, apples, oranges, etc, with fat-free yoghurt), creme fraiche, quark.
Supper Thick, home-made soup such as carrot and coriander or mushroom. Or Greek or chicken salad, followed by fresh fruit.
Plus Several glasses of fresh/flavoured water or herbal/fruit tea daily, plus ordinary tea, decaf coffee.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/23/diabetes-can-you-really-eat-to-beat-it

Sugar and carbs both play role in diabetes

From: King Features Syndicate

Dear Dr. Roach:
My husband and I are at odds about sugar and other carbohydrates as a cause of diabetes. I say it’s sugar; he says carbohydrates. Why not just eliminate all sugars, I say to myself? We live in the good ol’ South — the diabetes belt of the U.S. — where sugar exists in all foods. Soon someone shall start injecting sugar into carrots and green beans. — M. and G.S.
Dr. Roach: There are two major forms of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 most commonly occurs in children and adolescents, and is related to an autoimmune destruction of the cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin. People with Type 1 diabetes almost always need insulin injections. Excess sugar intake probably has no bearing on the development of Type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is epidemic not only in the Southern U.S., but also in Mexico and increasingly in all industrialized countries. The exact reason for Type 2 diabetes remains incompletely understood, but certainly it has to do with resistance to insulin. Insulin levels in Type 2 diabetics usually are higher than they are in people without diabetes. However, the body has a decreased ability to secrete large amounts of insulin in response to sugar intake than normal people, which is why high blood sugar after ingesting sugar is a way of diagnosing the condition early.
Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, and refined carbohydrates or starches, such as pasta and potatoes, are chemically long strings of sugar molecules, which the body can rapidly turn into sugar. So, you and your husband are both partially right. When combined with protein (as in whole grains) or eaten with fat, complex carbohydrates like starches are absorbed more slowly and are less likely to cause stress to the pancreas. It is thought that reducing insulin requirements from the pancreas by eating less simple and refined carbohydrates reduces the likelihood of developing diabetes, even in someone who has a genetic predisposition. It is critical to keep weight in a normal range, since obesity itself causes insulin resistance and predisposes a person to diabetes.
Carrots and green beans do have natural sugar, but they also contain fiber. They have a minimal effect on raising blood sugar. Some fruits are so high in sugar that they should be eaten only in moderation. These include figs, mangoes, grapes and dates.

http://www.thetowntalk.com/story/life/2016/04/22/sugar-carbs-play-role-diabetes/83357556/

Type-1 diabetes 'prevention' trial starts in Scotland

By Adam Brimelow

A major trial is set to start in Scotland aimed at preventing type-1 diabetes in children.

Researchers are preparing to contact all 6,400 families in the country affected by the condition.
Children who have a parent or sibling with type-1 diabetes will be invited for a blood test to see if they are at high risk of developing the disease.
Those at risk will be offered a drug called metformin to see if it can hold off diabetes.
Metformin is already used to treat diabetes, but it is not clear if it might prevent it from developing in the first place.

If successful, the study could challenge long-established thinking on what lies behind type-1 diabetes.
Scotland has the third highest rate of type-1 diabetes in the world, and a good system of record to identify affected families.

Alternative theory

Type-1 diabetes develops when the body does not produce insulin. This is the hormone needed to control blood sugar levels.
Despite extensive research, there is no way of preventing the disease.
Most experts believe it is caused by a problem with the immune system - mistaking insulin-producing cells in the pancreas - called beta cells - as harmful, and attacking them.
This study, called the autoimmune diabetes Accelerator Prevention Trial (Adapt), tests an alternative theory developed by Prof Terence Wilkin, from the University of Exeter Medical School.
Rather than focusing on halting the immune system, Prof Wilkin says it could be better to work on protecting the beta cells.
He argues the key cause of damage is stress on the beta cells as they struggle to cope with demand for insulin.
Then, he says, in some people, the immune system kicks in, killing off more cells, accelerating the development of diabetes - what we know as type-1 diabetes.
He hopes metformin will relieve the stress on the beta cells, so they can continue to make insulin.

Stressed cells

Prof Wilkin said: "It is possible that a modern environment accelerates the loss of beta cells by overworking and stressing them.
"As a consequence, this could be contributing to the rising incidence of type-1 diabetes, which is appearing in ever younger age groups.
"Adapt will use a medication to protect the beta cells from the stress, so that they survive longer."
The researchers say if it is successful, the trial will offer a cost-effective way of preventing type-1 diabetes that could be made available immediately to children at risk.
The trial has initial funding from the type-1 diabetes charity JDRF.
The study will start recruitment in Tayside and will then extend across Scotland before crossing into England.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36083144

Healthy diet may cut blood pressure risk after pregnancy-related diabetes

From Fox News Health

Diabetes during pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes, raises a woman's risk of high blood pressure years later, but eating healthy may bring that risk back down, according to a new study.
Diets rich in fruits and vegetables and whole grains, low in red and processed meats, and low in refined grain were related to lower risk for gestational diabetes and also a lower risk for type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure later, said senior investigator Dr. Cuilin Zhang in email to Reuters Health.
Gestational diabetes, which often has no symptoms, affects about 200,000 U.S. women each year.
From 1989 to 2011, the researchers tracked almost 4,000 women in the Nurses' Health Study II with a history of gestational diabetes.
Over an average of 18 years, 1,069 women developed high blood pressure.
Women with the healthiest diets were about 25 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than those with the least healthy diets, the researchers reported in the journal Hypertension.
Fiber from whole grains and legumes could help improve the way the body processes sugar and handles inflammation, said Zhang, who works at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Maryland.
Fruits and vegetables contain high potassium and vitamin K, ascorbic acid and antioxidants, which could help the heart and blood vessels, she added.
A healthy diet helps reduce the risk of high blood pressure for all people, not just women who've had gestational diabetes, she said.
The new results are not surprising, said Dr. Cheryl Bushnell of Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston Salem, North Carolina, who was not part of the new study.
"The healthy diets in this study all emphasize nutrients (fruits and vegetables, fresh vs. non-processed food) that are high in potassium and low in sodium, both of which can help lower blood pressure," Bushnell told Reuters Health by email.
High blood pressure "is the single-most modifiable risk factor for stroke, so avoiding (it) will help reduce the risk for stroke," she said. "Other major conditions associated with (high blood pressure) include heart disease, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease, all of which shorten the life expectancy."
Women should discuss their history of gestational diabetes with their doctors, Bushnell said.
And doctors should encourage women who had diabetes in pregnancy to adopt a healthy diet after giving birth, Zhang said.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/04/19/healthy-diet-may-cut-blood-pressure-risk-after-pregnancy-related-diabetes.html

Hope for Reversing Type 2 Diabetes

By Roni Caryn Rabin

Many experts believe Type 2 diabetes is an incurable disease that gets worse with time. But new research raises the tantalizing possibility that drastic changes in diet may reverse the disease in some people.

Recently, a small clinical trial in England studied the effects of a strict liquid diet on 30 people who had lived with Type 2 diabetes for up to 23 years. Nearly half of those studied had a remission that lasted six months after the diet was over. While the study was small, the finding offers hope to millions who have been told they must live with the intractable disease.

“This is a radical change in our understanding of Type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Roy Taylor, a professor at Newcastle University in England and the study’s senior author. “If we can get across the message that ‘yes, this is a reversible disease — that you will have no more diabetes medications, no more sitting in doctors’ rooms, no more excess health charges’ — that is enormously motivating.”

It is not the first time that people have reversed type 2 diabetes by losing a lot of weight shortly after a diagnosis. Studies have also shown that obese individuals who have bariatric surgery frequently see the condition vanish even before they lose very much weight.

But the new study, published in Diabetes Care, proved the reversal after diet can persist for at least half a year as long as patients keep weight off, and can occur in people who have had the disease for many years.

The researchers followed the participants after they had completed an eight-week low-calorie-milkshake diet and returned to normal eating. Six months later, those who had gone into remission immediately after the diet were still diabetes-free. Though most of those who reversed the disease had had it for less than four years, some had been diabetic for more than eight years.

When Allan Tutty, 57, learned five years ago that he had Type 2 diabetes, he asked health care providers if there was a cure. “It was a case of, look, you’ve got it, deal with it, there’s no cure,” said Mr. Tutty, who manages a home for people with brain injuries in Newcastle.

Later, Mr. Tutty spotted a notice recruiting volunteers for a diabetes study that asked, “Would you like the opportunity to reverse your condition?”

Mr. Tutty said he jumped at the chance, becoming one of 30 men and women ages 25 to 80 to sign up. Mr. Tutty was one of 13 participants whose fasting plasma glucose dropped, and during the six-month follow-up remained below the seven millimole per liter (or 126 milligrams per deciliter) that defines diabetes. Although Mr. Tutty completed the study nearly three years ago, his fasting blood sugars continue to range from 5.2 to 5.6 mmol/L, he said.

Type 2 diabetes develops when the body cannot use insulin properly or make enough insulin, so the body cannot properly use or store glucose (a form of sugar) and sugar backs up into the bloodstream, raising blood sugar levels. In the United States, some 8.9 percent of adults 20 and older have been found to have diabetes, and health officials estimate that another 3.5 percent have undiagnosed diabetes.

Although no one knows exactly why the diet appeared to reverse diabetes, Dr. Taylor said the explanation may be related to how the body stores fat. Excess fat in the liver can spill into the pancreas, inhibiting insulin secretion and the liver’s response to insulin, resulting in insulin resistance and diabetes.

Going on a very-low-calorie diet may allow the body to use up fat from the liver, causing fat levels to drop in the pancreas as well. That “wakes up” the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, normalizing blood glucose levels.

While some previous studies have shown that blood sugars can normalize after significant weight loss, endocrinologists said they were impressed by the persistence of the lower blood sugar levels for months after the diet.

“Decreasing caloric intake for any reason brings with it a rapid improvement in glucose control,” said Dr. Robert Lash, the chairman of the Endocrine Society’s clinical affairs committee and a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan. “What’s exciting here is that the improvements in glucose control persisted when the participants went back to eating a diet with a normal number of calories.”

While the research suggests the potential for a cure, questions remain about how long the effect will last and whether it can work for the typical patient with diabetes.

“It’s definitely doable,” said Dr. George King, the chief scientific officer at Joslin Diabetes Center and a professor at Harvard Medical School. The question, he said, is: Can people maintain the weight loss and “continue to have this reversal for many, many years?”

“That is the difficult part,” he added.

Dr. King said that even short-term remission would reduce or put off some of the serious complications associated with diabetes, like nerve damage, kidney damage, loss of vision, heart attacks and strokes. Yet structured weight loss programs are expensive and often not covered by insurance, and physicians — who are often not well-versed in nutrition — may not take the time to counsel patients about diet, Dr. King said.

The participants in the Newcastle trial, who ranged from overweight to extremely obese, were told to stop their diabetes medications and start a 600- to 700-calorie-a-day diet, consisting of three diet milkshakes a day at mealtimes and half a pound of nonstarchy vegetables a day.

Mr. Tutty, who weighed about 213 pounds before the trial, lost a little more than 30 pounds, the average weight loss in the trial. The people in the study most likely to respond to the treatment were in their early 50s on average and younger than the nonresponders, and they had had diabetes for fewer years. The responders were also healthier before the trial: They had been taking fewer medications than nonresponders, had lower fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c before the trial, and had higher baseline serum insulin levels. Three of those who went into remission had lived with diabetes for more than eight years.

Many of the responders are still in the prediabetes zone and at risk for developing diabetes, Dr. Taylor said. “It’s not fair to say they were completely normalized, but they’re at a level of blood sugar where we don’t expect to see the serious complications associated with diabetes,” he said. “That’s why it’s such good news.”

The big challenge for dieters was returning to normal eating, and trial participants received intensive counseling from a researcher on the team about how to eat after ending the liquid diet, Dr. Taylor said.

“They would describe going back to the kitchen and almost having a panic attack,” he said. “We used that as an opportunity to instill new habits, and were very directive about how much to cook and how much to eat.”

 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/18/hope-for-reversing-type-2-diabetes/?_r=0

The Full-Fat Paradox: Dairy Fat Linked To Lower Diabetes Risk

By Allison Aubrey

If you melt at the creaminess of full-fat yogurt, read on.
A new study finds the dairy fats found in milk, yogurt and cheese may help protect against Type 2 diabetes.
The research, published in the journal Circulation, included 3,333 adults. Beginning in the late 1980s, researchers took blood samples from the participants and measured circulating levels of biomarkers of dairy fat in their blood. Then, over the next two decades, the researchers tracked who among the participants developed diabetes.
"People who had the most dairy fat in their diet had about a 50 percent lower risk of diabetes" compared with people who consumed the least dairy fat, says Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, who is also an author of the study.
The study does not prove a cause and effect, but it builds on a body of evidence suggesting that dairy fat may have protective effects, both in cutting the risk of diabetes and in helping people control body weight.
"For a long time we've had this notion that saturated fat [the kind found in dairy products] is always bad for you," says Mark DeBoer, a pediatrician at the University of Virginia.
But this assumption is being questioned. As we've previously reported, DeBoer has studied the connection between dairy fat and children's body weight. And he published a surprising finding.
"It appears that children who have a higher intake of whole milk or 2 percent milk gain less weight over time" compared with kids who consume skim or nonfat dairy products, explains DeBoer.
And there's some evidence that dairy fat may help adults manage weight as well. As we've reported, researchers in Sweden found that middle-aged men who consumed high-fat milk, butter and cream were significantly less likely to become obese over a period of 12 years compared with men who never or rarely ate high-fat dairy.
So, in other words, the butter and whole-milk eaters did better at keeping the pounds off. In addition, a meta-analysis -- which included data from 16 observational studies — also found evidence that high-fat dairy was associated with a lower risk of obesity.
Researchers can't fully explain these counterintuitive findings.
It's possible that "the fat in dairy makes you less hungry to eat some other foods," says DeBoer.
And there's evidence that "when people consume more low-fat dairy, they eat more carbohydrates" as a way of compensating, says Mozaffarian.
Many high-carb foods such as cereals, breads and snacks that contain highly refined grains are less satiating and can prompt people to eat more calories.
With all the new evidence that challenges the low-fat-is-best orthodoxy, Mozaffarian says it may be time to reconsider the National School Lunch Program rules, which allow only skim and low-fat milk.
"Our research indicates that the national policy should be neutral about dairy fat, until we learn more," says Mozaffarian.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/04/18/474403311/the-full-fat-paradox-dairy-fat-linked-to-lower-diabetes-risk

Diabetes Drug Metformin May Cut Cancer Death Risk

By Rina  Marie Doctor

A diabetes drug called Metformin was found to have the potential to cut cancer death risks, a new study has found.

The association between the type 2 diabetes medicine and risk of cancer death was particularly seen among postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes.

More specifically, the team found that women with both cancer and type 2 diabetes have a 45 percent more chance of dying from cancer than those who have cancer but does not have diabetes.

A striking finding though is that women with cancer, who took Metformin for type 2 diabetes treatment had the same risk of dying as those without diabetes at all.

"Metformin users, particularly long-term users, may be at lower risk of developing certain cancers and dying from cancer, compared to users of other anti-diabetes medications," the authors write.

A diabetes drug called Metformin was found to have the potential to cut cancer death risks, a new study has found.

The association between the type 2 diabetes medicine and risk of cancer death was particularly seen among postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes.

More specifically, the team found that women with both cancer and type 2 diabetes have a 45 percent more chance of dying from cancer than those who have cancer but does not have diabetes.

A striking finding though is that women with cancer, who took Metformin for type 2 diabetes treatment had the same risk of dying as those without diabetes at all.

"Metformin users, particularly long-term users, may be at lower risk of developing certain cancers and dying from cancer, compared to users of other anti-diabetes medications," the authors write.

Things To Consider

Although the study yielded interesting results that may provide a promising basis for future treatments, it is not high time to get absolutely excited, yet.

Dr. Joel Zonszein from Montefiore Medical Center in New York says the study showed that the effects depend on the long-term administration of the drug. He adds that the exact mechanism of Metformin remains unknown.

Gong agreed, saying that the study was not able to prove that Metformin really prevents or reduces cancer deaths. What's certain is that they found an association.

Ultimately, further studies are needed to ascertain the potential role of the drug to cancer death risk.

The report was published in the International Journal of Cancer on April 15.

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/150714/20160416/diabetes-drug-metformin-may-cut-cancer-death-risk.htm

4 common diabetes myths debunked

From West Plains Daily Quill

(StatePoint) Knowing the facts about diabetes is important for everyone, as living a healthy lifestyle can play a key role in helping to prevent and control the disease.

To help, the Certified Diabetes Educators at Nutrisystem are debunking some common myths.

Myth: I’m a healthy weight; I can’t get diabetes.

Truth: Although there is a clear connection between being overweight or obese and developing Type 2 diabetes, genetics and other lifestyle factors like diet can play a role as well. By maintaining a healthy weight, eating a nutritious, balanced diet and engaging in healthy habits like regular exercise, you can decrease your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Myth: People develop diabetes because they eat too much sugar.

Truth: Consuming excess calories (from sugary and non-sugary foods) can contribute to excess weight and obesity -- both of which are associated with Type 2 diabetes, but sugar is not the singular cause of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is the result of genetics and additional unknown factors, while Type 2 diabetes is the result of a combination of genetics and lifestyle factors.

Healthy hint: Even if you only use sugar substitutes as sweeteners, consuming excessive calories from other foods can still contribute to developing Type 2 diabetes.

Myth: If I have diabetes, I have to follow a restrictive diet that includes no carbs and definitely no dessert.

Truth: You might be surprised to learn that generally speaking, individuals with diabetes can follow the same healthy diet recommended for the general public -- one that includes lean proteins, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and fruit, and that minimizes saturated and trans fats, salt and sugar.

Carbohydrates are an acceptable and necessary part of a healthy meal plan. However, pay attention to portion. Optimal carb counts vary, but the American Diabetes Association recommends starting with 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per meal, and tweaking depending on your body’s response.

Some good carbs to consider include whole grain breads, pastas, rice and cereals, plus starchy vegetables like potatoes, peas and corn. Fruits, beans, milk and yogurt also count toward daily carbohydrates.

Those with diabetes can also still enjoy sweet treats in small portions on special occasions.

Myth: If my blood sugar doesn’t improve right after losing weight, it never will.

Truth: It may take time for the body to adjust to the new way of eating. If you don’t see quick improvements, be patient.

Also, stay in touch with your doctor since your medication or insulin may need to be adjusted.
Getting the formula right for a healthy lifestyle is not just an art, it’s a science -- particularly if you have diabetes. Take steps to learn more about the disease and make positive lifestyle changes to support your health.

http://www.westplainsdailyquill.net/features/health_fitness/article_59bdd864-019f-11e6-81fa-e35c09c75e24.html

Upstate kid using viral videos to help other kids with diabetes

By Addie Hampton

6-year-old Tim Crosby is changing the world with an iPad and an insulin pump. He’s on the verge of YouTube stardom for his viral videos teaching other kids about life with type one diabetes.
“Hey kids. I want to tell you about diabetes. I am Tim,” said Tim introducing himself in his first video that’s been seen more than 4000 times.
Diagnosed at age 2, needless, blood and insulin are an everyday part of life. You might say he’s an expert and he’s taking that expertise to YouTube to help other kids.
“I just feel they are watching these videos and there’s a kid that’s maybe just diagnosed right now. They are watching them and now they’re feeling WAY better,” said Tim.
This all started as a way to keep busy and quiet while his siblings were napping.
“Since my mom was in the shower, I thought “hmmm, I should do a diabetes video and help other kids,” Tim explained.
Wednesday, Tim gave 7 New’s Addie Hampton a behind the scenes view.
“I swipe, get the camera ready,” said Tim, moving the iPad into position. Soon, it was lights, camera, and action.
“Can you tell me how your insulin pump works,” asked Hampton.
“So, it runs on batteries and you have to change it every three days,” Tim expertly explained.
These honest explanations of life with T1D are what draws others to his videos. He can’t believe his viral success.
“I’m just thinking it’s very surprising. It means a lot to me,” said Tim.
His mom, MaryAnn Crosby, has also been amazed by the response.
“Watching his videos makes me so happy to see that he has a good attitude and he knows he’s different, but he’s ok with it and he wants to help anyone else who’s like him,” she explained.
Crosby says Tim’s videos are reaching other type one families to let them know they aren’t alone.
“I just hope they help them a lot. They will understand that it shouldn’t hurt and it keep them alive and stuff,” said Tim.
Both Tim and his parents want other T1D families to know that they are not alone.

http://wspa.com/2016/04/13/upstate-6-year-old-helping-kids-with-diabetes-through-viral-videos/

Eye Health: Insights for Patients With Diabetes

By Debra Freiheit

If all individuals with diabetic retinopathy were treated in a timely manner, the incidence of blindness from diabetes could be decreased by 90 percent. Many factors that are completely within your own control have a notable impact on reducing your risk of diabetic retinopathy, including regulating blood sugar and blood pressure, and following recommended checkups.
What Can I Do?
Although some people may not feel they need eye care, most early eye disease has no signs or symptoms. Following recommended exam schedules detects and promotes treatment of diabetic eye disease and cuts the occurrence of severe vision loss by half or more, and early detection and treatment of diabetic retinopathy reduces vision loss by up to 60 percent. Half of adult patients with diabetes do not have annual eye care, however. The most common reasons for skipping eye care given by individuals are that they do not feel they need it or they cannot afford it.
Medicare covers a yearly exam for diabetic neuropathy, and many individuals now have vision coverage through their health insurance. Patients with health insurance are more likely to have recommended eye exams. Lack of insurance increases the probability of eye problems. Uninsured and lowincome individuals are the patients most likely to cite cost as a reason for not seeking care, but even without insurance, dilated eye exams have low upfront costs, reduce patients’ overall costs and increase quality of life.
Who Is Going to Benefit?
Diabetes is on the rise: It currently affects nearly 26 million Americans, or about 8 percent of the U.S. population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that nearly 2 million individuals were newly diagnosed with diabetes in 2010. Of that group, 30 percent of adults had prediabetes (high blood glucose or glycosylated hemoglobin [A1C] level, but not high enough to be considered diabetic) and half of the elderly population was prediabetic. It is estimated there will be 366 million individuals with diabetes worldwide by 2030.
Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes and is the leading cause of new-onset blindness in U.S. adults. Because vision decreases slowly with age, many patients do not even realize they have a problem. More than 33,000 new cases of diabetic macular edema and 86,000 cases of proliferative diabetic retinopathy are diagnosed every year in the United States, along with 12,000 to 14,000 new cases of blindness. In addition, within three years after a diagnosis of diabetes, 28 percent of adults will develop diabetic retinopathy and 4 percent will have advanced retinopathy, which can lead to vision loss.
Diabetic retinopathy happens in most patients with Type 1 diabetes and is seen in more than 77 percent of patients with Type 2 diabetes within 20 years after receiving a diagnosis. The longer a person has had diabetes, the higher the chance of retinopathy and blindness. Therefore, the elderly are more affected by diabetic retinopathy, at a rate of 27 percent of individuals older than 65 years.
What Can I Do for Myself?
Treating diabetes can reduce the risk of diabetic retinopathy by 90 percent. The only ways to prevent diabetic retinopathy are by controlling blood sugar, blood pressure and other factors. For example, intensive blood glucose control reduces diabetic retinopathy, even if your A1C level does not improve. In addition, hypertension worsens diabetic retinopathy, as do high cholesterol and high lipid levels. Losing weight, exercising and improving nutrition can significantly improve your health and slow or prevent complications from diabetes. For instance, early use of antioxidants and zinc can reduce visionthreatening age-related macular degeneration by 25 percent.
Adhering to health checks (glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol monitoring; eye and foot exams) recommended by your primary care practitioner can reduce the likelihood of eye problems. Detecting and treating diabetic eye disease can reduce the rate of severe vision loss by half.
What if Self-Care Is not Enough?

• For most (65 percent) patients with diabetes, vision is adequately helped by glasses. If glasses and other self-care are not enough, you can talk to your PCP about the following treatments: Laser photocoagulation more than halves vision loss from diabetic retinopathy, to less than 2 percent.
• Early vitrectomy (removal of the clear gel that fills the eye between the lens and the retina) in patients with Type 1 diabetes may reduce the amount of time they have poor vision after diabetic vitreous hemorrhage (bleeding). Early vitrectomy showed no advantage for Type 2 diabetes.

Taking control of your eye health can have long-lasting benefits. Following recommended exam schedules has been shown to reduce eye problems in people with diabetes.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2016-04-12/eye-health-insights-for-patients-with-diabetes

Just Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Now What?

From Morris County OHM

Your doctor just told you that you have type 2 diabetes. What happens now? Will you be able to eat food you enjoy? Will you need insulin or other medications? Will this lead to other health problems?
There’s a lot of information out there, some reliable and some not. Meeting with a diabetes educator—often a nurse with specialized training—is the best way for newly diagnosed people to get the support they need, including guidance on how to:

• Develop a healthy eating and activity plan.
• Test your blood sugar and keep a record of the results.
• Take medications if needed.
• Recognize the signs of high or low blood sugar and what to do about it.
• Monitor your feet, skin, and eyes to catch problems early.
• Buy diabetes supplies and store them properly.

Ask your doctor to recommend a diabetes educator, or search the American Association of Diabetes Educators’ nationwide directory for a list of educators in your community.

http://morriscountynj.gov/health/2016/04/just-diagnosed-with-type-2-diabetes-now-what/

Shining new light on diabetes treatment

From phys.org

Researchers have developed a light-activated tool to show how drugs need to be adapted to combat type 2 diabetes.
The study, published in Angewandte Chemie, provides insight into the signalling process of receptors in cells.
The team behind the research believe their findings could pave the way for a new generation of anti-diabetic drugs that are activated by the presence of either blue or ultra-violet light.
Dr David Hodson, from the University of Birmingham, explained, "Current treatment for type 2 diabetes hinges on dietary and medical intervention to restore the body's ability to release insulin. Over the past 10 years a class of drugs termed incretin-mimetics have been developed, and have revolutionised the treatment of type 2 diabetes."
"The challenge now is to make such interventions more targeted. At the moment, the approach is equivalent to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. By advancing our understanding of receptors in cells we can design more efficient drugs and reduce the risk of side effects. Light-activated technologies that change the shape of drugs are really interesting, non-invasive ways of getting the treatment to the right place, at the right time."
Current drugs target the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor, a G-protein coupled receptor. However, much remains unknown about how this receptor works, limiting production of newer, safer and more effective anti-diabetics.
In particular, the GLP-1R possesses a back door, termed an allosteric site. This site is of particular interest for the development of drugs that demonstrate superior selectivity. However, drug discovery efforts are hampered by lack of tools to understand how the allosteric site works.
To circumvent this problem, Dr Hodson, alongside Professor Dirk Trauner and Dr Johannes Broichhagen at LMU Munich, employed a combination of synthetic chemistry, biology and high-throughput screening to produce a novel anti-diabetic whose activity can be precisely controlled with light.
Their new drug, PhotoETP, shows that the structure needs to be twisted to fit into the allosteric site, but extended to activate signalling and insulin secretion.
With this information, a new generation of light-activated anti-diabetics can now be produced that allow better control over blood glucose levels with fewer side effects.
Type 2 diabetes currently affects almost 10% of the adult population. This disease state, typified by failure to produce enough insulin, leads to elevated glucose levels. The latter drive a range of complications including heart disease, nerve problems, blindness and cancer and cost the NHS £1 million per day to treat.

http://phys.org/news/2016-04-diabetes-treatment.html

Solving a genetic mystery in type 1 diabetes

From Science Daily

In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the body's own insulin-producing cells. Scientists understand reasonably well how this autoimmune attack progresses, but they don't understand what triggers the attack or how to stop it, says Stephan Kissler, Ph.D., Investigator in the Section on Immunobiology at Joslin Diabetes Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Mutations in dozens of genes raise the risk of the disease by small but significant amounts, and researchers are painstakingly uncovering how each gene might contribute. Now the Kissler lab has shown one way in which one such gene, called RGS1, may help to foster the autoimmune attack.
In the attack, immune cells called T cells infiltrate the pancreas and damage the insulin-producing beta cells. Another type of immune cells called B cells produce antibodies and are also involved. In a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, RGS1 affects the population of one type of T cell called a "T follicular helper cell" that is critical for B cells and antibody production, Dr. Kissler and his colleagues reported recently in Genes and Immunity.
"In a nutshell, what we found is that this gene has an effect on the frequency of these T follicular helper cells, which are important for the B cells and seem to be important for the disease," says Dr. Kissler, who is also an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
The finding was particularly striking because clinical studies have found that the number of these cells in the blood is higher in people with type 1 diabetes.
However, Dr. Kissler's group discovered that reducing levels of the RGS1 protein did not slow the progression of the disease in mouse models, suggesting that it may not offer much potential for human treatment.
"Inhibiting RGS1 didn't prevent autoimmune diabetes from happening, which is slightly disappointing but not surprising because any one of these genes in humans has a very small effect on risk," says Dr. Kissler.
His lab focuses on genes associated with higher risk of type 1 diabetes that also play a role in other autoimmune diseases. Additionally, Dr. Kissler's group narrows in on genes such as RGS1 that help to regulate cell migration. Mutations of RGS1 are associated with several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, and a drug targeting cell migration has been approved to treat multiple sclerosis, he notes.
While the scientists had speculated that inhibiting RGS1 would lower the migration of T cells into the pancreas, they didn't find evidence for that movement in their mouse models. They did discover that the inhibition changes the ways cells move within lymph nodes and the spleen, organs in which T follicular helper cells interact with B cells to promote antibody production.
Several pieces of evidence suggest that B cells are major players in type 1 diabetes, Dr. Kissler says. Among them, certain antibodies that are linked to autoimmune attack and produced by B cells are the best known indicators for risk of type 1 diabetes.
Lymph nodes and the spleen have "follicular" regions full of B cells, and other regions full of T cells. "The RGS1 gene is important to allow activated T cells to move into the regions with all the B cells, where they help the B cells get activated and produce antibodies," he explains. "These are the T follicular helper cells. If you don't have any of these cells, the antibody production doesn't work anymore."
"Overall, the T follicular helper cells are important for B cells, you have more of those T cells in people with type 1 diabetes, they seem to be very important for the disease, and we have a new explanation of why RGS1 has been implicated," Dr. Kissler sums up.
"We're continuing to test a number of other genes to see if one strikes us as being a very potent modifier of type 1 diabetes," he adds. ""The more pieces of this puzzle we can lay down, the better a picture we have to figure out the best ways to intervene in the disease. And this piece of information about RGS1 might become valuable down the line when we know more about other genes, because it might fall into place in the puzzle."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160411134330.htm

Leeds diabetes sufferer promotes healthy lifestyle

From: Yorkshire Evening Post

Diana Oakes was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 11 but has educated herself on how to be as healthy as possible through her diet and by being active.
The 43-year-old said: “You can’t use diabetes as an excuse not to do anything. I succeeded in managing this condition successfully by living a healthy lifestyle with the right education, I’ve been able to continue to do the things I enjoy most in life, and whilst I am not an athlete, and I have another, unrelated condition which limits my mobility somewhat, I still do a lot of walking.”

Health bosses at NHS Leeds West Clinical Commissioning Group are aiming to raise awareness of diabetes.

Diana, from Leeds, said: “Having been diagnosed with the condition was life-changing for me. I had to learn how to self-inject insulin, and then to eat 15 minutes after my injection. I couldn’t eat anything sweet and all my carbohydrates had to be weighed, which I had never done before.

“I attended diabetes education courses, and as I got older I controlled my diabetes really well.

“I continue to have a healthy diet and walk as much as I can – my husband and I are currently undertaking a sponsored walk for Diabetes UK, attempting to walk the equivalent distance between Leeds and Lapland by Christmas Day. This fits in with Diabetes UK’s initiative Walk for Diabetes.
“We all can take steps to having a healthier lifestyle and not only will it benefit you but also your family in the long-term.”

FACTFILE
Type 1 diabetes is not linked to lifestyle factors and accounts for about 10 per cent of all adults with diabetes. It normally appears before the age of 40, and especially in childhood.
Around 700 people a day are diagnosed with diabetes, the equivalent of one person every two minutes.
Type 2 diabetes can be related to lifestyle, age, family history or ethnicity. Being overweight or obese is a major risk factor, but exercising regularly and reducing body weight by 5 per cent could reduce the risk of getting diabetes by more than 50 per cent.

It is estimated that by 2025, 5m people will have diabetes in the UK.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/health/leeds-diabetes-sufferer-promotes-healthy-lifestyle-1-7844240

You can control and manage your diabetes

By Dr Milton Lum

Diabetes is a life-long condition which affects many parts of the body and has no cure. Whereas there were few measures of managing diabetes previously, the armamentarium is wider and more effective today.
The management of diabetes is largely dependent on satisfactory blood glucose control, which prevents complications from arising and ensures a healthy life. This can be achieved by being knowledgeable about the condition, knowing the ABCs of diabetic control, learning to live with diabetes and ensuring adequate care.
The most important person in the management of diabetes is the diabetic himself or herself; not family members, doctors or nurses.
There are different types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetics do not make insulin to convert glucose from foods eaten into energy for the body; so insulin is required.
Type 2 diabetics, which is most common, do not produce insulin or use it well; so insulin or tablets are needed for control.
Gestational diabetes occur in pregnant women and goes away after childbirth in most women. These women and their children have an increased risk of diabetes.
Diabetes has to be taken seriously, irrespective of whether it is mild or severe. If untreated or inadequately treated, it will lead to complications involving many parts of the body, including the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, nerves, feet, eyes and brain.
Diabetics need to make healthy food choices, maintain a healthy weight, exercise and take their medicines regularly even when they feel well.
It is advisable to gather knowledge about diabetes from the attending doctor, nurses and other health professionals and find out where one can obtain health education materials on diabetes.
ABCs of diabetic control
The ABCs of diabetic control are A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol, all of which help to decrease the likelihood of heart attack, stroke, or other complications.
The HbA1C is a blood test that measures the average amount of blood glucose bound to red blood cells in the preceding three months. It is different from daily blood glucose measurements. The HbA1C should not be more than 6.5. The higher the blood glucose levels are, the higher will be the HbA1C.
In terms of blood pressure, if it is high, the heart has to work harder. High blood pressure leads to heart attack, stroke and damage to the kidneys and eyes.
The blood pressure should be less than 140/90 mm Hg.
HDL is the “good” cholesterol and LDL is the “bad’ one. The latter can lead to blockage of the blood vessels, and consequently, a heart attack or stroke. There may be different targets for each individual. In general, the lower the LDL, the better.
Exercise, diet, and sometimes, medications, are necessary to achieve the cholesterol targets.
The doctor will advise on the targets for the ABCs, which depend on the duration of diabetes, other health problems and the difficulties in managing the disease.
Living with diabetes
There is no point being sad or angry with one’s condition. Stress can affect blood glucose levels. Several measures can help address stress, eg breathing exercises, walking, music, or hobbies. If there is an inability to cope, help can be sought from a counsellor, family, friends or support groups, who are good listeners and can provide appropriate advice.
Healthy foods are important in diabetic control. The spacing of meals and their timing are important for type 2 diabetics. Meals taken four to five hours apart permit the post-meal glucose level to return to baseline.
It is important to consume meals of about the same composition at about the same time daily. The amount of total carbohydrate intake consumed has to be about the same daily. This enables the maintenance of appropriate blood glucose levels.
Having knowledge of the nature of food is important. Complex carbohydrates, which are minimally refined like rice, noodles, oats, capati, toosai, etc, take a longer time to digest and do not cause sudden increase in blood glucose.
Fruits should be taken in moderate amounts because of their sugar content. It is advisable to consume green leafy vegetables. Advice from the doctor, nurse or dietician would be useful.
Exercise and a healthy diet help in the maintenance of a healthy weight. Activity for most days of the week would be needed.
Smoking cessation is very helpful in diabetic control. Advice and assistance can be sought from the doctor if there is difficulty in smoking cessation.
Medications have to be taken as advised by the doctor even when one is feeling well. Apart from diabetes medication, other medicines may be prescribed, eg aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke. If there are any side effects from the medication, the doctor has to be informed.
A daily check of the feet for cuts, blisters and swelling is necessary for the early detection of injury. Medical attention should be sought immediately if there are any sores that do not go away.
It is important to brush the teeth and floss daily to keep the mouth, teeth and gums healthy.
Keeping a record of blood glucose levels is important. There may be occasions when the doctor advises checks more than once daily. The target daily blood glucose levels are 4.0-6.0mmol/L for fasting, and less than 8.0 mmol/L after meals. Advice should be sought from the doctor on the utilisation of blood glucose results in managing diabetes.
Keeping a record of blood pressure may be advised by the doctor. Should there be any changes in health, medical attention should be sought without delay.
Discussions with the doctor on one’s diabetic control is advised at each consultation.
Ensuring care
If there is good control, there would be at least two consultations with the doctor annually.
If control is unsatisfactory, or there are health problems or one feels unwell, more frequent consultations would be necessary.
It is routine to check weight, blood pressure and feet as well as review diabetic control at each consultation.
The HbA1C will be checked at least twice annually and more frequently if raised. The usual annual checks include cholesterol estimation; detailed examination of the eyes, teeth and feet; and tests for kidney problems.
Annual influenza vaccination is recommended. Other vaccinations include that for pneumonia and hepatitis B.
It is essential to keep appointments with the doctor. If unable to do so, arrangements have to be made for another appointment.
In summary, the most important person in diabetic control is the diabetic himself or herself. All that the doctors, nurses and other health professionals can do is to advise and provide assistance.

http://www.star2.com/health/wellness/2016/04/10/you-can-control-and-manage-your-diabetes/