Simple Type-2 Diabetes Treatment With Low Calorie Diet is So Effective

From goodnewsnetwork.org

A “breakthrough” treatment plan for type-2 diabetes has the British National Health Service (NHS) bustling as they position themselves to adopt a new standard of treatment.
The course of treatment consists of a liquid diet of 800 calories to be taken as a soup or shake daily for a set amount of months depending on the time since the patient developed type-2 diabetes.

The breakthrough research arose out of Newcastle University which seems to have stuck a pin in many of our assumptions about type-2 diabetes—as well as proven almost beyond a shadow of a doubt that type-2 diabetes is actually reversible, especially in newer patients.

The treatment is basically a prescription for a reduction in calorie intake—a potential intervention that has shown incredible results for many different conditions.

The Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial, (DiRECT) recently published these findings as a means of demonstrating the massive potential of DiRECT as a general treatment plan.
One-third of all people taking part in the trial were free of diabetes at 2 years. Around three quarters of everyone who was in remission at 1 year stayed in remission at 2 years. Furthermore, the group who embarked on rapid weight loss had fewer serious medical problems in the second year of DiRECT.

The Nature of the Beast

Official statistics from the NHS place the number of Brits with type-2 diabetes at 4 million, and rising. Meanwhile, in the United States, the CDC reports that 1 in 10 Americans—roughly 30 million people—have diabetes, 90% of which is type-2. Many people also go undiagnosed for years.

Recent studies carried out by Professors Mike Lean and Roy Taylor of Newcastle University showed that type-2 diabetes is triggered by fat spills. These fat spills, which came from the liver, travelled to the nearby pancreas where it wreaked havoc in the efficiency of the organ to produce insulin.
Insulin is needed to command your cells to absorb excess carbohydrates circulating in your body after a carb or sugar-dense meal.

“The liver fat, astonishingly high in type 2 diabetes, falls to normal,” explains Dr. Taylor in an interview with Medscape. “The pancreas fat comes down gradually, gradually, and the pancreas recovers gradually, gradually. And that’s amazing because we always thought that the pancreas had to go downhill inevitably in type 2 diabetes.”

In April 2020, the NHS will begin trials with a liquid diet as per the DiRECT research with 5,000 participants helping to test whether the program can benefit the public. If the trials are successful, the breakthrough diet will become the new standard of care in a remarkably rapid frame of time for the chronic ailment that’s been causing amputations, blindness, and heart complications for decades.

The widely-taken drug Metformin has been the standard of care for the treatment of diabetes in France since 1957 and in Canada since 1972. Illustrative of how long it can take to approve a treatment in the U.S., Metformin didn’t receive approval by the FDA until 1994, even though 5.8 million Americans were diagnosed with diabetes in 1980.

Like all professional men and women of science, Taylor feels more research is needed before the liquid diet intervention is widely prescribed.

“We need to follow up this group,” said Taylor. “We follow them up for a total of 2 years in the proper randomized controlled trial.”
“We have funding to follow up the intervention group participants for a total of 3 years. And we’ve applied for further funding because we need to see what happens to these people as time goes on.”

But, he admits it is “heart-warming” hearing all the stories about remissions. “It’s all about the individual and all about helping people back to this state of relative health and happiness. And that does seem to be happening in quite large numbers of people who are able to do it.”

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/simple-new-type-2-diabetes-treatment-may-be-new-standard-of-care/

Study reveals what causes type 2 diabetes and how to reverse it

From medicalnewstoday.com

As the incidence of diabetes continues to increase globally, the fight against this chronic condition continues. New research explains not only what triggers type 2 diabetes but also how to reverse the condition. The findings also shed light on what leads to remission after reversal for some people.

Between 1980 and 2014, the number of people living with diabetes across the world increased from about 108 million to 422 million.
As many as 90% of these individuals have type 2 diabetes.

Pharmacological interventions have done little to stop what some have referred to as the diabetes pandemic.

Lifestyle interventions, however, may succeed where other approaches have failed.
A couple of years ago, Medical News Today reported on the first results of a clinical trial, which showed that intensive weight loss programs could help people with type 2 diabetes achieve remission without taking any medication.

The trial was called the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), and one of its co-leaders was Prof. Roy Taylor from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom.

But how does this remission occur, and can it last in the long term? Why do some people achieve lasting remission while for others, the condition returns?

Prof. Taylor set out with his team to answer these questions, using data from the DiRECT trial and applying cutting-edge imaging and blood monitoring techniques.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Testing the 'twin cycle hypothesis'

The study aimed to test — and confirm — the so-called twin cycle hypothesis, which Prof. Taylor and team put forth more than a decade ago.
The theory proposed that type 2 diabetes results from the accumulation of fat in the liver, which induces insulin resistance and increases blood sugar production.

These effects, in turn, increase plasma insulin levels, precipitating "a self-reinforcing cycle" in which insulin stimulates fat production.

These increased levels of liver fat cause the lipids to overspill into several tissues, including the pancreas.
Beta-cells, which are responsible for creating insulin, are located in the pancreas. "Long-term exposure to saturated fatty acids is harmful to [beta]-cells," write the authors.

The researchers wanted to "describe the pathophysiologic processes underlying the recurrence of type 2 diabetes in the group that initially achieved remission but then relapsed back to diabetes."
To this end, the researchers quantified intra-organ and abdominal fat using cutting-edge MRI scans at 12 and 24 months. They looked at pancreatic and liver fat, specifically.

The analysis included measurements of glucose, HbA1c, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides. The team also analysed fatty acids, insulin secretion, and beta-cell function.

When liver fat 'clogs up' the pancreas

The study revealed that the majority of the trial participants maintained remission over the 2 years but that this was only possible if liver triglycerides and fat in the pancreas remained low.
Specifically, almost 9 out of 10 participants who managed to lose 15 kilograms or more in the DiRECT trial reversed their condition.

After 2 years, more than one-third of these individuals had been free of diabetes and the need for diabetes medication for at least 24 months.

A small group, however, experienced relapse, which was associated with a return to high liver triglycerides and high intra-pancreatic fat levels.

Prof. Taylor explains: "We saw that when a person accumulates too much fat, which should be stored under the skin, then it has to go elsewhere in the body. The amount that can be stored under the skin varies from person to person, indicating a 'personal fat threshold' above which fat can cause mischief."

"When fat cannot be safely stored under the skin, it is then stored inside the liver and overspills to the rest of the body, including the pancreas. This 'clogs up' the pancreas, switching off the genes [that] direct how insulin should effectively be produced, and this causes type 2 diabetes."

Prof. Roy Taylor

'Diet and persistence' can reverse diabetes

"This means we can now see type 2 diabetes as a simple condition where the individual has accumulated more fat than they can cope with," continues the author, stressing the hopeful implications of this finding.

"Importantly, this means that through diet and persistence, patients are able to lose the fat and potentially reverse their diabetes. The sooner this is done after diagnosis, the more likely it is that remission can be achieved."

"For the first time," conclude Prof. Taylor and team in their paper, "we are able to report the underlying physiologic changes during a full cycle of disease reversal and re-emergence."
In the U.K., the National Health Service (NHS) will roll out a program that will test the weight loss therapy in thousands of people living with type 2 diabetes.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327390.php#5

Five ways to better manage diabetes in the New Year

From news-medical.net/news

While the new year is a great time to reflect, reset and set new goals, making resolutions can also be stressful, especially for people with diabetes. So, this year, try a new approach. Consider what will help you feel good about yourself and enjoy life more, then put it into practice. The health benefits will follow.

As the new year approaches, AADE suggests the following ways to start the year healthy and stick with it:

1. Sign up for a new activity: What's something you've wanted to try but haven't? Maybe it's taking a dance class or joining a walking club. Trying something new can be fun, and change up the dynamic. You'll feel good about challenging yourself and the health benefits won't hurt either.
2. Focus on meditation and mindfulness: Meditation and mindfulness are having a moment and for good reason – they have been shown to help diffuse stress. When you meditate, you focus on a sound, object, your breathing or movement. This increases your awareness of the present moment, which reduces stress and promotes relaxation. Being mindful during meditation is to be aware of your thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad. There are plenty of resources for learning how to meditate or be more mindful, from books and classes to apps that guide you through the process and help you quiet your active mind.
3. Make a new habit: Consider what positive change you could make in your life that you'd feel good about. Maybe it's getting to bed a half hour earlier. Or watching less TV. What about eating fruit instead of candy for a snack? Then put a reminder on your calendar and try to stick to it.
4. Go ahead and try a new eating pattern: Instead of berating yourself for what you've been doing wrong, consider a new eating pattern such as a more plant-based diet. As you consider changing up your eating pattern, there are a few important things to keep in mind:
   • Most diets are fine, as long as they are modified to address your personal needs. Before you start any new diet, discuss it with your diabetes care and education specialist, who can help you try different things in a way that's safe and beneficial for you.
   • It's only going to work as long as you can keep it up, so be sure whatever you try is something you are confident you can stick to.
   • Some fads can be unhealthy, especially for people with diabetes, such as cleanses and detoxes, so steer clear of those.
5. Re-evaluate your medication: Schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider to discuss all the medications and supplements you're taking. Maybe some of the doses need readjustment. Perhaps you no longer need some of them, or there is a new medication you that might work better for you.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20191231/Five-ways-to-better-manage-diabetes-in-the-New-Year.aspx

Big Advances Made Against Diabetes in 2019

From drugs.com/news

MONDAY, Dec. 30, 2019 -- A new artificial pancreas system, drugs that help control blood sugar and protect the heart and the kidneys, a new medication that delays type 1 diabetes, and a new way to track blood sugar throughout the day -- 2019 was a pretty big year in diabetes care. 

"This has been a good year for patients who have diabetes. There have been a lot of changes and there are more options. These changes will have far-reaching benefits," explained Dr. Akankasha Goyal, an endocrinologist at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

In case you missed some of the latest diabetes developments, here's a look at some of what happened in 2019:

Delaying type 1 diabetes
An immunotherapy treatment called teplizumab delayed the onset of type 1 diabetes in people who were at high risk of developing the disease. The drug is also now being tested in a phase 3 trial in people who were recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Another drug -- anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) -- was given to people with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. Two-year study results were released this year. The drug helped preserve the function of insulin-producing beta cells and lowered blood sugar levels.

"These were amazing results in a new-onset type 1 diabetes population," said Sanjoy Dutta, vice president of research at JDRF (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). In addition to teplizumab and ATG, there have been a number of other promising drug studies this year, Dutta said.

The buzz on diabetes technology
In mid-December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Tandem Control-IQ, an algorithm that can be used with the Tandem t:slim X2 insulin pump and the Dexcom G6 continuous glucose monitoring system. The algorithm itself could potentially be used with other devices as well.

The algorithm isn't yet designed to be free of user input. People have to enter the amount of carbohydrates they eat into the machine so it can calculate the proper insulin dose.

Another system -- the iLet by Beta Bionics -- was given "Breakthrough Device" status by the FDA in December. That means the device can move through the approval process faster. This artificial pancreas system is designed to be fully automatic. The only input users need to provide is their weight.

A different type of advancement in technology came for people using continuous glucose monitors (CGM). In June, the FDA approved the Eversense CGM by Senseonics. Instead of a sensor worn outside of the body with a thin wire inserted under the skin, the Eversense sensor is implanted under the skin and is worn for 90 days. Other CGM sensors are typically worn for a week or two. Information from the sensor is sent to an app on the user's phone via a transmitter worn on the body.

"We have patients who have an implantable sensor and they absolutely love it," said Goyal. She said it's been a challenge getting some insurance companies to pay for it, but she's hoping that will improve in 2020 when Medicare starts paying for the implantable sensors.

Managing heart and kidney complications
Several new classes of medications have been introduced during the last decade, including drugs known as SGLT2s (Farxiga, Jardiance, Invokana) and GLP1s (Trulicity, Victoza, Ozempic, Bydureon, Byetta, Adlyxin). Researchers are learning the drugs not only help lower blood sugar levels, they also help protect the heart and kidneys.

A study published earlier in the year found that both SGLT2s and GLP1s reduced the risk of heart and blood vessel disease in people with a history of those problems. The research also found that SGLT2s could significantly lower the risk of heart failure for people with type 2 diabetes. Both classes of drugs also showed positive effects on kidney health, but SGLT2s appeared to offer more kidney protection.

"These new classes of drugs lower blood glucose levels and help reduce the risk of complications. We don't see that with other medications," Goyal said.

A GLP1 medication -- liraglutide (Victoza) -- was approved by the FDA in June 2019 to treat type 2 diabetes in children aged 10 and older. It's the first drug besides metformin and insulin that's been approved for treating paediatric type 2 diabetes.

Treating severe low blood sugar
Dutta also noted that two new versions of glucagon -- a hormone used to treat severe low blood sugar episodes -- were approved by the FDA. One is called Baqsimi, administered through the nose via a special device. It's the first non-injectable type of glucagon. The second version approved is an auto-injector called GVOKE, designed to be easier for caregivers to use. Until this year, glucagon was only available in a kit that required users to mix a dry powder with sterile water, and then draw it up into a syringe before injecting.

https://www.drugs.com/news/big-advances-made-against-diabetes-2019-87364.html

Survey Reveals How to Get a Great A1C

From asweetlife.org

It’s not easy having a pancreas that just can’t get the job done by itself. Studies have consistently shown that a distressingly low percentage of people with diabetes meet the official glycaemic targets set by the American Diabetes Association and other similar organizations. This is the unfortunate truth among people with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Every person with diabetes is in daily battle with chronic hyperglycaemia, and some do it better than others. What techniques, habits, philosophies and circumstances ultimately make the difference?

While we all have our own theories on glycaemic management, the team at Diabetes Daily wondered if they could inject some objectivity and data into a conversation that so frequently revolves around anecdotes. And so the website, harnessing a huge data set of over 17,000 survey respondents, examined the habits of those who meet and surpass glycaemic targets and compared them with those who fall short.

Over the fall, Diabetes Daily released regular updates on the study, examining which strategies were most often used by those who had achieved healthy blood sugars. Now the website has compiled all of its results and conclusions into a single mammoth report: the Habits of a Great A1C Survey Data Report. It’s essential reading for anyone with an interest in superior glycaemic management. 
We spoke with staff writer Maria Muccioli, a biology professor (with Type 1 diabetes) who acted as the principal investigator on the report.

                                                                       Maria Muccioli

What was the impetus behind the survey? 
We are so excited to utilize our Thrivable Insights panel of about 20,000 people to begin conducting data-driven journalism. Many interesting ideas were discussed, and for our first research project we chose to try to identify differences in the way people with lower A1c levels may choose to manage their diabetes. Our mission is to help people with diabetes thrive, so uncovering strategies that may help people be more successful is of utmost importance to us.

The word “habit” seems important. Can you expand on why you used that word instead of “strategy” or “technique” or something similar? 
I think when it comes to diabetes management, consistency is key. As many will likely agree, it’s really a marathon and not a sprint, when it comes to successfully managing a chronic health condition like diabetes. Strategies that work well (in diabetes management and life in general) often become incorporated as habits, I think.

What was the most surprising result for you? 
I have to say, overall, I think the results were consistent with what I suspected we would find. It makes sense logically that habits like regular exercise and making smart and consistent food choices are effective strategies to help with diabetes management.

One surprising finding was that among people with type 1 diabetes, varying the timing of bolus insulin was significantly more common among those with higher A1c levels. I would have thought that adjusting the dose timing based on the meal (and other factors) is a good strategy. In retrospect, it is also possible that variable bolus timing indicates haphazard bolusing patterns (e.g., forgetting to bolus). Also, among those with type 1 diabetes, although more people in the lower A1c group reported regularly pre-bolusing for meals (30% vs. 18%), this difference did not quite reach statistical significance. I was expecting to see more of a difference there, I think, as I have heard so often from many in the online community what an effective strategy pre-bolusing is!

Also, I was surprised that we did not see any significant difference in the proportion of people using half-unit insulin syringes or pens among those on multiple daily injections between the A1c groups. Another recent study indicated a benefit of using half-unit delivery devices, and it makes sense that more precise dosing would be useful, but we did not see this at all among our study population.
Finally, I was a little surprised by just how many people reported eating low-carb as well as using technology, like CGM and/or insulin pump, across all the groups! Of course, this is not a random population. The very fact that these individuals seek out online resources for diabetes management and join research efforts suggests that they may be particularly motivated about diabetes management relative to what we might find in a random sample.

What was the most striking divergence between the T1 and T2 communities? 
Actually, so many differences between the two A1c groups among the type 1 and type 2 population showed the same trend. One difference is what was mentioned above, about variable bolus timing. Among those with type 2 diabetes, varying bolus timing depending on the specific circumstances was slightly more common among those with lower A1c levels. Also, and this is probably not a surprise, but the percentage of people who use insulin pump and/or CGM technology was a lot lower than for those with type 2, and although insulin pump use was more common among those with lower A1cs, no such difference was observed for CGM use (in contrast with the type 1 population).

Any plans to follow this study up with more data-driven journalism? 
Yes, absolutely! We have many ideas in the works, including one that focuses on the insulin affordability issue. The cost of insulin has been skyrocketing in recent years, and it has been estimated that as many as 25% of patients with diabetes regularly ration their insulin. To design more effective solutions to this problem, we first need to better understand the issue, so we would like to focus on elucidating the characteristics common to those affected by high insulin prices.
Also, there is even more that could be uncovered from this initial survey effort about management habits! We collected so much data for this study, and I look forward to digging even deeper.

Did the results inform your own management strategy? Any personal takeaways? 
I’ve had type 1 for over 13 years now, and over time, I learned what works best for me personally. Using a CGM regularly and following a consistent, lower-carbohydrate diet approach that focuses on whole foods, along with carefully calculated insulin dosing strategies (like bolusing for protein) has been extremely effective for me to maintain minimal glycaemic variability and clinically normal A1c levels. I knew I was not alone in finding these strategies effective, and the main outcomes of this work support that as well.

https://asweetlife.org/survey-reveals-how-to-get-a-great-a1c/?utm_source=ASweetLife.org+List&utm_campaign=5d4a883753-ASweetLife+Weekly+Update++-+Nov.+14%2C+2017_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5125b14cf8-5d4a883753-413392997

Recipe: Low Carb Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

From asweetlife.org

Happy chocolate peppermint season! If you love this holiday combination like I do, you will adore these tender low carb chocolate peppermint cookies dipped in chocolate. I added some of the new sugar-free white chocolate chips to mine, but if you can’t find any, dark chocolate chips will do just as well.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• Sweetener equivalent to 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar-free white chocolate chips
• 3 ounces sugar-free dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
Garnish:
• Granulated sweetener and a little red food colouring paste, if desired

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325F and line two large baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the egg, melted butter, and extracts and stir until the dough comes together. Stir in 3 tbsp of the white chips.
3. Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. You should get about 18. Press down with the heal of you hand to about 1/2 inch thick. Press the remaining white chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies.
4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and are just firm around the edges. The centres will still be quite soft. Remove and let cool completely on the pan. They will firm up as they cool.
5. Once the cookies are cool, place the chopped chocolate and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Whisk until melted and smooth, then whisk in the peppermint extract.
6. Dip each cookie about 1/3 way into the melted chocolate. Set on a waxed paper lined cookie tray to set.
7. For the garnish, whisk about 1 tbsp of granular sweetener with just a tiny bit of red food colouring. Sprinkle over the chocolate before it sets completely.

Yield: 18 (one per serving)

Food energy: 143 kcal

Total fat: 13.42g

Carbohydrate: 5.59g

Protein per serving: 2.95g

Total dietary fibre: 3.20g

https://asweetlife.org/low-carb-chocolate-peppermint-cookies/?utm_source=ASweetLife.org+List&utm_campaign=5d4a883753-ASweetLife+Weekly+Update++-+Nov.+14%2C+2017_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5125b14cf8-5d4a883753-413392997

The war on diabetes goes digital

From businesstimes.com.sg

In Singapore, over S$1 billion is spent yearly on managing diabetes, a cost digital healthcare technology aims to reduce.

Singapore
DIABETES is one of the fastest growing health challenges of the 21st century. In Singapore, the prevalence of diabetes in adults aged 18 and above has nearly doubled in just 15 years - from 7 per cent in 2004 to 13.7 per cent today (about 606,000 people).

What is perhaps of most concern about the diabetes trend is how unaware people remain of it.
"Diabetes is a silent disease," explained Pedro Goncalves, head of Roche Diabetes Care Region International (APAC, Middle-East, Africa, Russia & LATAM). "You can have it and not know it until it's quite late."

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that half of adults with diabetes - about 232 million people worldwide - are undiagnosed, which puts them at high risk of developing serious diabetes-related complications such as blindness, nerve damage, heart disease and limb amputation. Singapore, for example, has the world's highest rate of diabetic kidney failure, despite its proclaimed war on diabetes.

Therefore, companies such as Roche Diabetes Care have begun investing in digital alternatives to help people track their health information.

"It's very important to have information on glucose levels and other markers immediately accessible by doctors and healthcare professionals," said Mr Goncalves. Digital technology that can facilitate quicker, easier consolidation of such information will help diabetes patients get better at staying within healthy ranges, he added.

The advent of digital technology is timely as the cost of diabetes treatment is increasing at double-digit rates throughout Asia. In Singapore alone, over S$1 billion is spent each year on managing diabetes.

Rising trends skew disproportionately towards Type 2 diabetes, driven by growing urbanisation and changing lifestyle habits (higher calorie intake, increasing consumption of processed foods, sedentary lifestyles), said Mr Goncalves. This makes diabetes difficult to detect and manage without regular visits to the doctor.

"It's not about providing only clinical decisions like prescribing, it's really about helping them understand what they do, what they eat, how to balance their lifestyle so they can control the disease better," he said.

Compared to traditional methods, digital technology is able to facilitate not only reactive treatment but also proactive prevention, which many healthcare professionals agree is both more effective and less costly for disease management.
"It's about preventive action and the need to work on the early stage of diabetes, so we avoid this epidemic that is taking place in Asia more than anywhere else in the world," said Mr Goncalves.

mySugr is a free mobile app for managing diabetes. Since its June launch in Singapore, the app has garnered nearly 9,000 users.  PHOTO: ROCHE

One such digital solution is mySugr, a free mobile app for managing diabetes that collects and consolidates relevant therapy data in one place through external devices, integrations, and manual entry. Since its June launch in Singapore, the app has garnered nearly 9,000 users.

"The data allows us to zero in on the areas we can improve on, be it adjusting medicine dosage or food intake, so that I can live as normally as I can," said mySugr user Shane Sim, 31. "It is definitely better than the old school way of using a pen and paper logbook, which is very inconvenient to carry around."

Making diabetes "suck less", as the app's tagline claims, is a helpful motivator for diabetes patients who struggle daily with having to keep track of meals, medications, blood sugar levels and other important data. Said Heng Pei Yan, 33: "I appreciate the constant improvements and modifications made to the app to make blood sugar monitoring fun for users."

"Patients only see a doctor once per year or twice. It's impossible to manage a disease that is influenced by behaviour if you don't have permanent support," he explained. "We need to find other ways of providing support to people, and that's exactly where digital solutions come in."

For S$210, mySugr also offers a three-month subscription plan for mySugr Coaching, an in-app add-on bundle of special features that includes access to direct communication with diabetes educators for personalised advice between clinic visits.

The growing capabilities of healthcare technology aside, the responsibility to take action remains key to health and disease management.
"Technology is just the bridge to help you do things right," said Mr Goncalves. "But it takes a while for humans to change their behaviour ... and that's always a challenge."

"It's a very user-friendly interface," said Eileen Lee, head of communications at Roche Diabetes Care. "It's very gamified, it's very easy to enter your data, so it's not complicated, even for older users."

With the burden of disease management lightened and streamlined by digital solutions, better outcomes can be expected, said Mr Goncalves.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/life-culture/the-war-on-diabetes-goes-digital