Fitbits And Smart Watches Could Predict Signs Of Cancer, Heart Disease And Diabetes BEFORE They Appear

Fitbits and smart watches could predict signs of cancer, heart disease and diabetes BEFORE they appear

FITBIT-like wearables could one day diagnose killersincluding cancer and heart disease, experts hope.
By tracking a person's heart rate, skin temperature and other key markers the devices can predict infections and disease before they strike.
Fitness trackers and smart watches could one day monitor key health measures, helping detect diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes before a person falls sickCredit: Getty Images
And scientists believe they could detect inflammation and even insulin resistance - which canlead to type 2 diabetes .
Professor Michael Snyder, chair of genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine diagnosed himself with Lyme disease , while he was taking part in his own study.
On a flight to Norway with his family last year he noticed changes in his heart rate and blood oxygen levels.
As one of 60 people taking part in the study he was wearing seven biosensors.
Having worn the sensors on flights before, he expected his oxygen levels to drop and heart rate to rise while on the flight, and return to normal when he landed.
But, his numbers failed to return to normal.
Prof Snyder was unsurprised when he then went on to develop a fever and other signs of illness.
A new study has found by monitoring heart rate, skin temperature, activity and other key variables it is possible to spot the signs of infection and inflammation - indicative of diseases like cancerCredit: Getty Images
Two weeks earlier, he had been helping his brother build a fence in the countryside, so he feared he could have been bitten by a tick and developed Lyme diseas Continue reading

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The gut microbiome as a target for prevention and treatment of hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes: from current human evidence to future possibilities

, Volume 60, Issue6 , pp 943951 | Cite as
The gut microbiome as a target for prevention and treatment of hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes: from current human evidence to future possibilities
The totality of microbial genomes in the gut exceeds the size of the human genome, having around 500-fold more genes that importantly complement our coding potential. Microbial genes are essential for key metabolic processes, such as the breakdown of indigestible dietary fibres to short-chain fatty acids, biosynthesis of amino acids and vitamins, and production of neurotransmitters and hormones. During the last decade, evidence has accumulated to support a role for gut microbiota (analysed from faecal samples) in glycaemic control and type 2 diabetes. Mechanistic studies in mice support a causal role for gut microbiota in metabolic diseases, although human data favouring causality is insufficient. As it may be challenging to sort the human evidence from the large number of animal studies in the field, there is a need to provide a review of human studies. Thus, the aim of this review is to cover the current and future possibilities and challenges of using the gut microbiota, with its capacity to be modified, in the development of preventive and treatment strategies for hyperglycaemia and type 2 diabetes in humans. We discuss what is known about the composition and functionality of human gut microbiota in type 2 diabetes and summarise recent evidence of current treatment strategies that involve, or are based on, modification of gut microbiota (diet, probiotics, metformin and bariatri Continue reading

At Risk for Diabetes? | Wellmark Blue

Add up your score and check below to see what it means.
This means your risk is probably low for having prediabetes now. Keep your risk low. If youre overweight, increase your activity and eat low-fat meals with fruits, vegetables and whole-grain foods, and dont use tobacco. If you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure, talk to your health care provider about your risk for type 2 diabetes.
This means your risk is high for having prediabetes now. Please make an appointment with your health care provider soon.
As we age, its normal to expect wrinkles and thinning hair. There are other things, however, we shouldnt assume are normal parts of aging. For example, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar.
But with the right diet and level of physical activity, you can avoid many health problems associated with aging.
Theres a simple term for certain diseases before they become the full-blown version of a disease: pre-disease. Pre-disease means you dont currently have a disease, but youre headed toward one.
"The biggest difference between prediabetes and diabetes is that prediabetes is reversible. Diabetes is not."
Megan MuozRN, MSN, and Certified Diabetes Educator
Pre-disease is like coming to a fork in the road. Its time to make a choice. You can make changes to your lifestyle and stop or delay the onset of a chronic disease. Or, you can change nothing and be highly prone to develop a lifelong disease that will impact every part of your life, says Megan Muoz, RN, MSN, and certified diabetes educator at UnityPoint Health Clinic in Cedar Rapids, Continue reading

The Scoop on Raw Diets for Pets | ADW Diabetes

I often get questions about raw diets both in my general practice and from my ADW readers. I received another email today about raw diet for a diabetic pet and figured its time I write a newsletter on the subject.
Raw diets is just that: uncooked. There are numerous brands of commercial raw diets.
In general Im not a fan of raw diets. In my own veterinary practice, Ive seen pet owners feeding their pets raw and more often than not, they present with increased frequency of diarrhea. Two years ago I employed a veterinarian at my hospital who fed her own pets raw diet. I didnt wish to tell her how to practice at my hospital where Im the boss, but I look back and wish I had. Instead, I requested that if the topic came up to inform our clients that I was opposed to raw and to, at the very least, avoid raw poultry due to the higher risk of bacterial contamination with salmonella. Suddenly, it seemed I had a dozen or so of my own patients eating raw diet. Some pets will do fine (meaning they dont have diarrhea) and yet, I think it was more than a coincidence that several of these pets had increased incidence of diarrhea on raw. It was just as most veterinary nutritionists claim and why I avoid suggesting raw diets.
I do agree that many of the good nutrients and antioxidants in food are diminished by the high temperatures that are used to cook commercial diets. Im all for folks who wish to make homemade diets for their pets. Thats true love and dedication as a pet owner. I just want the meat to be cooked. And if a person opts to make home cooked meals, the pet should be on a m Continue reading

Cooking Methods for Healthy Eating

Managing diabetes doesnt mean you need to sacrifice enjoying foods you crave. Diabetes Self-Management offers over 900 diabetes friendly recipes to choose from including desserts, low-carb pasta dishes, savory main meals, grilled options and more.
When it comes to health, its not just what you eat, but the cooking methods that are used. Foods can have drastically different effects depending on how much heat is used in the cooking process.
Sweet potatoes are a classic example. Boiled sweet potatoes have a glycemic index (GI) of about 46. GI is a measure of the extent to which foods raise blood sugar levels.
The higher the GI, the faster and higher your blood sugar goes up after a meal, and the harder it will crash. Its very difficult to match a high-GI food with your medications or to walk off the spike in blood sugar, so you want lower-GI foods. At 46, boiled sweet potatoes are considered low GI.
But baked sweet potatoes have a GI of 94. Baking has effectively turned them into candy. When foods are subjected to the high heat of baking or frying, the starches break down into sugars, instead of remaining in a more complex form that takes longer to digest.
White potatoes are the same way. Boiled, their GI runs about 50. Baked, theyre around 85. You see similar variations with squash and other starchy vegetables.
GI isnt the whole story, of course. Maybe more important is the glycemic load (GL), which takes the total amount of glucose you will get from a food into account. Starchy vegetables are high in carbohydrate, no matter how you cook them. But by breaking them dow Continue reading