Fiber Fights Diabetes & Related Blood Sugar Issues

Fiber Fights Diabetes & Related Blood Sugar Issues
Last month we took a look at one of the more overlooked nutrientsfiber. We discussed the ways in which fiber can control weigh gain or loss depending on your needs. This month we're taking a deeper dive into the importance of fiber and its relationship with metabolic illness.
Fiber is a great help in the fight against diabetes, metabolic disease and other related issues such as insulin resistance and high blood sugar level
One simple way that fiber helps with diabetes and metabolic disease is its ability to reduce the blood sugar response and consequent insulin spike following a meal. Over the long term, this improved efficiency and blood sugar control can improve the health of your cells, your insulin sensitivity and is closely correlated to obesity and diabetes risk factors.
Additionally, high fiber foods or supplements, such as our Quest bars, also have a lower glycemic load and index, which means they generally create a lower blood sugar spike, especially if combined with other macronutrients such as protein (6).
Two large review studies also found that those with a higher fiber intake had reduced risk and development of diabetes. In one of these, 19% of participants witnessed a protective effect, while another review of over 400,000 estimated that there was a 29% reduction in the development of diabetes (7)
Although these larger reviews and observational studies have limitations, smaller controlled studies have also seen tremendous benefits.
One famous study testing this placed over 500 overweight men and wome Continue reading

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Coffee, Chocolate, and Type 2 Diabetes

Nature gifted humans with two especially flavorful beans: chocolate and coffee. Beyond pleasure, new studies are finding that both of these magic beans can help prevent diabetes.
Danish researchers recently found that cafestol a compound in coffee increased insulin secretion, reduced fasting glucose levels, and improved insulin sensitivity in mice. Previous studies have shown coffee helps with diabetes, but most researchers thought the benefit came from the caffeine.
This study points out that there are over 1,000 other chemicals in coffee, and cafestol may be one of the most valuable ones. It may explain why both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee often bring down blood sugar levels. (Not always though: In some coffee studies, glucose has been found to run higher, but this may well have been due to the cream and sweeteners people added to their coffee.)
The mice were fed cafestol for ten weeks. Control mice were not given cafestol. Groups fed cafestol experienced a 28% to 30% reduction in blood glucose levels, compared with the control group.
Mice fed cafestol had a 42% increase in insulin sensitivity, the opposite of insulin resistance. Their beta cells showed a 75% to 87% increase in insulin production.
Another study by the Danish researchers found that cafestol and caffeic acid, another chemical in coffee, increased insulin production in the presence of glucose. This is exactly what the class of drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists (incretins) do.
Cafestol was also found to increase glucose uptake into muscle cells at a similar rate to current diabetes dru Continue reading

Diabetes Medication Metformin: Why Patients Stop Taking It

Gretchen Becker, author of The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed , has been taking metformin for more than 20 years after receiving a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 1996.
I never had any problems with metformin until I took a pill that I thought was the extended-release version, but it wasnt, Becker told Healthline.
Beckers doctor had accidentally prescribed the regular form of metformin.
I had very loose bowels for several months until I figured out what the problem was, Becker said.
After getting the proper prescription, it took several months for Beckers digestive system to recover.
Corinna Cornejo, who received a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2009, told Healthline that her digestive woes didnt start until shed been taking metformin for more than a year.
At first, I thought it was a response to dairy, but my doctor eventually switched my prescription to the extended-release version, Cornejo recalled. That has helped, but the side effect has not gone away completely.
For some people, however, metformins unpleasant side effect of loose stools provides a much-needed balance to the side effects that can result from other diabetes drugs theyre taking.
GLP-1 drugs, like Victoza or Byetta, can cause constipation, explained Robinson. Taking metformin with a GLP-1 drug means they actually complement each other, balancing out those side effects.
And for some, metformin simply isnt the right drug.
No matter what you do, some patients just dont tolerate the side effects well, said Robinson.
Although there are many diabetes drugs Continue reading

Can a Cocoa Compound Delay Diabetes?

Scientists are motivated to find solutions for diabetes, given that more than 30 million Americans are living with the disease and another 84 million are considered prediabetic
Researchers studying the effects cocoa-based antioxidants have on the pancreas beta cells discovered that rats receiving a high-fat diet including the cocoa compound had lower obesity levels and an increased ability to manage higher blood sugar levels
I continue to recommend diet and lifestyle changes as the best methods to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes; a cyclical ketogenic diet has been shown to help diabetics reduce their dependency on medication
According to the American Diabetes Association, 1 more than 30 million Americans are living with diabetes, the majority of whom are Type 2 diabetics. Another 84 million Americans have prediabetes , meaning they could advance to the full-blown disease in less than five years. By 2035, diabetes is expected to afflict 592 million people globally. 2
As I have often said, a healthy lifestyle not only can prevent Type 2 diabetes, but is also capable of reversing it. With proper attention to diet and lifestyle, Type 2 diabetes is, in most cases, a curable condition. In the majority of situations, it does not require medication.
Based on its influence on blood glucose levels, research has suggested a compound found in cocoa may help delay the onset of diabetes. If you are diabetic or prediabetic, and also a chocolate lover, this might sound like just the news you need to justify your sweet tooth. After all, cocoa is found in chocolate. Before you Continue reading

Genetic factors may link early menopause with diabetes

Genetic factors may link early menopause with diabetes
New research finds a link between early menopause and risk of type 2 diabetes, suggesting that both might have genetic causes.
The early onset of menopause has been shown to correlate with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. Researchers have investigated the premise that whatever makes some women predisposed to early menopause may also make them more susceptible to diabetes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that more than 29 million adults in the United States have diabetes . According to their 2014 National Diabetes Statistics report, around 11 percent of these people are women.
Recently, a study conducted by Drs. Taulant Muka and Eralda Asllanaj, both from the Erasmus University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, investigated the links between the natural onset of menopause and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes .
The study is published in the journal Diabetologia.
The basis for this research hails to a previous study by Dr. Muka and colleagues, which found that women whose menopause naturally sets in early - that is, before the age of 45 - are likelier to be diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and are at a higher mortality risk.
Reports show that type 2 diabetes is an important risk factor for CVD, yet the links between early menopause and diabetes are still debatable. The new study aims to answer some of the questions surrounding this issue, taking a step forward in tackling diabetes risk in women.
The study analyzed data on 3,969 Continue reading