9 Things You Never Knew About Type 2 Diabetes

A big baby can cause more than a difficult labor
According to the Joslin Diabetes Center, giving birth to a baby nine pounds or larger puts you at a greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Women who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes tend to put on more weight during pregnancy and give birth to larger babies, but a baby of above average weight is a risk factor with or without gestational diabetes. (These are the symptoms of gestational diabetes to watch out for.)
Most cases of type 2 diabetes can be reversed
A little-known fact about this kind of diabetes is that most cases are treatable. "The biggest misconception is that type 2 diabetes should simply be managed," says Joel Kahn, MD, founder of the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity and owner of GreenSpace Cafe. "But my goal with these patients is to reverse and eliminate their diabetic state through whole food, plant-based, low-fat diets, exercise, and supplements leading to weight control." He adds that this approach really works for many of his patients and that "it's better to be an ex-type 2 diabetic than a well-managed one." These are the superfoods that are great for diabetics.
Genetics play a (supporting) role
Just as with several other diseases and conditions, genetics can contribute to type 2 diabetes risk. Even if a close family member has type 2 diabetes, you may not suffer the same fate. Type 2 diabetes has a greater connection to diet and lifestyle than family history, although having a sibling or parent with the disease does increase your chances. These health breakthroughs can help stop type 2 diab Continue reading

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Type 1 Diabetes and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND A few small studies have reported increased prevalences of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and symptoms of androgen excess in women with type 1 diabetes.
PURPOSE We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating androgen excess symptoms and PCOS in women with type 1 diabetes.
STUDY SELECTION We selected studies addressing androgen excess signs, symptoms, and disorders in girls, adolescents, and adult women with type 1 diabetes.
DATA EXTRACTION The main outcome measures were prevalences of PCOS, hyperandrogenemia, hirsutism, menstrual dysfunction, and polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM).
DATA SYNTHESIS Nine primary studies involving 475 adolescent or adult women with type 1 diabetes were included. The prevalences of PCOS and associated traits in women with type 1 diabetes were 24% (95% CI 15–34) for PCOS, 25% (95% CI 17–33) for hyperandrogenemia, 25% (95% CI 16–36) for hirsutism, 24% (95% CI 17–32) for menstrual dysfunction, and 33% (95% CI 24–44) for PCOM. These figures are considerably higher than those reported earlier in the general population without diabetes.
LIMITATIONS The data collected in the original studies were heterogeneous in age, race, ethnicity, and criteria used for the diagnosis of PCOS; yet, we used a quality-effects model in the meta-analyses to overcome this limitation.
CONCLUSIONS PCOS and its related traits are frequent findings in women with type 1 diabetes. PCOS may contribute to the subfertility of these women by a mechanism that does not directly depend on glycemic/metabolic control among other negativ Continue reading

Sugar & Diabetes: What Even Young, Fit People Need To Know

November is Diabetes Awareness month, and although most people are aware of the disease, for many it’s still a somewhat abstract concern. Diabetes is often chalked up to genetics, deemed inevitable, or dismissed as something only old or extremely overweight people have to worry about — but this is far from the truth. Type 2 Diabetes can affect anyone, at any age, and usually it’s not the result of cruel fate, but our own choices. What you’re eating now plays a direct role in whether you could develop Type 2 Diabetes; we talked to the experts to understand just how this disease takes over and what we can do.
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Which type is which?
The two main types of Diabetes are Type 1 and 2. "In a nutshell, Type 1 is an autoimmune condition, while Type 2 is a lifestyle disease," says Francesca Orlando-Baldwin, CGP and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. The difference is all about insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that takes sugar out of the blood and stores it as glucose in the liver, muscles, and fat cells. "Type 1 Diabetes typically affects young people and only represents about 5 to 10% of the population," says Ron Rosedale, MD, author of The Rosedale Diet, and co-founder of the Colorado and Carolina Centers for Metabolic Medicine. With Type 1, the pancreas is unable to produce insulin, whereas "Type 2 is a disease of insulin excess," he says. "There is too much insulin in the body, brought on by too much sugar in the blood."
Eating for illness
When people eat diets high in refined carbohydrates — Butterfingers, bagels, and pretty much anything on the Bu Continue reading

10 Ways To Help Lose Weight And Decrease Your Risk For Diabetes

Avoid Midlife Weight Gain
Are you pear shaped or apple shaped? Many women put on weight in the thighs and buttocks while others maintain thinner legs and buttocks, but develop an apple shaped abdomen. It is the apple shaped body that is associated with higher rates of elevated insulin levels, which can lead to further weight gain and the following diseases:
Inflammation
Diabetes
Heart disease
Are you at Risk for Diabetes or Other Metabolic Issues?
Risk factors for women for diabetes and metabolic issues include:
Gestational diabetes (having diabetes during pregnancy)
Having had a large baby over 9 pounds
Pre-eclampsia or toxemia of pregnancy
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Other risk factors for both women and men include:
Genetic factors such as family history of type-2 diabetes.
Race, including Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians and Asian descent.
Advancing age, especially over age 45, is a non-modifiable factor.
Fat distribution in the abdomen and physical inactivity.
All adults should have a fasting blood sugar every three years after age 45.
Decrease Your Risk for Diabetes
There are several ways to decrease your risk for diabetes:
Lowering elevated blood sugar levels
Sensitize the body to insulin to promote abdominal weight loss
If you are insensitive to the effects of insulin, more insulin is made which in turn causes other problems like disruption of ovulation. Excess insulin secretions are hard on your pancreas and this occurs due to ‘insulin resistance’ of the excess fat cells in one’s body. For folks with type-2 diabetes, lowering the sugar levels to nor Continue reading

Gestational Diabetes and PCOS

What is Gestational Diabetes and what does it mean to my unborn baby?
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a common cause of female infertility because it causes many types of menstrual irregularities, including the absence of a period.4 If you don’t ovulate or this process is impaired, then pregnancy is unlikely. So treating PCOS symptoms and addressing a condition called Insulin Resistance, which influences PCOS, is very important for women wishing to conceive.4 If a woman does conceive in spite of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome it is not all smooth sailing. Unfortunately, there will be a new series of health issues concerning PCOS and pregnancy.3 Women with PCOS have a higher risk of several pregnancy problems, including gestational diabetes, miscarriage, premature delivery, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and babies with high birth weight.8 It is crucial for women with PCOS to work closely with their obstetrician during pregnancy to minimize the risk of these problems.
What is gestational diabetes?
Gestational diabetes happens when a pregnant woman’s body has an impaired ability to process glucose. This results in high blood glucose levels that can cause serious complications for the woman and her growing baby.9 During pregnancy elevated blood sugar can be passed to the baby through the placenta producing a larger baby with potentially immature lungs. A large baby also means a more dangerous birth for both mother and child. Gestational diabetes affects about seven percent of all pregnancies and usually develops after the 20th week.5
Since gestational diabetes can be t Continue reading