Mediterranean Diet May Help Reduce Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

Mediterranean diet may help reduce risk of Type 2 Diabetes

An estimated 86 million Americans are at risk for Type 2 Diabetes, but nearly 90 percent of them don’t know it.
Doctors say adhering to a Mediterranean diet may help to reverse your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
The Mediterranean diet, which is especially popular from Spain and Italy to Greece and the Middle East, largely focuses on seasonal fruits and vegetables.
“It’s dark leafy greens, freshly foraged greens in all different varieties… like kale and collards and spinach and chard,” said Dahlia Shaaban, founder of Washington, D.C.-based Live Deliciously.
The majority of foods in a Mediterranean diet do come from plants, but Shaaban says to go for fish or lean proteins twice per week. Salmon and tuna, for example, contain Omega 3 Fatty Acids which promote heart and brain health.
“So you can think of crowding out your plate with more plant-based foods, then enjoying meat here and there,” explained Shaaban.
Beans, nuts and whole grains are everyday staples in a Mediterranean meal plan.
“The grain is something you can hold onto,” said Shaaban. “Brown rice, farro, wide rice, quinoa, bulgur or cracked wheat. The most common beans you find in the Mediterranean are: lentils, chickpeas, fava beans, black eyed peas.”
The American Diabetes Association suggests using olive oil to cook instead of butter or margarine. That can help to lower cholesterol levels. And when it comes to seasoning, herbs, spices and citrus juice are better options than salt.
Finally, limit alcohol and sugar—and you’ve got the perfect blend of health-conscious choices for people Continue reading

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Can Chemicals Cause Diabetes?

In general, the risk factors for type 2 diabetes are pretty clear: A lack of exercise, a poor diet, genes, and ethnicity are the most serious determinants of the disease. But now that more than 29 million Americans have diabetes and 86 million more are prediabetic, researchers are also focusing on other factors that might increase a person’s risk of developing diabetes.
Some of the other culprits thought to be contributing to the diabetes epidemic are chemicals found in the environment and in products we use daily. Certain chemicals may directly increase the risk of the disease, while others may contribute to obesity, a serious risk factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. At this point, research on whether exposure to chemicals can lead to any or all types of diabetes is still in the very preliminary stages, and there's a lack of randomized controlled studies — the gold standard for medical research — indicating that the two are directly linked. Here’s what we know now.
The Relationship Between Chemicals and Diabetes
“There is an association between some chemicals in the environment and diabetes,” says Kristina Thayer, PhD, director of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) division of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. “What we don’t know is whether it’s causal.” That means that while a number of studies might link a higher level of certain chemicals to a greater likelihood of developing diabetes, it’s not yet clear whether that chemical exposure preceded the diabetes. More research is nee Continue reading

Stepping toward regenerative medicine for diabetes

“Son, you need to live fast and loose because you’re not going to live very long,” the doctor told ten-year-old Chris Stiehl. It was 1961 and Stiehl had just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. “Back then,” he says, “prognoses were not very good, and treatments weren’t real good either.”
Stiehl and other people with this type of diabetes, many of whom are diagnosed as children, have difficulty maintaining normal blood sugar levels. To survive, they depend on injections of insulin, a hormone that clears sugar from the blood so that it can be used as energy.
Without tight control of blood sugar levels, patients with diabetes risk heart and artery damage that shortens lives by about 10 years on average. Stiehl—a husband, father and retired engineer—is one of just 3,000 people in the United States who has survived for more than 50 years with the disease. Even with modern interventions, including continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps and both long- and fast-acting forms of insulin, blood sugar highs and lows still plague patients.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks and kills cells in the pancreas called beta cells. These are the cells that secrete insulin and allow the body to regulate blood sugar levels. With too few beta cells, patients with type 1 diabetes must take over that function themselves.
Now, however, a group of Novartis researchers has found a way to get human beta cells to regenerate, a feat many had dismissed as impossible. The work, published online in Nature Communications on Oct. 26, is still in i Continue reading

The Diabetes Payroll

The Diabetes Payroll
Insulin, first discovered in 1921, revolutionized the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Dr. Banting licensed insulin to pharmaceutical companies without a patent because he believed that this life saving drug for type 1 diabetes should be made available to everybody who needed it. So, why is insulin so hard to afford today?
Only three pharmaceutical companies manufacture insulin in the United States — Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk. In 2012, it is estimated that insulin alone cost the US health care system $6 billion. How can they make so much money from a century old product? In 2013, according to firecepharma.com, the best selling drug for diabetes (and #5 overall) was…. Lantus, a long acting form of insulin. So, after all the research of the past 95 years, the biggest money-makin’, mama-shakin’ drug was insulin? Yes, sir. Worldwide, this drug alone made $7.592 billion. That’s billion with a B. Oh, but the news gets better for Big Insulin. Out of the top ten, various insulins also ranked #3, 4, 6,7,9, and 10. Holy patent extensions Batman! A full seven of the top ten drugs for diabetes are insulin — a drug close to a century old. It’s like your 95 year old grandfather beating LeBron James at basketball.
Tweaking the insulin molecule allows additional patents and cheaper generic medications can be kept at bay. That this clearly violates Dr. Banting’s original intention doesn’t matter. There is no clear evidence that these newer insulins are any more effective than the old standards. While there are some theoretical benefits, the outco Continue reading

Diabetes and Your Feet – Foot Health Tips

Making the Connection & Tips on Preventing Complications
Diabetes affects the lives of more than 9 million Canadians. Many people have diabetes and don’t even know it! Diabetes is the inability for the body to make or properly use insulin, and it impairs the body’s ability to convert sugars, starches and other foods into energy. The long-term effects of an elevated blood sugar can lead to serious damage of the eyes, heart, kidney, nerves, and feet. Diabetes Canada recommends, at minimum, annual foot screenings for all diabetics and endorses the “CAWC Diabetic Foot Risk Assessment” exam that is always complimentary at all BioPed Footcare Clinics across Canada.
Diabetics who see a Canadian Certified Pedorthist or Registered Chiropodist for their footwear and custom orthotics are less likely to have serious foot complications, which can lead to ulcer, amputation or even death. Keeping your feet in good health, starts with keeping your blood sugar in a healthy and consistent range, as recommended by your family physician.
How does Diabetes affect my feet?
In Diabetic Patients, the storage of blood sugar is affected. This means that the sugar remains in the bloodstream and if consistently high for a period of months or years, it can begin to attack small blood vessels and nerves. The smallest of them are found in our feet and therefore, tend to be affected first. A Diabetic’s feet may be painful, cold or change colour and this can be a sign of blood vessel disease. They may begin to detect a burning, tingling (pins & needles) or numbness in the feet that lasts all day Continue reading