Weight Loss Drug Could Prevent Type 2 Diabetes - And Reverse High Blood Sugar
The drug - liraglutide - which increases the amount of appetite-suppressing hormones produced by the gut, was tested on overweight people with prediabetes. This is also known as ‘borderline diabetes,’ and is characterised by slightly increased blood sugar levels. The condition often leads to type 2 diabetes when untreated. Prediabetes affects one in ten people in the UK, and progresses into diabetes in five to ten per cent of patients within ten years. Prediabetes is curable with exercise and a healthier diet, but once it progresses into diabetes, it is significantly harder to treat. Both conditions are linked to poor health - causing condition such as nerve damage, blindness and even amputation. Professor Carel le Roux from Imperial College London and her team have found that a drug already used for obesity and diabetes can help to prevent progression into diabetes when combined with diet and exercise, and could even cure patients of prediabetes altogether. The researchers recruited 2,254 obese adults with prediabetes at 191 research sites in 27 countries worldwide. After splitting participants into two groups, they studied whether adding daily self-administered injections of liraglutide to diet and exercise helped to prevent progression into diabetes, compared to diet and exercise alone. After three years, the researchers found that the patients given liraglutide were 80 per cent less likely to develop diabetes than those in the placebo group. In 60 per cent of those patients, prediabetes was reversed and patients returned to healthy blood sugar levels Fri, August 19, 2016 Diabetes is a common life-long health condition. There are 3.5 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK and an estimated 500,000 who are living undiagnosed with the condition. Liraglutid Continue reading >>
Can You Reverse Type 2 Diabetes?
If you have prediabetes, you can reverse that too! Sugar Spilling Over Put very simply, Type 2 Diabetes is a disorder where our body cannot adequately process the sugars we cram into it. Though some of us are more genetically predisposed to this condition, our heavily processed Standard American Diet, jam-packed with processed grains and sugars, places a massive strain on our pancreas and cells. Eventually, the sugar-processing systems of our body give up, resulting in high insulin resistance and high blood glucose. Then begins the lifelong struggle of “managing blood sugar levels” with medications. Unfortunately, these medications do little to fix the sugar overload problem – all they do is mask it. Type-2 Diabetes is an environmentally-driven condition – only diet and lifestyle will reverse it, not medications which only treat the symptoms. So, can you reverse type 2 diabetes? Yes, you sure can! Lets dig in to find out ways on how to reverse type 2 diabetes. Eliminate The Cause The might of the processed food lobby can be gauged from the fact that American Diabetes Association while promoting a careful watch on fats and the glycemic index of foods (the speed at which different foods turn to glucose in our body), does not have much to say about processed carbs. They advocate keeping blood sugar balanced, through regular carbohydrate intake, that is then dealt with by medications which have side effects when used over the long term. Why would we not just take away the cause, take the load off the pancreas, allow the body to heal itself back to balance and do away with the meds? 3 Steps to Freedom! If T2D is a disease where our body can’t eliminate the heavy load of sugars from our diet effectively it stands to reason that the way out should be simple enough. R Continue reading >>
Stopping Prediabetes In Its Tracks
Print Font: Oct. 30 — Nearly 20 million Americans are headed down the road to diabetes, but modest weight loss and a bit more activity would be enough to turn them around. These people have prediabetes, meaning their above-normal blood sugar levels signal a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes within the next 10 years. More women opting for preventive mastectomy - but should they be? Rates of women who are opting for preventive mastectomies, such as Angeline Jolie, have increased by an estimated 50 percent in recent years, experts say. But many doctors are puzzled because the operation doesn't carry a 100 percent guarantee, it's major surgery -- and women have other options, from a once-a-day pill to careful monitoring. A combination of obesity, inactivity and genetics is responsible. But most people with prediabetes aren’t aware they have it, and insurers may not cover testing for or treatment of the condition. “It’s really quite a remarkable opportunity, but it’s not as if everyone is rushing to be identified,” says Dr. Daniel Einhorn of the Scripps Whittier Institute for Diabetes in La Jolla, Calif. Many people may be reluctant to get tested — and labeled — especially if they’re feeling fine, he adds. But catching the condition before it turns into full-blown diabetes can be a lifesaver. People with Type 2 diabetes either lose the ability to respond to insulin, or their bodies no longer make enough of the hormone. Insulin helps the body use glucose as fuel, so without it sugar builds up in the bloodstream. Over time, especially if blood sugar levels are not kept in check, diabetes can boost a person’s risk of heart disease and cause damage to the eyes, kidneys, nerves and other body tissues. Prediabetes used to be called impaired fasting glucos Continue reading >>
Pre-diabetes
What Is It? In pre-diabetes, blood sugar levels are slightly higher than normal, but still not as high as in diabetes. If diabetes is "runaway blood sugar" think of pre-diabetes as blood sugar that is "halfway out the door." People almost always develop pre-diabetes before they get type 2 diabetes. The rise in blood sugar levels that is seen in pre-diabetes starts when the body begins to develop a problem called "insulin resistance." Insulin is an important hormone that helps you to process glucose (blood sugar). If usual amounts of insulin can't trigger the body to move glucose out of the bloodstream and into your cells, then you have insulin resistance. Once insulin resistance begins, it can worsen over time. When you have pre-diabetes, you make extra insulin to keep your sugar levels near to normal. Insulin resistance can worsen as you age, and it worsens with weight gain. If your insulin resistance progresses, eventually you can't compensate well enough by making extra insulin. When this occurs, your sugar levels will increase, and you will have diabetes. Depending on what a blood sugar test finds, pre-diabetes can be more specifically called "impaired glucose (sugar) tolerance" or "impaired fasting glucose." Impaired fasting glucose means that blood sugar increase after you haven't eaten for a while – for example, in the morning, before breakfast. Impaired glucose tolerance means that blood sugar levels reach a surprisingly high level after you eat sugar. To diagnose impaired glucose tolerance, doctors usually use what is called a "glucose tolerance test." For this test you drink a sugary solution, and then you have blood drawn after a short time. Having pre-diabetes does not automatically mean you will get diabetes, but it does put you at an increased risk. Pre- Continue reading >>
Pre-diabetes Impaired Glucose Tolerance
In pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance), your blood sugar (glucose) is raised beyond the normal range. Whilst this raised glucose level is not so high that you have diabetes, you are at increased risk of developing diabetes when you have pre-diabetes. You are also at increased risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, peripheral arterial disease and stroke (cardiovascular diseases). If pre-diabetes is treated, it can help to prevent the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The most effective treatment is lifestyle changes, including eating a healthy balanced diet, losing weight if you are overweight, and doing regular physical activity. What is pre-diabetes? Play VideoPlayMute0:00/0:00Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%Stream TypeLIVE0:00Playback Rate1xChapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off, selected Subtitles undefined settings, opens undefined settings dialog captions and subtitles off, selected Audio TrackFullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal Dialog End of dialog window. If you have pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance), your blood sugar (glucose) is raised beyond the normal range but it is not so high that you have diabetes. However, if y Continue reading >>
Experts Recommend Two-pronged Approach To Treating Prediabetes
According to the most recent data compiled by the CDC, 57 million U.S. adults have prediabetes, a figure that has reached pandemic levels. “In an ideal world, you want to diagnose high-risk people early in order to prevent progression to full-blown diabetes and its associated complications,” Glenn Matfin, MD, clinical associate professor at New York University and senior staff physician at the Joslin Diabetes Center, told Endocrine Today. Whether prediabetes progresses to diabetes depends on a number of variable factors, including lifestyle changes, genetics and treatment practices, which have some physicians supporting the use of medication and others vehemently against it. “We draw lines in order to differentiate between normal glucose tolerance, prediabetes and diabetes, but it is an interlinked, continuous chain,” Matfin said. “The clock is ticking, and the health risks rise significantly as prediabetes goes untreated.” To examine the current state of prediabetes treatment, Endocrine Today spoke with a number of experts to best understand how lifestyle and pharmacological approaches should be utilized to reverse glucose functions to normal levels. The issue is also examined from a financial aspect, as the ability to keep patients with prediabetes from turning into patients with diabetes translates into hundreds of millions of dollars saved in health care costs. Ralph DeFronzo, MD, and diabetes experts discuss preferred therapeutic approaches for people with prediabetes. Perhaps due to its subtle set of symptoms, the identification and diagnosis of patients with prediabetes has proved to be a challenge. Research has shown that although 30% of the U.S. population had prediabetes in 2005 to 2006, only 7.3% were aware that they had it. A consensus from diabe Continue reading >>
Knocking Out Prediabetes
If you are one of the more than 56 million Americans who have prediabetes, more guidance on how reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes may be on the way. This week, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) agreed to recommend an aggressive approach to treating prediabetes, releasing the first official treatment recommendations that have been made for this condition. What Is Prediabetes? People who have a fasting blood glucose level of 100 to 125 mg/dl are considered to have prediabetes. (A fasting blood glucose level over 125 mg/dl indicates full-blown diabetes.) People who have prediabetes are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, and most go on to develop Type 2 diabetes with in 10 years. The AACE now recommends a “two-pronged approach” for preventing the conversion of prediabetes to diabetes and lowering cardiovascular risk. Step 1: Diet, Exercise…and Drugs? First, the AACE recommends intensive lifestyle change, following the guidelines set forth in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). The DPP, a study published in 2002 that involved more than 3,000 people with prediabetes, showed that losing 5% to 7% of their body weight lowered people’s risk of Type 2 diabetes by 58% over three years. The participants lost weight by dieting (cutting fat and calories) and exercising moderately (walking was the most popular exercise) for at least 150 minutes a week (about 20 minutes a day). You can read more details about the DPP at The AACE experts also agreed that certain drugs may play a role in treating prediabetes if diet and exercise do not lower people’s blood glucose levels enough. In the DPP, the diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage and other brand names) was shown to help prevent Type 2 diabetes in people with prediabetes, though not as e Continue reading >>
Can Prediabetes Be Cured?
Can prediabetes go away? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Keck Medicine of USC, 500+ internationally renowned doctors at a leading academic medical center, on Quora: Being diagnosed with prediabetes doesn’t mean you will develop diabetes. Your doctor can help you come up with an effective plan to keep your blood sugar low, so that you can keep diabetes away for good. Prediabetes, the common precursor to diabetes, affects over eighty-six million of Americans, according to the Center for Disease Control. An estimated ninety percent of people with prediabetes don’t even realize they have this condition. Experts also guess that three out of four people with prediabetes will eventually develop diabetes. The good news, however, is that once your doctor determines that your blood sugar is high enough to be classified as prediabetes (but not high enough to be diabetes), there are plenty of preventive measures you can take to stop the onset of full diabetes. The window of opportunity to prevent or slow the progression of prediabetes to type 2 diabetes is about three to six years. Make sure you take the following steps to be on the right path to fight diabetes and take the appropriate steps to lower your blood sugar level: 1. Take the quiz One of the first things you can do is to find out if you are at risk for prediabetes or type 2 diabetes is take the American Diabetes Association's Risk Test. The ADA offers a helpful one-minute quiz, which features questions about age, weight and your family history of diabetes. The results will determine if you are at a low, moderate or high risk of diabetes. 2. Check your glucose level If your quiz results determine that Continue reading >>
Pre-diabetes
Pre-diabetes describes a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, although not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Pre-diabetes has no signs or symptoms. People with pre-diabetes have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular (heart and circulation) disease. Two million Australians have pre-diabetes and are at high-risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Without sustained lifestyle changes, including healthy eating, increased activity and losing weight, approximately one in three people with pre-diabetes will go on to develop type 2 diabetes. There are two pre-diabetes conditions: Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is where blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is where blood glucose levels are escalated in the fasting state but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. It is possible to have both Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) and Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) Risk factors for pre-diabetes are similar to those for type 2 diabetes which are: Being overweight – especially those who have excess weight around the waistline (ie: more than 94cm for men and more than 80cm for women). Being physically inactive. Having high triglycerides and low HDL-C (good cholesterol) and/or high total cholesterol. Having high blood pressure. Having a family history of type 2 diabetes and/or heart disease. Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome*. Women who have had diabetes in pregnancy (gestational diabetes) or given birth to a big baby (more than 4.5kgs). Those from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background. Those from certain ethnic backgrounds such as the Pacific Islands, Asia and the Indian sub-continent. For more information refer to Continue reading >>
Diabetes – A Functional Medicine Approach
WE BELIEVE THAT THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH ANY DISEASE IS THROUGH A HOLISTIC OR FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE APPROACH. AT REVOLUTION HEALTH & WELLNESS CLINIC IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA, THIS IS HOW WE ADDRESS MEDICAL PROBLEMS. DIABETES IS NO EXCEPTION. **For more information about Tulsa Holistic Doctors visit our website today. ______________________________________________________________________ Diabetes Mellitus is an abnormal physiologic response to blood sugar and insulin. It is important to understand NORMAL physiology before we can understand how diabetes is abnormal. Our blood sugar is controlled to a very narrow range. The normal range of blood glucose is 70-100 mg/dL. This range is very important! Blood sugar <70 We start to have symptoms of true hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia can be mild, moderate, or severe. Mild Hypoglycemia: nausea, jittery/trembling, cold/clammy/wet skin, rapid heart beat (tachycardia) Moderate Hypoglycemia: irritability/anxiety, Severe Hypoglycemia: The brain is a ‘Glucose Hog’! It consumes roughly 1/2 of the circulating blood sugar. It requires glucose (almost exclusively) and this is why most of the symptoms associated with true hypoglycemia are neurologic in nature. Since we don’t know (at least our bodies don’t know) when we are going to be able to eat again, we have to have a mechanism that increases blood sugar to keep it above 70. Glucagon is released from the Alpha cells in the pancrease. It is the hormone responsible for making new glucose (gluconeogenesis) in the liver and mobilizing fatty acids for energy utilization. Cortisol is released from the adrenal glands which works to break down muscle and stimulate gluconeogenesis in the liver. Blood sugar dysregulation is a major contributor to adrenal fatigue and hypercortisolism. Blood Sugar >10 Continue reading >>
Prediabetes
Prediabetes definition and facts Prediabetes means your blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to diagnose type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes typically has no symptoms or signs; however, it has been associated with being overweight. Usually, blood sugar is high because of insulin resistance, meaning glucose can't get into the cells to be used for energy. Prediabetes is diagnosed with blood tests. Prediabetes levels of blood sugar fall in the range of 100-125 when blood glucose is measured fasting. Prediabetes is reversible by getting healthier. Treatment for prediabetes begins with getting more physically active. All exercise helps reverse prediabetes, especially exercise that helps build muscle. Following a low glycemic index, low carb diet, and following a healthier lifestyle helps reverse prediabetes. Medications and dietary supplements also can be used in reverse prediabetes management. Without making lifestyle changes (or taking medication), the "side effect" of prediabetes is that it is likely to progress to type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes is the term used to describe elevated blood sugar (glucose) that has not yet reached the threshold of a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Consider pre-diabetes a warning sign that it is time to take your health more seriously. What is the difference between prediabetes and type 2 diabetes? Prediabetes occurs when there is too much sugar (glucose) in the blood. It is an early warning sign that the body has more sugar in the blood then it can use. Type 2 diabetes is a condition that occurs slowly over time. The pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to keep up with the increased need to move sugar into the cells for energy. Medication and lifestyle changes are necessary to manage blood sugar levels and avoid diabetes complications Continue reading >>
A ‘cure’ For Type 2 Diabetes: Dr Jason Fung’s 2 Easy Steps
Are you a type 2 diabetic, pre-diabetic or have a family history of diabetes? If so, this is one of the most important blogs you’ll ever read. It’s by Canadian nephrologist Dr Jason Fung. He doesn’t tell patients that type 2 diabetes is chronic, progressive and incurable. He says that is actually a ‘big, fat lie’. Fung had a Damascene moment a few years ago. He realised he was giving his diabetic, obese patients the wrong treatment. He was prescribing insulin according to orthodox medical protocols. He was making his patients fatter and sicker. Diabetes is a disease of insulin resistance, Fung says. In other words, it’s a disease of excess insulin. It is a dietary disease, he says, and you can’t cure dietary disease with drugs. Here’s a shortened version of Fung’s blog with a link to the full version. – Marika Sboros By Jason Fung* Most doctors, dietitians and diabetes specialists claim that type 2 diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease. The American Diabetes Association almost proudly proclaims this on its website. Once you get the diagnosis, it’s a life sentence. But it’s actually a great big lie: Type 2 diabetes is almost always reversible and this is almost ridiculously easy to prove. This is great news for the more than 50% of American adults who are diagnosed pre-diabetes or diabetes. Recognizing this truth is the crucial first step in reversing your diabetes or pre-diabetes. Actually, it something most people already instinctively recognized to be true. Suppose your friend is diagnosed as diabetic, then works hard to lose 50 pounds. He takes himself off all his medications and his blood sugars are now normal. What would you say to him? Probably something like “Great job. You’re really taking care of yourself. Keep it up!” What yo Continue reading >>
Can Prediabetes Be Cured?
The best way to fight prediabetes and get your blood sugar back in the normal range is with a coordinated plan of healthy nutrition, increased physical activity and lifestyle coping strategies that support modest weight loss if you are overweight. (Modest weight loss is defined as losing 5-10% of body weight.) Research shows that following such a plan not only reduces diabetes risk, but does it better than using medication. Improvements in glucose levels may be seen in as little as three months. If you have prediabetes, you need to start making lifestyle changes quickly. There's a window of only about three to six years in which you can turn around elevated glucose levels. If your health care provider informs you that you have prediabetes, do not give up! There are lifestyle choices you can make that can help prevent prediabetes from becoming diabetes and may even place you out of the prediabetes category. The most effective way to lower your blood sugar and stop insulin resistance is by losing weight. As little as 10 pounds or 5% of your body weight can make a huge difference in blood sugar control. Working on keeping a healthy and active lifestyle by exercising 30 minutes every day and incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet are other ways to curb your diabetes risk. Here are 5 key diet and lifestyle recommendations from the American Diabetes Association to reduce your risk of both diabetes and prediabetes: Lose Some Excess Weight. Research suggests that even a modest weight loss (approximately 5- 7% of your body weight) can reduce the cell’s resistance to insulin so that glucose will be taken up by the cells, and thus, improve blood glucose levels. Move at Least 2½ Hours Weekly. Physical activity has been shown to improve the cells sensitivity to i Continue reading >>
Prediabetes: Deal With It Now, Lower Your Risk Of Getting The Full-blown Disease
Prediabetes is an incredibly common condition in which blood sugar is higher than it should be, but isn't quite high enough to be type 2 diabetes. An estimated 84 million people in the United States, including more than a third of adults 18 and older and nearly half of adults 65 and up, are thought to have prediabetes. If you have prediabetes, you don't have diabetes. But don't relax just yet. Prediabetes is a serious condition in and of itself. Prediabetes is linked to a great risk of heart disease and stroke due to the chronic damage that elevated blood sugar can cause to your heart and blood vessels. Studies have show that most people with prediabetes–but not allwill have type 2 diabetes within a decade. On the upside, taking steps to lower your blood sugar now can help prevent or delay the onset of full-blown diabetes. If you lose 5 to 7 percent of your body weight through lifestyle changes, you can considerably diminish your likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose Prediabetes is characterized by two conditions: impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose. If you have one or both conditions, you are considered prediabetic. (Both tests can also be used to diagnose diabetes.) In both cases, your blood sugar is elevated, but falls short of diabetes. For example, if your blood sugar is between 140 and 199 mg/dl two hours after an oral glucose test, you have impaired glucose tolerance (a diabetes diagnosis requires a blood sugar of 200 mg/dL or higher after an oral glucose test). If you had a blood sugar between 100 and 125 mg/dl after an overnight fast, you would have impaired fasting glucose (a diabetes diagnosis would be 126 mg/dl or higher). "Now, neither of those conditions are actually diabetes Continue reading >>
Topic Overview
What is prediabetes? Prediabetes is a warning sign that you are at risk for getting type 2 diabetes. It means that your blood sugar is higher than it should be, but not high enough to be diabetes. Prediabetes is also called impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose. Most people who get type 2 diabetes have prediabetes first. What causes prediabetes? The food you eat turns into sugar, which your body uses for energy. Normally, an organ called the pancreas makes insulin, which allows the sugar in your blood to get into your body's cells.But when your body can't use insulin the right way, the sugar doesn't move into cells. It stays in your blood instead. This is called insulin resistance. The buildup of sugar in the blood causes prediabetes. People who are overweight, aren't physically active, and have a family history of diabetes are more likely to get prediabetes. Women who have had gestational diabetes are also more likely to get prediabetes. What are the symptoms? Most people with prediabetes don't have any symptoms. But if you have prediabetes, you need to watch for signs of diabetes, such as: Feeling very thirsty. Urinating more often than usual. Feeling very hungry. Having blurred vision. Losing weight without trying. How is prediabetes diagnosed? A blood test can tell if you have prediabetes. You have prediabetes if: How is it treated? The key to treating prediabetes and preventing type 2 diabetes is getting your blood sugar levels back to a normal range. You can do this by making some lifestyle changes. Watch your weight. If you are overweight, losing just a small amount of weight may help. Reducing fat around your waist is particularly important. Make healthy food choices. Limit the amount of unhealthy fat you eat, such as saturated fat and trans fat Continue reading >>
