Being Overweight Changes Your DNA, Increasing Risk Of Diabetes For Offspring

Epigenetics is the study of how our behaviors and experiences can actually change our DNA, allowing us to pass on new traits to future generations. Recently, researchers revealed that obesity is able to cause epigenetic changes to our DNA which could have adverse health consequences for our future offspring.
In what is being called the biggest study yet on the effect of body mass index (BMI) on DNA, researchers uncovered that significant changes were found in the expression of genes responsible for lipid metabolism and substrate transport and in gene loci related to inflammation in the DNA of individuals with high BMIs. Ultimately, the team was able to identify epigenetic markers that could predict the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Read: Genetics Is Not As Cut-And-Dry As We Once Thought, Thanks To Epigenetics
"Our results allow new insights into which signaling pathways are influenced by obesity", said Christian Gieger, a researcher involved in the study, in a recent statement. "We hope that this will lead to new strategies for predicting and possibly preventing type 2 diabetes and other consequences of being overweight."
For the study, the team looked at blood samples of over 10,000 women and men from Europe. A large proportion of these were inhabitants of London of Indian ancestry, who are genetically at high risk for obesity and metabolic diseases. In 5,387 samples the research team identified 207 gene loci that were epigenetically altered dependent on the BMI. They then tested these candidate loci in blood samples of an additional 4,874 subjects and were able to confirm 187 Continue reading

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Do you have pre-diabetes?

Two million Australians currently have pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes is on the verge of becoming an epidemic.
So whether you personally struggle with pre-diabetes, or you have a family history of diabetes, there are ways you can help improve your insulin sensitivity naturally – as this article from Authority Nutrition explains.
Insulin is an essential hormone that controls your blood sugar levels.
It’s made in your pancreas and helps move sugar from your blood into your cells for storage. When cells are insulin resistant, they can’t use insulin effectively, leaving your blood sugar high.
When your pancreas senses high blood sugar, it makes more insulin to overcome the resistance and reduce your blood sugar.
Over time, this can deplete the pancreas of insulin-producing cells, which is common in type 2 diabetes. Also, prolonged high blood sugar can damage nerves and organs.
You’re most at risk of insulin resistance if you have prediabetes or a family history of type 2 diabetes, as well as if you are overweight or obese.
Insulin sensitivity refers to how responsive your cells are to insulin. Improving it can help you reduce insulin resistance and the risk of many diseases, including diabetes.
Here are 14 natural, science-backed ways to boost your insulin sensitivity.
1. Get More Sleep
A good night’s sleep is important for your health.
In contrast, a lack of sleep can be harmful and increase your risk of infections, heart disease and type 2 diabetes (1, 2).
Several studies have also linked poor sleep to reduced insulin sensitivity (3, 4).
For example, one study in Continue reading

3 Generations Of Type 1 Diabetes, One Shared Struggle

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic, life-threatening disease that can strike anyone at any age and at any time. It occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. T1D can be passed on genetically, but can also affect those without a hereditary link. Although most people are diagnosed as children, it is not just a child's disease, and in fact, 20 per cent of people with T1D are diagnosed as adults.
Each day, 50 people across the country are diagnosed with T1D. More than 300,000 Canadians currently suffer from the disease.
Below are accounts from three individuals who are challenged on a daily basis by a disease that preoccupies their thoughts 24/7.
(Photo: JRDF)
Kenadie, 11, from Toronto, ON
When I was first diagnosed, I had no idea what was happening. I was at the theatre with my mom and had to go to the bathroom many times, which was not normal. My mom has T1D and after using her blood glucose tester, it showed that I likely had the disease. After visiting my doctor, it was confirmed.
I was scared at the beginning, but I felt better after I was taught how to manage my diabetes. Every day, I check my blood sugar level seven or more times, and my mom checks three times during the night. Afterwards, I have to either eat specific foods or give myself an insulin injection. I used to have around nine needles per day, but now I have an insulin pump which is easier and less painful.
When I'm at school playing at recess, I sometimes have to go inside because my blood sugar levels are too high or too low, or someone needs to cha Continue reading

#5 Stress, Trauma and Type 1 Diabetes: Top 7 Reasons We (Mistakenly) Dismiss Links

Can stress or trauma cause type 1 diabetes? Or trigger onset? Answers are rarely found despite observed links between stress, trauma and type 1 diabetes (T1D) for over 2000 years.
I received an email from Teri in Illinois with this very question while writing this post,
I just read your post [about how trauma is making sense of your chronic illness]. I do not know how I found you, but am so grateful. My Son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2011 at 13 years old. Previous to his diagnosis he had a few situations which made me question over the years, what in the world was going on with him. He also was diagnosed with anxiety at age 4 and I was given information on ADHD/ADD and needed to bring him for testing at that time for an early intervention program, which he did not test “low” enough for.
At the time he was diagnosed, I looked directly at the endocrinologist and asked if this diagnosis could have had anything to do with stress. She said no. Every endo since this time has said no, even though we know full well cortisol levels and stress have affected his blood sugar levels all along and certainly do to this day.
Thank you for confirming there are studies out there for one. But even more so, thank you for sharing your story and putting it in black and white for us. We have known this for years, but it is hard to feel as if you are the only ones who do.
Research in T1D and disciplines as diverse as neurophysiology, nervous system development, brain plasticity, epigenetics, child development, attachment, and traumatic stress suggest the answers to Teri’s second q Continue reading

Predictors of Chronic Kidney Disease In Type 1 Diabetes

CKD risk not necessarily tied to albuminuria in patients with type 1 diabetes.
The International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas estimated that by 2040 approximately 642 million people worldwide will be afflicted with diabetes. The incidence of type 1 diabetes, especially in children, continues to grow at a rate of 3% annually worldwide. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 7-12% of all diabetes cases globally.
One of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes is related to kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease is the major precipitating factor to end-stage renal disease and is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular events, which remains the leading cause of death in patients with type 1 diabetes.
Retaining renal function in the diabetes patient population is a major goal for healthcare practitioners and regular evaluations of kidney function helps mitigate the risk of disease progression and gives practitioners the opportunity to intervene early. Increases in urinary albumin excretion rate (AER) is an early indicator of renal damage and may promote progression to macroalbuminuria and eventual decrease in glomerular filtration rate. However, recent studies have shown that a significant number of patients with type 1 diabetes are progressing to end-stage renal disease in the absence of albuminuria.
Researchers retrospectively analyzed over 2,600 patients with type 1 diabetes and normal renal function at baseline to evaluate predictors for the development of depressed renal function with or without albuminuria, or its single components, Continue reading