How Does Exercise Lower The Blood Glucose?

How Does Exercise Lower the Blood Glucose?

I recently was asked a fantastic question about how exercise lowers blood glucose levels. Exercise lowering the blood glucose is independent of insulin levels. I hadn’t really thought to explain it previously to our ADW clients. So I did a bit of reading to make sure that I really understood it myself! One of my better qualities as a veterinarian, I believe, is that I can explain complicated stuff in an understandable fashion. So, here goes:
When we eat, our bodies have the ability to store a certain amount of energy in either the liver or muscle cells. What isn’t used immediately can be stored in these tissues as glycogen, up to a certain limit anyway. Any excess beyond what is used immediately or beyond the capacity to store it as glycogen is then stored as fat.
Here’s the nifty part! The liver can turn the glycogen back into glucose if needed for use anywhere in the body. Our bodies are so clever! This is how the Somogyi swing can happen, aka rebound effect. For example, if the pet receives too much insulin which would drive the blood glucose too low, the liver can react and turn glycogen into glucose and save the day! Or, in the old fight or flight adrenaline situation, it can again turn glycogen into glucose for a pet to make a quick getaway. This is how the white coat syndrome happens and why I’m always encouraging owners of diabetic pets to do blood glucose curves at home instead of in the vet clinic setting. If a pet is stressed, this hepatogluconeogenesis, the liver making sugar from stored glycogen, can make the blood glucose level higher in the vet clinic Continue reading

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Disability discrimination: is type 2 diabetes a disability?

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has recently considered whether type 2 diabetes was a 'progressive condition' and therefore covered by disability discrimination law.
The legal framework
Under the Equality Act 2010 (the 'Act'), a person can only claim disability discrimination if they can show that they are 'disabled'. Under the Act there is a legal definition of disability which provides that a person has a disability if they have,
'a mental or physical impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities.'
Individuals suffering from conditions that are deemed to be progressive in nature (that is likely to get worse overtime) may still satisfy the definition of disability if they can show that their condition causes an impairment that has some impact on their ability to carry out day to day activities and that it is likely that the condition will result in future substantial adverse effects.
In 2009 the Supreme Court held that 'likely' in this context meant 'could well happen'.
In an earlier case, Metroline Travel Limited v Stoute, the EAT held that an individual suffering from type 2 diabetes capable of being controlled through an abstinence of sugary drinks was not disabled.
The facts
In Taylor v Ladbrokes Betting and Gaming Ltd, the claimant had been dismissed in November 2013 by reason of incapacity or misconduct. Following his dismissal the claimant alleged that he had been suffering from a disability (type 2 diabetes) for a period of nearly 12 months prior to the dismissal. He claimed unfair di Continue reading

Why Alzheimer's Disease Is Called Type 3 Diabetes

Alzheimer's disease is a type of progressive dementia that affects more than 5 million Americans, and those rates are projected to increase dramatically over the next several years. One link to Alzheimer's disease that researchers are exploring is diabetes. There have been several studies that have connected the two diseases together. In fact, some researchers have begun to call Alzheimer's disease "type 3 diabetes."
Although a small amount of research found an increased risk of dementia with type 1 diabetes, the vast majority of studies have concluded that this link between diabetes and Alzheimer's is specific to type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes develops when insulin becomes less efficient at processing sugar through the bloodstream. Studies show that approximately half of people with type 2 diabetes will go on to develop Alzheimer's disease. With such a strong connection, the focus of some research studies is to explain the connection between the two disease.
Type 3 Diabetes
In type 1 or 2 diabetes, not enough insulin (or none at all) is produced to process glucose (sugar) correctly or the body no longer responds to insulin, and it affects the functioning on the whole body. In Alzheimer's disease, it appears that a similar problem is occurring, but instead of causing problems in the entire body's functioning, the effects occur in the brain.
Researchers found interesting evidence of this when they studied people's brains after their death. They noted that the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease who did not have type 1 or type 2 diabetes showed many of the same abnorma Continue reading

Stem Cell Treatment For Diabetes

Diabetes is an Autoimmune medical condition subtly affecting our health. Since symptoms of frequent urination and greater thirst do not seem to be dangerous; diabetes is highly ignored in the initial stage. And the gravity of the situation is realized only in advanced stages.
Diabetes is mainly classified into type I and type 2. Type 1 develops when the body's immune system sees its own cells as foreign and destroys them. As a result, insulin producing islets cells of the pancreas are lost and thus insulin production is stopped. In the absence of insulin, glucose intake by cells is impaired and it gets accumulated in the blood stream. In type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance is developed due to which cells are unable to utilize insulin for glucose metabolism. Diabetes when uncontrolled can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart diseases and stroke. Therefore it is very necessary to keep excessive high level of glucose in the blood stream under check.
Conventionally, there is no permanent diabetes cure except for medications and insulin injections. However,Stem cells technology has practically fulfilled the promise of dead cell replacements with the new one. With this unique transdifferentiation ability of stem cells, it is possible to develop insulin producing beta cells that are lost from the body.
Symptoms
Major Manifestations of Diabetes in patients include the following:
Always tired, thirsty, hungry
Vaginal infections
Sexual problems
Numb or tingling hands or feet
Sudden weight loss
Frequent urination
Wounds that won't heal
Blurry vision
So,it is important to take char Continue reading

World Diabetes 2015: The Eye-opening Reality of Diabetes in India

Is India prepared to deal with huge numbers of diabetes patients?
First, the economics. The current expenditure on diabetes treatment in India is approximately 95 USD (Rs. 6,000) person/annum as per IDF atlas, 2014, whereas the cost of treatment of one complication of diabetes, e.g. treating the diabetic foot is around Rs. 10-30,000 per treatment. With the huge numbers of diabetes patients and complications we are dealing with, overall health expenditure per person is much lesser as compared to the developed countries.
Besides expenditure, there is a huge requirement for trained workforce at all levels; paramedical workers, doctors, podiatrists and more. While the National Diabetes Control Program is well on its way, lack of specialized human resources is making it lag behind.
Why is diabetes a morbid disease?
Lack of awareness about diabetes and its complications, delayed diagnosis, myths surrounding diabetes management and dependence on quacks for treatment makes diabetes detection and management difficult. Uncontrolled levels of blood sugar can lead to tissue damage throughout the body, from eyes to toes.
What makes it particularly dangerous is the surreptitious nature of complications; they tend to remain hidden for long time. During this time, since the patient does not feel it or suffer from it, grip on diabetes control becomes poor because of wayward diet and exercise. By the time clear symptoms emerge, it is too late for treatment to reverse them.
Is diabetes now attacking people from low socio-economic stratum?
The incidence of diabetes is increasing in urban as we Continue reading