A New Medical Trial Has Seen Type 2 Diabetes "Reversed" In 40% Of Patients For 3 Months

A New Medical Trial Has Seen Type 2 Diabetes "Reversed" in 40% of Patients for 3 Months

Type 2 diabetes is generally considered to be a chronic health condition that can't be cured once it develops, and can only be managed with a combination of medication and healthy living – assisted by gastric band (bariatric) surgery in some cases.
But new research suggests that people may actually be able to beat the disease for set periods, by undertaking an intensive short-term course of medical treatment that's been shown to reverse type 2 diabetes in a significant proportion of patients.
"By using a combination of oral medications, insulin, and lifestyle therapies to treat patients intensively for two to four months, we found that up to 40 percent of participants were able to stay in remission three months after stopping diabetes medications," says one of the researchers, Natalia McInnes from McMaster University in Canada.
"The findings support the notion that type 2 diabetes can be reversed, at least in the short term – not only with bariatric surgery, but with medical approaches."
Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body not producing enough insulin – the hormone that enables cells to absorb glucose - or becoming insulin resistant. As a consequence, blood sugars build up in the body, and can lead to serious health problems like organ damage and heart disease.
Over 29 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, and estimates indicate that it could cost the US health care system as much as US$512 billion annually by 2021 – so any interventions that can effectively treat the condition are desperately needed.
To investigate whether intensive health treatments could trig Continue reading

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3 Easy Salad Recipes To Help Control Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the most rampant diseases of our time, and when you take a look at the average North American diet you begin to see why. According to the American Diabetes Association, in 2012 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3% of the population, had diabetes. [1]
Sadly, diabetes rates are still rising steadily because we are not doing enough to adjust our diets, despite the wealth of nutritional information available to us. A study completed by the CDC & Research Triangle Institute concluded that, if recent trends in diabetes prevalence rates continue linearly over the next 50 years, future changes in the size and demographic characteristics of the U.S. population will lead to dramatic increases in the number of Americans with diagnosed diabetes. [2]
Finding The Right Foods
When you are diabetic, changes in diet are pretty well a must. Finding the right diet for some people can be a bit tricky, as we are often tempted by other foods or run out of creative ways to enjoy healthy meals. The truth is, the average person might look at something like a salad and think that it’s a healthy option for a diabetic given the low sugar content, yet many times we turn around and throw a sugar laden dressing on top of that salad, which entirely compromises our well-intentioned effort.
Below is a short list of salads which can be good for a diabetic diet. If you are adventurous and want to try an interesting fruit which can help treat diabetes, check out bitter melon. Research has shown some very promising things with this plant.
1. Spinach With Garlic Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
6 cups ba Continue reading

A Clinical Trial Just ‘Reversed’ Type 2 Diabetes in 40% of Participants

Researchers conducted a pilot study in which patients with type 2 diabetes underwent a medical intervention that included glucose-controlling drugs and a strict diet and exercise regiment.
Four months after the intervention, the study revealed that 40 percent of the 83 subjects were able to effectively stop taking their medications, staying in partial or even complete remission.
Reversing Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes, a disease wherein the body is incapable of producing sufficient levels of insulin or doesn’t respond to insulin correctly, can be a lifelong disease. It leads to the build up of blood sugars and in the cell’s inability to receive the energy it needs to function correctly. It’s also more likely to afflict people over the age of 40, those who are overweight, or anyone whose family has a history of diabetes.
Prior to this research, there was no definitive cure for type 2 diabetes, although experts have long hypothesized that it could be reversible. A team of Canadian scientists have demonstrated that this theory is indeed correct. In some patients, type 2 diabetes can be reversed through a combination of lifestyle changes, intensive medical treatment using oral medication, and insulin therapy. The researchers published their study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
They tested their theory in diabetic patients who had been symptomatic for up to three years. The subjects underwent a personalized exercise regimen, and a strict diet that closely watched and limited their calorie intake to just 500 to 700 a day, and pharmacological treatm Continue reading

Encapsulated stem cells halt type 1 diabetes in mice for six months

Harvard hero Dr Doug Melton, working on a project led by Dr Daniel Anderson and Dr Robert Langer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has today shown encapsulated human islet (insulin-producing) cells transplanted into mice can withstand the autoimmune attack in type 1 diabetes, effectively halting the condition for up to six months.
The findings, reported in Nature Medicine and Nature Biotechnology detailed results from ongoing studies to develop an encapsulated islet cell therapy for treatment of type 1 diabetes.
In 2014, Melton revealed as part of JDRF-funded research at Harvard that we could for the first time create massive numbers of insulin-producing cells from stem cells.
Encapsulated islet cell therapies are created by wrapping pancreatic cells in a protective barrier before implanting them into the body. Once implanted, the barrier shields the cells from an immune system attack, and the cells are able to sense changing blood-glucose levels and produce insulin and other required hormones as needed. The study released today revealed we can now protectively encapsulate cells produced this way within mice for a period as long as six months.
Sarah Johnson, UK Director of Policy and Communication at JDRF said: “We are really pleased our continued support of Dr Melton’s research is showing these results and an early indication that encapsulation could be a new method of treating type 1 diabetes in the future.
“It’s significant to see a study of this length return such promising results. If this study can be replicated in humans then one day we could potentia Continue reading

92 Alkaline Foods That Fight Cancer, Inflammation, Diabetes and Heart Disease

Human life, just like all life on earth, depends on appropriate pH levels in and around living organisms and cells. For us, a tightly controlled pH level in the serum of about 7.4 – that’s a slightly alkaline range – is needed in order to ensure survival.
Increasing industrialization, especially in developed nations like the United States, has lead to increasing CO2 deposition – resulting in the pH of the ocean dropping from 8.2 to 8.1, a change which has had a negative impact on marine life. Even the pH balance of the soil we grow our food in has an impact on the mineral content of that food – minerals are, after all, used as buffers to maintain pH balance.
When it comes down to it, the alkaline diet is simply a diet that relies heavily on nutrients derived from vegetables and other natural foods. Anyone can benefit from such a diet, so with that in mind, here are several alkaline foods that you can start adding to your diet.
1. Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is an incredibly healthy food – not only is it alkaline, it also has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, and is full of much-needed antioxidants(2).
2. Melon
With a pH level of 8.5, these fruits are super alkaline, but they’re also loaded with fiber to help cleanse your digestive tract, and water to help hydrate you.
3. Berries
Loaded with fibre and antioxidants, berries are one of the best type of fruits you can eat.
4. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra virgin olive oil is loaded with vitamin E and monounsaturated fatty acids, making it a great addition to any diet.
5. Flax seeds
High in fiber and vitamin E, Continue reading