Drugs Approved For Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

Drugs Approved for Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

The treatment of type 2 diabetes has been transformed in the past decade with the introduction of new medications, drug classes, and treatment approaches. These advances offer diabetics a wider range of combination therapies able to provide tighter glycemic control over the long term.
The approved medications are broken down by drug class, each of which offers different mechanisms of action.
DPP-4 Inhibitors
Dipeptidyl peptidase-4
(DPP-4) inhibitors work by blocking the DPP-4 enzyme which destroys the hormone incretin.
Incretins help the body produce more insulin when needed and reduce the amount of glucose being produced by the liver when it is not needed. There are currently five DPP-4 inhibitors approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
Galvus (vildagliptin)
Onglyza (saxagliptin)
Tradjenta (linagliptin)
Nesina (alogliptin)
Incretin Mimetics
As per their name, incretin mimetics
work by mimicking the action of incretins to stimulate the production of insulin. They also slow the rate of digestion so that glucose enters the blood more slowly.
There are five incretin mimetics currently approved by the FDA which are delivered by injection and used in people who have not been able to control their blood sugar with oral medications:
Byetta (exenatide)
Victoza (liraglutide)
Trulicity (dulaglutide)
Tanzeum (albiglutide)
Lyxumia (lixisenatide)
Also known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, the drugs are used in combination with oral medications and come in prefilled injector pens.
They are not insulin or to be used in place of insulin.
Selective Sodium-Glucose Transporter-2 Continue reading

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Gestational Diabetes Foods to Avoid

Gestational diabetes occurs in 14 percent to 25 percent of all pregnancies. Obesity, maternal age, ethnicity and a diabetic family history are all factors that contribute to risk of gestational diabetes. An oral glucose test is performed between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy to test for this condition. If gestational diabetes is diagnosed, blood sugar control is necessary to prevent health risks for you and your baby. Monitoring certain foods in your diet and controlling your blood glucose will support a healthy pregnancy.
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For people with gestational diabetes, 40 percent to 45 percent of total calories should come from carbohydrate sources. If your daily calorie goal is 2,000 calories, approximately 800 to 900 of your total calories should come from this food group. Avoid eating refined flour sources like white bread or noodles. Instead, replace these foods with whole-grain choices. Also, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. Limit intake of fruit and vegetable juices as many have a lot of added sugars. If you read the label of these juices, you will see that many of them have a lot of carbohydrates in a very small serving size. Milk and dairy products are also good carbohydrates to include in your diet when you have gestational diabetes. Pick healthier low-fat varieties of these foods in place of foods with a lot of added sugar, such as chocolate- or strawberry-flavored milk and yogurt with high-fructose corn syrup.
Protein foods are also needed in a gestational diabetes diet and should make up approximately 20 percent of your total calories. Lean meat, p Continue reading

Grocery lists for type 2 diabetes: What to buy and what to avoid

Diabetes is best managed by being mindful of carbohydrate intake, eating smaller meals regularly, and choosing nutrient dense, healthful options.
Knowing what food to eat can make a huge difference to controlling, and, potentially, reversing type 2 diabetes. Making informed food choices can be helped by writing out a grocery list of foods that improve overall health, and benefit someone who has type 2 diabetes.
Contents of this article:
Lists of good foods
A person who has type 2 diabetes can make it easier to avoid buying unhealthful foods by going to the grocery store armed with a list.
Choosing healthful, satisfying foods that meet individual nutrition requirements can help people with type 2 diabetes manage their condition.
By making smart food choices and buying the right foods, a person can ensure they have enough diabetic-friendly ingredients on hand to take them from breakfast through to the last meal, or snack, of the day.
Vegetables
Vegetables are the base of a healthy diet. Not only do they offer excellent sources of vitamins and minerals, but they are fibrous, too, and help the body feel full and satisfied. This in turn can deter overeating, which may cause blood sugar issues.
Some vegetables to add to the shopping list include:
salad greens
broccoli
cauliflower
squash
green beans
asparagus
Brussel sprouts
red, green, orange, or yellow peppers
Beans and legumes
Beans are an excellent source of dietary fiber and protein. They can often be used in place of a portion of the protein that is needed in a diet. Here are some examples of what beans to pick up in either Continue reading

Top 10 Home Remedies to Treat Diabetes

Deficiency in the blood glucose level leads to the diabetes which is commonly occurred due to lack or absence of hormone called insulin in the body which is produced by pancreas. Diabetes is of two types, one which occurs commonly in people who are above 30 years, after getting older the hormone insulin is produced insufficiently by which glucose level cannot be balanced, proper diet and taking medicines keeps it stable. The other type is generally seen in people below 30 years, for whom insulin is not at all produced, they depend on insulin injection to maintain the glucose levels.
Some of the symptoms for diabetes are: enhanced thirst and hunger, sudden weight loss, fatigue, excessive urination and cuts or bruises take long time to heal.
Diabetes is very dangerous health disorder and may lead to cardiovascular diseases, retinopathy, amputation of effected leg or any part of the body, kidney disease or may even lead to blindness. You can cure diabetes using natural herbs, nutrients and vitamins instead of synthetic drugs.
There are natural remedies to stay away from diabetes, and maintain blood glucose levels. Here are top 10 home remedies for Diabetes:
Jambul:
Leaves, berries and seeds of jambul plant helps in balancing the glucose levels in blood, for them who are suffering from diabetes. This is available in market only in a certain season, which can be included with the routine diet. Making this habit helps in effective functioning of pancreas. Powder from seeds of jambul plant taken with water for every two days also helps.
Bitter Gourd:
First thing that is to be done Continue reading

GAD Antibodies and Diabetes: What's the Connection?

Some people develop diabetes as adults in the same way as type 2 diabetes. However, their condition is in fact a late-onset form of type 1 diabetes.
People with this form of diabetes have GAD antibodies. Testing for these can help diagnose the type of diabetes an adult has.
Contents of this article:
What are GAD antibodies?
GADA is short for GAD autoantibodies. Antibodies in this case means autoantibodies.
GAD antibodies result in the immune system stopping insulin being produced, leading to diabetes.
Normal role of GAD
GAD is short for glutamic acid decarboxylase. This is an enzyme that is needed to make a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are involved in nerve messaging.
The neurotransmitter is gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an amino acid that has the effect of reducing nerve transmission.
GAD inhibits nerve messages. It relaxes muscles, for example. Lack of GAD is involved in a disease known as stiff-person syndrome.
GAD is found in the brain and the pancreas, the organ in the belly that produces insulin.
When GAD produces antibodies
Unfortunately, GAD can also act as an autoantigen. This means that it triggers the immune system to produce antibodies against its own cells.
In this case, these GAD autoantibodies mark out cells in the pancreas for attack.
These pancreas cells produce insulin. Diabetes is the result of the immune system attacking these cells as if they were foreign material that must be destroyed.
Autoimmunity is the cause of type 1 diabetes, and other diabetes-related autoantibodies are also involved aside from GAD autoantibodies.
Finding GAD antibodies Continue reading