Mouthwash May Kill Beneficial Bacteria In Mouth And Trigger Diabetes, Harvard Study Suggests

Mouthwash may kill beneficial bacteria in mouth and trigger diabetes, Harvard study suggests

Mouthwash may seem a beneficial, or at least harmless, addition to a daily tooth brushing routine.
But a new study suggests that swilling with anti-bacterial fluid could be killing helpful microbes which live in the mouth and protect against obesity and diabetes.
While mouthwash is supposed to target the bacteria which cause plaque and bad breath, in fact, it is indiscriminate, washing away beneficial strains.
Researchers at Harvard University found that people who used mouthwash twice a day were around 55 per cent more likely to develop diabetes or dangerous blood sugar spikes, within three years.
Although previous studies have found that poor oral hygiene can lead to health problems elsewhere in the body, it is the first research to show that seemingly positive practices can have unexpectedly negative consequences.
Kaumudi Joshipura, professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, said: “Most of these antibacterial ingredients in mouthwash are not selective.
“In other words, they do not target specific oral bacteria-instead, these ingredients can act on a broad range of bacteria.”
The study looked at 1,206 overweight people aged between 40 and 65 who were deemed at risk of getting diabetes.
Over the study period around 17 per cent of people developed diabetes or pre-diabetes, but that rose to 20 per cent for those using mouthwash once a day, and 30 per cent for those who used it in the morning and evening.
Prof Joshipura said helpful bacteria in the mouth can protect against diabetes and obesity, including microbes which help the body produce nitric ox Continue reading

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One Man’s Stand Against Junk Food as Diabetes Climbs Across India

NEW DELHI — Rahul Verma’s son was born gravely ill with digestive problems, but over years of visits to the boy’s endocrinologist, Mr. Verma saw the doctor grow increasingly alarmed about a different problem, one threatening healthy children. Junk food, the doctor warned, was especially dangerous to Indians, who are far more prone to diabetes than people from other parts of the world.
One day in the doctor’s waiting room, Mr. Verma noticed a girl who had gotten fat by compulsively eating potato chips. He decided he had to do something.
“On one side you have children like my son, who are born with problems,” said Mr. Verma, “and on the other side you have children who are healthy and everything is fine and you are damaging them giving them unhealthy food.”
Mr. Verma, who had no legal training, sat late into the nights with his wife, Tullika, drafting a petition in their tiny apartment, which was bedecked with fairy lights and pictures of the god Ganesh, who is believed to overcome all obstacles. He filed the public interest lawsuit in the Delhi High Court in 2010, seeking a ban on the sale of junk food and soft drinks in and around schools across India.
The case has propelled sweeping, court-ordered regulations of the food industry to the doorstep of the Indian government, where they have languished. They have outsize importance in India, population 1.3 billion, because its people are far more likely to develop diabetes — which can lead to heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and amputations — as they gain weight than people from other regions, accord Continue reading

Think Twice Before Making That Diabetes Joke

I decided to do a little experiment. I went to the mall and asked strangers a question,
“When I say the word ‘diabetes,’ what is the first thing that pops into your
mind?”
I got varied responses, but about half of the answers fell into the stigma. What is the stigma, you ask? The stigma is that people with diabetes are overweight, that people with diabetes ate too much sugar, that people with diabetes need to diet.
If we look at the things written down in the picture above, you’ll see about half of them appear to have a decent understanding. Yes, diabetes is an illness and a disease. Yes, for many it does involve needles. Some people thought of a family member who was affected. A couple of people even knew there was more than one type of diabetes.
So where does the problem come in? About half the responses included the word “sugar.” Most disturbingly, upon further discussion I learned this was literally all the knowledge some people had about diabetes.
I’m sure you’ve seen it before on social media. You see a picture of an indulgent dessert, and you click on the comments. “DIABETES,” someone said. You’re reading someone’s Facebook status and it reads, “If John had 20 candy bars, then Joe gave him 2, what does he have now? Diabetes. John has diabetes.” Again, you click on the comments to see that they’re full of “LOLs,” “HAHAHAs,” and praise for the hilarious joke. The thing is… it’s not hilarious. It’s horribly offensive.Diabetes is not a candy bar. Diabetes is a devastating disease that can happen
to anyone. It doesn’t matter Continue reading

Immunotherapy treatment shown safe in type 1 diabetes clinical trial

A small clinical trial showed an immune system therapy was safe for people with type 1 diabetes, British researchers report.
The immunotherapy also showed signs of helping to keep insulin production steady in people newly diagnosed with the disease, the study authors said. However, because this was a placebo-controlled safety trial, there weren't enough people included to know for sure how well the treatment works.
The therapy is similar to an allergy shot in the way it works, the researchers explained.
"Type 1 diabetes comes about when the immune system inadvertently and irreparably damages beta cells that make insulin," said one of the study's authors, Dr. Mark Peakman. He's a professor of clinical immunology at King's College London in England.
Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps usher the sugar from foods into the body's cells to be used as energy. If the immune system continues to attack the beta cells, which are found in the pancreas, a person with type 1 diabetes will no longer make enough insulin to meet the body's needs. It's at this point that they must take insulin injections or use an insulin pump to replace the lost insulin.
Peakman and his colleagues are trying to stop the attacks on the beta cells.
"We have learned that immune attacks like this can be suppressed by immune cells called T-regs (regulatory T cells)," Peakman said.
When people develop type 1 diabetes, it's likely that they don't have enough of the right type of T-regs or those T-regs aren't working very well. So, the investigators developed a type of treatment called peptide immun Continue reading

50 Worst Foods for Diabetes

Controlling your diabetes requires a careful balance of lifestyle habits, including eating right, exercising, and taking your proper medication. But it can be tricky to navigate proper nutrition, especially with foods that sound healthy but can actually wreak havoc on your blood sugar and overall health.
In fact, diabetics are two to four times more likely than people without diabetes to die of heart disease or experience a life-threatening stroke, according to the American Heart Association. It’s even more dangerous for those who don’t control their diabetes; it can lead to heart disease, nerve damage, and kidney disease.
To stay on track, be sure to avoid these 50 foods that will spike your blood sugar and lead to chronic inflammation. Luckily, life with diabetes doesn’t have to be flavor free. “After working with thousands of diabetic individuals over the years, I noticed that many asked me the same question at their first appointment. ‘Can I still eat my favorite foods?’” says Lori Zanini, RD, CDE, author of Eat What You Love Diabetes Cookbook. “And the answer from me was always ‘Yes!’ It’s the portion sizes and frequency that makes the most difference, in addition to how the food is prepared.”
As always, be sure to consult with your doctor, registered dietitian, or certified diabetes educator before making any drastic changes to your diet. Some of these recommendations may change if you are suffering from low blood sugar. If you’re looking for what you can enjoy, be sure to stock up on the 50 Best Foods for Diabetes.
Sure, it seems healthy, bu Continue reading