Beyond Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes

Beyond Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

You’ve probably heard of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. But did you know there are several other types as well? As we get into Diabetes Awareness Month, it’s a great time to learn about the various forms of this extraordinarily common disease—and how they might affect you and your loved ones.
What we refer to today as “diabetes” was originally named “diabetes mellitus”— a marriage of the greek verb diabeinein which means “to go through,” and the Latin noun mellitus, meaning “sweet.” Recently, we’ve gained a better understanding of how diabetes develops, which has caused a series of re-classifications. Here, we’ll provide an overview of some of these classifications and their defining characteristics.
Ultimately, diabetes is a disease in which sugar regulation goes awry. Every cell in our body uses sugar as an energy source; however, too much or too little sugar can be problematic. Our bodies control the amount of sugar in the blood via a series of different proteins. One of these proteins is a hormone known as insulin, which is made in the pancreas and circulates throughout the body. This hormone helps cells remove sugar from the bloodstream. Diabetes develops when this regulatory system is disrupted; the factors leading to this disruption are what differentiates the various forms of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D)
About 5-10% of people with diabetes have what is referred to as Type 1 diabetes (T1D). This form of the disease was once known as “juvenile diabetes” because it was typically diagnosed if a person showed symptoms of diabetes during ch Continue reading

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Black Tea Improves Glucose Levels, May Help Prevent Diabetes

Although green tea has been getting most of the attention lately for its myriad health benefits, accumulating research shows that black tea offers advantages, too. The latest revelation: black tea’s ability to blunt increases in blood sugar. 1
A new study has found that black tea significantly reduces rises in blood glucose levels among both healthy and pre-diabetic adults, in this case after consuming a sugary drink. 1
“We demonstrated that black tea reduced incremental blood glucose after sucrose consumption at 60, 90 and 120 minutes compared with placebo,” wrote the authors of the study, which appears in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1
“The data confirm that polyphenols lower glycemic response and may be responsible for the lower rates of diabetes observed with tea and coffee consumption,” said Peter Clifton, M.D., PhD., professor of nutrition at the University of South Australia in Adelaide, who recently conducted a review of the role of dietary polyphenols (in tea, cinnamon, coffee, chocolate, pomegranate, red wine and olive oil, among others) in regulating glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity, published in Nutrients. 2, 3
The Polyphenol Power of Tea
Indeed, the major bioactive compounds in black tea are polyphenols—naturally occurring antioxidants abundant in plant foods (and drinks) that are said to promote health and protect against a range of diseases. 4
Black, green and oolong teas are all made from the plant Camellia Sinensis. Green tea, which is minimally oxidized, contains simple flavonoids called catechins. During the proce Continue reading

Diet tips to improve insulin resistance

Insulin is a hormone that helps the body absorb glucose, keeping blood sugar levels in balance. Insulin resistance makes it harder for glucose to be absorbed.
This causes problems for muscles, fat, and the liver, as they need glucose (sugar). Over time, insulin resistance can cause high blood sugar levels and damage cells.
Insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes. People with insulin resistance are often diagnosed with prediabetes. They may need extra checks to make sure they don't develop diabetes.
Diet and other lifestyle choices can increase the risks related to insulin resistance. Making diet changes can reduce insulin insensitivity. This reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and the health problems that go with it.
Contents of this article:
Understanding insulin resistance
Glucose is a vital source of energy for the body. However, many of the body's cells can't absorb glucose on their own.
The pancreas secretes insulin into the bloodstream. It joins up with glucose, and travels to the body's cells, where it attaches to insulin receptors. Insulin allows the cells to absorb glucose, making sure that:
blood sugar levels remain at a safe level
muscle, fat, liver, and other cells are able to get energy
Insulin resistance makes cells less sensitive to insulin. This means the body has to produce more insulin to keep blood sugar levels healthy.
If the pancreas is unable to keep up with the increased demand for insulin, blood sugar levels go up. When this happens, cells can't use all of the excess glucose in the blood. This leads to type 2 diabetes.
Diet tips
Following a he Continue reading

The Effects of Green Tea on Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are major public health issues worldwide, contributing to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The proportions of people with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes have increased and recently reaching epidemic levels in Asia [1]. Although pharmacologic modality is the mainstay treatment of diabetes, remedies using plants (e.g., garlic, psyllium, and green tea) have stimulated a new interest in research [2]. Green tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the world's most popular beverages, especially in Asian countries including Korea, China, and Japan. Because of the high rate of green tea consumption in these populations, even small effects on an individual basis could have a large public health impact [3]. A population-based, prospective cohort study has shown that green tea consumption is associated with reduced mortality due to all causes and cardiovascular disease as well [4], and randomized controlled trials have indicated that green tea is effective in decreasing blood pressure, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, oxidative stress, and a marker of chronic inflammation [5].
Various studies have shown the beneficial effects of green tea, not only on cardiovascular diseases but also on obesity and type 2 diabetes itself [6,7]. In a retrospective cohort study performed in Japan, a 33% risk reduction of developing type 2 diabetes was found in subjects consuming six or more cups of green tea daily compared to those consuming less than 1 cup per week [6]. Wu et al. [7] reported that Taiwanese subjects who had habitually consumed tea for more than Continue reading

New study questions Type 2 diabetes treatment

Kelly Crowe is a medical sciences correspondent for CBC News, specializing in health and biomedical research. She joined CBC in 1991, and has spent 25 years reporting on a wide range of national news and current affairs, with a particular interest in science and medicine.
It's a curious case of missing evidence. When a diabetes specialist searched the medical literature looking for proof to support the use of glucose-lowering drugs for Type 2 diabetes, he couldn't find it.
That absence of evidence raises questions about one of the most firmly entrenched beliefs in modern medicine — that tightly controlling elevated blood sugar will reduce the risk of death, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and other dire outcomes associated with Type 2 diabetes.
"Does controlling your sugars reduce the risk of complications?" Dr. Victor Montori, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., asked in a paper released this month in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. "Most experts say yes. The evidence appears to say 'not so fast.'"
Conventional wisdom challenged
Right now, millions of people are taking glucose-lowering drugs, routinely pricking their finger to check their blood sugar level, and fretting over test results that aren't as low as their doctor wants them to be in hopes of avoiding the dire outcomes associated with the disease.
But with the drugs comes the risk of side-effects including weight gain and, if blood sugar falls too low, dizziness, coma or even death.
Add to that the distress of being branded with a "disease" based on a routine blood test, even t Continue reading