Beta Cells And Diabetes
If we could only get the beta cells in the pancreas to rejuvenate themselves, we could then cure diabetes. The problem also involves shutting off immune responses, and eliminating behavioral and environmental factors that precipitate diabetes. When there is an immune response that attacks beta cells, we have Type 1 diabetes. Over a fairly short period of time, it results in complete destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. If we don’t remove the cells from their high sugar environment, and continue to damage them by subjecting them to high sugar, we run the risk of tipping to Pre-Diabetes, or Type 2 Diabetes. We need to continually nurture and care for our beta cells, by making sure their environment is not high in sugar, and that they do not have to work too hard. If the beta cells have to work too hard due to high sugar, they will eventually give out. Our beta cells can only take so much. What are beta cells? Beta cells are cells that are located in the pancreas, within the Islets of Langerhans. The Islets of Langerhans are in an area of the pancreas that serves to regulate endocrine function, by secreting hormones. The pancreas is involved in secreting insulin, glucagon, and some other hormones. Beta cells functioning The beta cells are little insulin producing machines. They manufacture, store, and release insulin via the pancreas. Without their full function, we can develop conditions such as Pre-Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. In pancreas where there is no Pre-Diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes process going on, the beta cells respond extremely quickly to blood sugar changes. The beta cells will release some insulin that they have stored, and begin to make more insulin in response to rising blood sugar. In a person with no diabetes, it takes about ten Continue reading >>
Type 1 Diabetes: Autoimmune Disease, Pathology & Management
Author Sidebar: When I was in the hospital, because my blood sugar was so high, there was some concern that I might be a Type 1 diabetic. After they tested my blood for certain antibodies, I remember the nurse saying that I was lucky because I had Type 2 diabetes instead of Type 1 diabetes. Later, when I started to do some research, I began to understand what she meant -- that Type 1 diabetes is a more devastating disease than Type 2 ... Although some of you may disagree, I believe that Type 1 diabetes is a lot more difficult disease to deal with because it is an autoimmune disease that attacks mostly children whereas Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle-driven disease that attacks mostly adults (although today more children are becoming Type 2 diabetic). From a scientific perspective, the pathology of Type 1 diabetes is more difficult to understand at the cellular level. As a result, it is a lot more difficult to design safe alternative solutions because it's not clear what is the specific root causes of this disease. And, from an engineering science perspective, it is almost impossible to design an effective solution for a problem if you don't know what's causing the problem, that is you don't know the root causes of the problem. I also believe that parents and children with this disease are sadly being misled as Western Medicine keeps its head buried in the sand, refusing to investigate alternative therapies. This is unfortunate, because there appears to be some evidence that alternative solutions can be helpful when combined with insulin therapy. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that is entirely different from Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes; and, used to be referred to as juvenile diabetes because it affected primarily Continue reading >>
Pancreatic Cells Could Regenerate And Produce Insulin Again In Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes
In type 1 diabetes, the body’s own immune system attacks cells in the pancreas, known as beta-cells, which produce the hormone insulin. Insulin is needed for moving glucose out of the blood stream and into muscles and other tissues. The condition is usually diagnosed after around 70 per cent of the beta-cells cease to function and type 1 diabetics need to inject a synthetic form of insulin to replace the missing hormone. In type 2 diabetes, too, insulin production tends to decline, with the beta-cells dying off faster than normal. Several different factors appear to be involved in this, including high blood sugar and blood fat levels, inflammatory compounds and high levels of the hormone leptin. More people with type 2 diabetes now inject insulin than those with type 1. At one time, it was thought that losing the ability to produce insulin was permanent and irreversible. But as I wrote here, scientists have discovered recently that beta-cell function can come back – in animal models of diabetes, at least. Now, a study published in the journal Nature on 20 August has shown just how remarkable this capacity for regeneration could be. The pancreas looks to be even more adaptable and to possess a greater potential for self-healing than was previously assumed. The researchers, at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, are the first to reveal a mechanism by which other cells in the pancreas called delta-cells, (which produce somatostatin, another pancreatic hormone) revert to a precursor-like cell state before being ‘reborn’ as beta-cells in diabetic mice.1 Although this only appears to happen in young mice with type 1 diabetes, it provides further evidence that loss of beta-cell function might not be the end of the story. Science is moving ahead fast in this area. Continue reading >>
What Foods Affect Beta Cells?
Joanne Marie began writing professionally in 1981. Her work has appeared in health, medical and scientific publications such as Endocrinology and Journal of Cell Biology. She has also published in hobbyist offerings such as The Hobstarand The Bagpiper. Marie is a certified master gardener and has a Ph.D. in anatomy from Temple University School of Medicine. A bowl of granola cereal with milk and berries.Photo Credit: Magone/iStock/Getty Images A complex system of hormone-producing tissues carefully regulates many of your body's essential functions. Called the endocrine system, it includes specialized beta cells in your pancreas that make insulin, the hormone partly responsible for regulating your blood glucose. Insulin signals your liver, muscle and other tissues to take in glucose, lowering its level in your blood. Certain foods can affect how well or poorly beta cells function to keep your blood glucose in a healthy range and help you avoid health problems. More than 25 million Americans have diabetes, with more than 90 percent having Type 2 diabetes. In this disorder, the body responds poorly to insulin, a situation called insulin resistance in which beta cells produce more and more insulin in order to reduce blood glucose; these overworked beta cells finally become exhausted and produce little or no hormone. Research suggests that wornout beta cells might be able to recover or regenerate, but more work is still needed to clarify this possibility. You can help support the health of your beta cells by eating mostly foods that allow blood sugar to rise slowly after a meal, while avoiding foods that cause a rapid rise in blood sugar and a high demand for insulin. MedlinePlus says that about 50 to 60 percent of your daily calories should come from carbohydrate, and choo Continue reading >>
New: 3 Step Method To Jumpstart Your Pancreas Naturally
NEW: 3 Step Method to Jumpstart Your Pancreas Naturally In the US where the total healthcare bill borders near $500 billion, only a very tiny percentage of it is being utilized for proper diabetic research. This is quite surprising, considering the fact that diabetes is known to be the fourth leading cause of death. Even though research in medical fields is making slow but steady progress in figuring out the best methods to not only treat diabetes but also to cure it , most of these data is being kept away from people. Big pharmaceutical organizations are cashing in on the ignorance of their patients, and this has indeed become a leading cause of concern. If you are worried about your diabetic treatment, it is extremely important that you look beyond what your doctors are telling you and realize that a permanent cure exists! Are you tired of your doctors who continuously insist that the only way you can manage your diabetic condition is by shooting insulin into your body? Even the drugs that patients are offered fall short of curing the disease! Studies have insisted over the years that diabetic conditions can be reversed in a short time by using a proper nutritional program that includes necessary multivitamins and minerals to keep the blood sugar level low and stabilised. The major success point of this program is that it utilizes the best natural methods that is strategic and focused on a much needed nutritional intervention along with a proper stress management exercise to keep the sugar level and insulin balanced with proper supplements. A paper named Reversal of Type 2 diabetes: Normalization of beta cell function in association with decrease pancreas and liver triglycerides states that the introduction of a big change dietary patterns (like plant based low calor Continue reading >>
Psychoactive Plant May Hold Key To Reversing Diabetes
Psychoactive Plant May Hold Key to Reversing Diabetes Written by R. Sam Barclay on March 9, 2015 New research published in Nature Medicine may have unlocked a new line of treatment for diabetes. The researchers honed in on the main culprits in diabetes: beta cells. These cells concentrate in the pancreas in little clusters called islets, and they produce the insulin necessary to keep the bodys blood sugar levels stable. In children and adults with type 1 diabetes, theyve lost 99 percent of their beta cells, so they cannot make enough insulin. Thats the cause of their diabetes, said Andrew Stewart, director of the Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City and senior author of the study, in an interview with Healthline. People with type 2 diabetes also have about a 50 or 60 percent reduction in their number of beta cells in their pancreas, and so they too cannot make enough insulin. Although many drugs exist to control the symptoms of diabetes, there currently is no reliable way to replace beta cells and cure the disease. Stewart joined with lead author Peng Wang and others on a multidisciplinary team to tackle the problem. In the world of beta cell regeneration, you can do it in two ways. You can either use stem cells, create stem cells and then transplant them. Or you could take a drug that makes your own beta cells grow, Stewart explained. Although the stem cell transplant research is promising, it involves an invasive procedure and will have difficulty meeting the massive demand, he said. Diabetes affects more than 20 million Americans , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The need vastly outstrips the stem cell islet supply, said Stewart. It would be simply much simpler to Continue reading >>
Beta Cell Regeneration
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes nearly 16 months ago. At the time of my diagnosis I was horrified, but also a little bit cocky. My husband has had type 1 diabetes since 2002 and after over six years of living with a diabetic, I was sure I knew all I needed to know about managing diabetes. I thought Id breeze my way into life as a diabetic and then I had my first hypoglycemic attack, a sort of rite of passage. What I quickly learned was that no matter how much information you have and no matter how close youve been to a diabetic, you dont really know diabetes until its in your blood. And so while I still maintain to know an inordinate amount of information about my pancreas, I dont claim to know it all. Not even close. In fact, new research on the defunct organ poking from beneath my stomach like a hitchhikers thumb indicates pancreatic cells are capable of something Id never imagined regeneration. A study , conducted at the University of Geneva and co-funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation , has found that alpha cells in the pancreas, the cells which secrete the hormone glucagon, can regenerate themselves into insulin-producing beta cells after normal beta cells have been destroyed. The study is the first to show that this change of alpha cell into beta cell can happen naturally and spontaneously. The researchers, led by Dr. Pedro L. Herrera, discovered that when they destroyed beta cells in mice to induce an artificial form of type 1 diabetes, the alpha cells in the pancreas then changed into insulin-producers. They found that when nearly all of the beta cells had been destroyed, if mice were given insulin therapy to keep them alive, the alpha cells spontaneously changed into functioning beta cells. After enough alpha cells converted into beta cells, Continue reading >>
Can You Grow New Beta Cells When Your Beta Cells Fail ?
Small things can make a big difference to your health Posted by Dr Sandy on in Diabetes | 1432 Views | Leave a response Beta cells can regenerate under the right circumstances Diabetes happens when beta cells fail, but beta cells can be regenerated naturally. Fancy stem cell technology or drugs are not required, diet will do it Your beta cells are failing (pre-diabetes) or have failed (diabetes), leaving you struggling to keep sugar levels in check. Ive been asking the question for years. What prompted the pondering was a car accident. Lucky for me, no bones were broken but I was black and blue ALL OVER. And it hurt like crazy ! I watched incredulously as my body put itself back together every day I got a little better. It took about three weeks for all the outward signs of the trauma to heal, a little longer for the inner aches and pains to dissipate and a whole lot longer for the fear of driving to subside. The body seems to have the capacity to regenerate bones knit together, cuts and gashes, close up. How come the pancreas didnt heal ? The short answer to this question is probably, the problem aka the thing causing the injury, never goes away. Unfortunately, scientists are still not sure what the thing is. insulin is involved. Bad body chemistry keeps beta cells from healing. Unfortunately fixing body chemistry is complicated high sugar levels, cause high insulin levels, which cause beta cell destruction, which causes high sugar levels. Researchers from the University of Southern California, have found a way to regenerate beta cells, naturally. Albeit it, the beta cells theyve regenerated are mouse beta cells, not human beta cells. But they did it, without fancy stem cell technology or drugs. Its not what they added to the diet, but what they took away.. The resear Continue reading >>
Beta Cell Regeneration | Herbs For Diabetes Management
Herbs for Blood Sugar Management and Beta Cell Regeneration The pancreas is an organ that stretches behind the abdomen. The pancreas have areas known as the islets of Langerhans which are predominantly made up of beta cells. Beta cells have some very important functions: 1.Beta cells produce the hormone insulin that controls blood sugar levels. Insulin stimulates skeletal muscle fibers to convert glucose into glycogen and amino acids into protein. Insulin also causes liver cells to convert glucose into glycogen and to prevent conversion of fats and proteins into glucose. Insulin also helps in the synthesis of fat and send signals to the hypothalamus to reduce appetite. 2.C-peptide is a byproduct of insulin production and helps to prevent neuropathy. 3.Amylin or Islet Amyloid Polypeptoid is also produced by beta cells. Amylin helps to inhibit glucose and reduces the intake of food in the short term. The destruction of beta cells is the main cause of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus or Insulin Dependant Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM). The lack of beta cells causes very little or no insulin circulating in the blood. In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus or Non-insulin dependant diabetes mellitus, there is insulin resistance where the ability to remove glucose from the blood is reduced by over 80%. In type 2 diabetes, beta cells undergo a slow degeneration and there can a reduction in beta cell mass thereby causing insufficient insulin to be produced. Patients with Type 2 Diabetes have shown abnormalities in beta cell function and secretion Oral hypoglycaemic drugs are very important in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus but none of them are effective in maintaining normal glucose levels. In almost 25% of patients who respond well initially, the drugs later lose their effectiveness. Diabec Continue reading >>
How To Increase Insulin Production In Body Naturally ?
If you are a type 1 / type-2 diabetic whose morning starts with where shall I inject insulin today and you are one amongst many type 1 /type-2 diabetics who struggles to manage insulin levels and are frustrated of the costs and the pain of injecting insulin everyday then you must know there are methods to produce insulin in your body naturally by making great food choices, exercise regularly and taking right vitamin supplements, Lets explore !! Even if you can reduce one shot of insulin it feels great ,,, Insulin is a hormone that is mainly responsible for glucose regulation. It is produced by the beta cells of pancreas, an organ that is located in the abdomen. Insulin allows the glucose uptake by body cells so that it can be utilized as fuel by the body tissues.Our body needs an optimum level of insulin to maintain the normal glucose balance. Either reduction or an increase in insulin will have deleterious effects on body. In cases where insulin starts falling, the body fails to consume sugar as body fuel. Hence, it is crucial to have a recommended insulin level for healthy body functions. A decrease in insulin results in type 1 diabetes. Eating Right Food can Boost Insulin Production Diet is the main factor that has a major effect on pancreas and insulin levels. Whatever we eat, directly affects the insulin secretion, production and health of pancreas. Pancreas is an important organ that performs both functions of insulin production and foods’ digestion. If someone keeps on taking ‘anti-pancreas’ foods, it will badly hurt the functioning of pancreas. In addition to insulin friendly foods, it is also wise to decrease the use of insulin decreasing diets. Following text explains the simple, natural and effective ways to boost insulin production by activating pancre Continue reading >>
Cucurbita Pumpkin Rejuvenates ßeta Cells, Restores Insulin Production
An extract derived from pumpkin (Cucurbita ficifolia) may improve blood glucose levels in diabetics and exert antioxidant effects, according to a new study. If the research by scientists from the East China Normal University can be reproduced in humans, then consuming cucurbita pumpkin extract may promote regeneration of damaged pancreatic cells, boost levels of insulin-producing beta cells and raise insulin levels in the blood. “The present study provides substantial evidence to demonstrate the hypoglycemic (blood sugar lowering) action of Cucurbita extract, as well as its role as an antioxidant to reveal a mechanism for its cytoprotective (cell protecting) action,” wrote authors Tao Xia and Qin Wang in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. Rejuvenating Beta Cells Tao Xia and Qin Wang divided diabetic rats and normal rats into two groups, one fed a normal diet and the other fed the normal diet supplemented with the pumpkin extract for 30 days. At the end of the study the researchers discovered that plasma insulin levels in the diabetic rats receiving cucurbita extract were restored to 95 percent of insulin levels in normal healthy animals. Additionally, the number of active insulin-positive (beta) cells in the treated animals was restored to 92 percent of those in the normal healthy controls. “Pumpkin extract is potentially a very good product for pre-diabetic persons, as well as those who have already developed diabetes,” according to lead author Xia. These remarkable benefits are believed due to actions of D-chiroinositol, a molecule isolated from cucurbita that mediates insulin activity. Additionally, a new class of compounds identified in cucurbita have been shown to confer antioxidant protection. Working together these components boost insuli Continue reading >>
How To Help Your Body Reverse Diabetes
Diabetes rates are rising, in fact it is now considered an “epidemic” in the medical community. The American Diabetes Association reports that: 23.6 million Americans have diabetes 57 million Americans are pre-diabetic 1.6 new cases of diabetes are reported each year For those over age 60, almost 1 in 4 have diabetes Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death Diabetes increases heart attack risk and 68% of diabetes related death certificates report heart related problems 75% of adults with diabetes will develop high blood pressure Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and nervous system disorders Diabetes costs $174 billion annually Diabetes is a well-established problem and a multi-billion dollar industry. It is medically characterized by Fasting Blood Glucose higher than 126 mg/dL , which ranges between 100-125 mg/dL are considered pre-diabetic and ranges below 99 mg/dL are considered normal. Studies are finding that a fasting blood glucose below 83 mg/dL is actually a better benchmark, as risk of heart disease begins to increase at anything above that. IMPORTANT: There is a difference between Type 1 diabetes (an autoimmune condition) and Type 2 diabetes (lifestyle related). This article refers specifically to Type 2 diabetes. Some medical professionals use an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) to test for diabetes. If you’ve ever been pregnant and had to drink the sickeningly sweet sugar cocktail and then have blood drawn, you are familiar with this one. Basically, a patient is given 50-75 grams of glucose in concentrated solution and his blood sugar response is measured. I’m not a fan of this test because no one should be ingesting that much concentrated glucose, and the test is not a completely accurate measure. (Just a side note: if yo Continue reading >>
10 Natural Substances That Could Help Cure Type 1 Diabetes
Could the long-sought after cure for type 1 diabetes be as close as your kitchen cupboard? An accumulating body of scientific research appears to point in exactly that direction. One so-called 'incurable disease' that afflicts millions of people around the world is type 1 diabetes. Unlike type 2 diabetes, where the body becomes resistant to its own insulin, type 1 is characterized by the inability of the body to produce enough insulin, as the beta cells within the pancreas which are responsible for the production of insulin (and the proinsulin from which it is made) are either destroyed or seriously impaired. This can happen due to autoimmune issues, bacterial or viral infections, incompatible foods in the diet and chemical exposures (or a combination of any one or more of these factors), to name but a few major triggers. And yet, plenty of peer-reviewed and published research now indicates that plant compounds, including many found within commonly consumed foods, are capable of stimulating beta cell regeneration within the pancreas, and as a result may be potentially provide a cure – truly a four letter word, as far as the profit-based model of medicine goes, which thrives on the concept of the incurability of the disease-afflicted human body in favor of symptom management. The discovery of the beta cell regenerative potential of various food and compounds is bound to upset a burgeoning diabetes industry, with millions of dollars of public and private money continually being poured into fund-raising efforts for a future "cure"; A cure that will presumably be delivered through the prohibitively expensive pharmaceutical,vaccine or biologic (e.g. stem cells, islet cell xenotransplantation) pipeline, which by the very nature of the FDA drug approval process requires the Continue reading >>
Best 12 Foods And Herbs For A Healthy Pancreas
Home > Health News > Best 12 Foods and Herbs for a Healthy Pancreas Best 12 Foods and Herbs for a Healthy Pancreas Your pancreas, a small organ rarely thought of until it causes problems, is vital for your digestive system as well as the endocrine process. Your pancreas has two basic functions: make insulin for controlling blood sugar levels, and make enzymes for the digestion of fat and protein. Your pancreas sits behind, and just below, your stomach. It has what is thought of as a head, a body, and a tail. Each part has its own job when it comes to producing specialized chemicals and enzymes. It also produces hormones and vital enzymes which are important to the digestion of food after it leaves your stomach. The fluid that your pancreas produces is alkaline in its makeup so it neutralizes the acids that come from the stomach, creating the perfect environment for digestive enzymes to do their work. Should your pancreas become unable to function, or only partially function, nutrients from your food are no longer available to your body. The top three problems that arise from a weak pancreas are: 1. Diabetes This is the most common disorder of the pancreas. Diabetes occurs when your pancreas does not produce enough insulin. 2. Acute or Chronic Pancreatitis This causes tissue damaging inflammation levels in and around the pancreas. 3. Cancer Pancreatic cancer is the 5th leading cause of death in the US and has a 100 percent mortality rate. Although the cause of pancreas malfunctions are not well understood, it is known that diet and lifestyle can help rejuvenate the pancreas. There have limited studies on some herbs regarding their effectiveness, but the following list of herbs and foods may help to strengthen and protect your pancreas from the disorders listed above. As Continue reading >>
Plant-derived Compounds Targeting Pancreatic Beta Cells For The Treatment Of Diabetes
Plant-Derived Compounds Targeting Pancreatic Beta Cells for the Treatment of Diabetes 1Lee Gil Ya Cancer and Diabetes Institute, Gachon University, Incheon 406-840, Republic of Korea 2Gachon Medical Research Institute, Gil Hospital, Incheon 405-760, Republic of Korea 1Lee Gil Ya Cancer and Diabetes Institute, Gachon University, Incheon 406-840, Republic of Korea 2Gachon Medical Research Institute, Gil Hospital, Incheon 405-760, Republic of Korea Received 2015 Aug 21; Accepted 2015 Oct 4. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Diabetes is a global health problem and a national economic burden. Although several antidiabetic drugs are available, the need for novel therapeutic agents with improved efficacy and few side effects remains. Drugs derived from natural compounds are more attractive than synthetic drugs because of their diversity and minimal side effects. This review summarizes the most relevant effects of various plant-derived natural compounds on the functionality of pancreatic beta cells. Published data suggest that natural compounds directly enhance insulin secretion, prevent pancreatic beta cell apoptosis, and modulate pancreatic beta cell differentiation and proliferation. It is essential to continuously investigate natural compounds as sources of novel pharmaceuticals. Therefore, more studies into these compounds' mechanisms of action are warranted for their development as potential anti-diabetics. The prevalence of diabetes and metabolic disease is rapidly increasing worldwide and is becoming a major health problem [ 1 ]. Diabetes Continue reading >>
