Cheers! For Those Managing Diabetes, Wine Can Help, Study Says

Cheers! For those managing diabetes, wine can help, study says

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
People with Type 2 diabetes get an earful of grim lectures about their health prospects and endure much hardship to manage their condition well. But new research offers those who do so a rare reward. A glass of wine every day not only won't hurt, says a new study: It can actually improve cardiac health, help manage cholesterol and foster better sleep.
The new research, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that compared with a nightly glass of mineral water, a single glass of wine--red or white--offered those with well-managed Type 2 diabetes some benefits.
After two years, those who drank a glass of white wine nightly improved their triglyceride levels compared with those who drank water or red wine.
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But red wine's benefits were far more numerous and more pronounced than those of white wine: Ruby-colored varietals significantly increased participants' HDL cholesterol--the "good" form of cholesterol that protects against heart disease--by nearly 10% and improved the overall cholesterol profiles of those who got it. Red wine drinkers also saw improvements in their apolipoprotein a1 levels--a measure of lipid metabolism.
Compared with study participants who drank mineral water nightly and those who had a glass of white wine, diabetics who drank a glass of red wine nightly also had fewer symptoms of metabolic syndrome (hypertension, excess abdominal fat, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol levels) at the end of two years.
In people without disease, many studies hav Continue reading

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How the Ketogenic Diet Works for Type 2 Diabetes

Special diets for type 2 diabetes often focus on weight loss, so it might seem crazy that a high-fat diet is an option. But the ketogenic (keto) diet, high in fat and low in carbs, can potentially change the way your body stores and uses energy, easing diabetes symptoms.
With the keto diet, your body converts fat, instead of sugar, into energy. The diet was created in 1924 as a treatment for epilepsy, but the effects of this eating pattern are also being studied for type 2 diabetes. The ketogenic diet may improve blood glucose (sugar) levels while also reducing the need for insulin. However, the diet does come with risks, so make sure to discuss it with your doctor before making drastic dietary changes.
Many people with type 2 diabetes are overweight, so a high-fat diet can seem unhelpful. The goal of the ketogenic diet is to have the body use fat for energy instead of carbohydrates or glucose. A person on the keto diet gets most of their energy from fat, with very little of the diet coming from carbohydrates.
The ketogenic diet doesn’t mean you should load up on saturated fats, though. Heart-healthy fats are the key to sustaining overall health. Some healthy foods that are commonly eaten in the ketogenic diet include:
eggs
fish such as salmon
cottage cheese
avocado
olives and olive oil
nuts and nut butters
seeds
The ketogenic diet has the potential to decrease blood glucose levels. Managing carbohydrate intake is often recommended for people with type 2 diabetes because carbohydrates turn to sugar and, in large quantities, can cause blood sugar spikes. If you already hav Continue reading

Abbott wins FDA approval for diabetes device that doesn't require routine finger pricks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System for adults, which already is sold in 41 other countries.
Abbott Laboratories has gained clearance to start selling in the U.S. the first continuous glucose monitor that does not require people with diabetes to routinely prick their fingers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System for adults, which already is sold in 41 other countries.
The device consists of a small sensor, about the size of a quarter, that’s worn on the back of the upper arm to continuously track glucose levels. The sensor, unlike other wearable sensors, does not require patients to prick their fingers for calibration. Patients can place a hand-held reader near the device to see their current glucose levels, trends, patterns and where those levels might be headed. They can then use those readings to figure out how much insulin to take to manage their diabetes.
The device has not yet been approved for use by children in the U.S. but Abbott hopes to gain approval from the FDA.
The company is not disclosing pricing information until it gets closer to launching the product in the U.S., which will likely be before the end of the year, said Abbott spokeswoman Vicky Assardo. But she said in an email the price will be “very similar” to the price in Europe, where the reader costs about $69, and each sensor, which lasts about 14 days, also costs about $69, before insurance. In the U.S., the sensor will last about 10 days.
“We Continue reading

Risk of diabetes type 1 'can be tripled by childhood stress'

Stressful life events in childhood such as family break-up, death or illness, can triple the risk of developing type 1 diabetes, research suggests. In a study, researchers found that children who experienced an event associated with “major stress” were almost three times more likely to develop the condition than those who had not.
The Swedish study analysed more than 10,000 families with children aged between two and 14, who did not already have the condition. The aim was to pinpoint any family conflicts, unemployment problems, alteration of family structure, or intervention from social services. Subsequently, 58 children were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
The causes of type 1 diabetes are unknown but it is usually preceded by the immune system attacking and killing beta cells in the pancreas, which produce insulin.
Based on the results, the researchers, from Linkoping University, said they thought the stressful events could contribute to beta cell stress due to increased insulin resistance as well as increased insulin demand due to the physiological stress response, such as elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
In the paper, published on Thursday in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes), the authors write: “Consistent with several previous retrospective studies, this first prospective study concludes that the experience of a serious life event (reasonably indicating psychological stress) during the first 14 years of life may be a risk factor for developing type 1 diabetes.
“The current study examined serious li Continue reading

Anxiety and Depression May Increase Mortality Risk in Type 2 Diabetes

Symptoms of anxiety found to be independent of symptoms of depression
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) which affects >9% of the population, and depression, which affects >5% of the population, are the leading global causes of morbidity and mortality. Patients with T2D experience depression five-times higher than the general population. Due to the symptomatic similarities between anxiety and depression, they are often documented together. Mortality studies have shown a consistent association between depression and excess mortality, but the evidence relating anxiety and mortality risk remains inconsistent. Recent studies reflect a higher relative risk of mortality associated with depression than anxiety in the general population.
Studies have demonstrated that the mortality risk associated with depression varies according to the severity of disorder and sex. On one hand, major depression increases mortality risk in both men and women, but minor depression increases risk only in men. On the other hand, a study showed excess mortality with anxiety associated in men than women. However, studies rarely consider the presence of anxiety or depression as comorbid, thus the ability to attribute risk to either disorder is obscured. Due to greater risk of noncompliance, depression is a concern in T2D patients who self-manage their treatment. The purpose of the study was to examine the mortality risk associated with T2D and comorbid symptoms of depression and anxiety between men and women in a large general population to determine whether they are differentially affected. The primary outcome of in Continue reading