Preparing To Prescribe Plant-Based Diets For Diabetes Prevention And Treatment

Preparing to Prescribe Plant-Based Diets for Diabetes Prevention and Treatment

The number of people worldwide with type 2 diabetes is expected to double by 2030.1 In the United States, diabetes affects ~ 26 million people of all ages, about one-fourth of whom are not yet diagnosed.2 Despite the availability of a wide range of pharmacological treatments and the best efforts of diabetes educators and other health care professionals, good control of diabetes and its comorbidities remains elusive for much of the population, as evidenced by rates of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that are two to four times higher than those of people who do not have diabetes.2
Although dietary habits and body weight play undisputed roles in type 2 diabetes, the question of what eating pattern best addresses glycemia, cardiovascular risk factors, and weight control remains controversial. The uniform, calorie-controlled diabetic diet plans of the past have been replaced by individualized meal-planning approaches, and in more recent years, nutrition guidance has focused on carbohydrate counting and minimizing saturated and trans fats. With the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans3 came praise for plant-based eating patterns, which have been extensively studied for weight management and disease prevention and treatment.
Individuals following a plant-based eating pattern typically consume fewer calories and less fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol and have lower BMIs than nonvegetarians. They also consume more fiber, potassium, and vitamin C. In prospective studies of adults, compared to nonvegetarian eating patterns, veg Continue reading

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Can An Add-on Pill for Type 1 Diabetes Improve A1c and Weight Loss?

Trial results testing sotagliflozin and Farxiga in type 1 diabetes show greater A1c lowering and weight loss, plus continued conversation about small risk of DKA
Potential “add-on” (adjunctive) treatments for type 1 diabetes played a starring role at the 2017 EASD conference. Key trial results were announced for two non-insulin drugs that come in pill form, offering people with type 1 diabetes an exciting new option to manage blood sugars.
The DEPICT 1 examined the use of Farxiga, a once-daily pill (an SGLT-2 inhibitor) currently approved for treating type 2 diabetes but not type 1, while the inTandem3 study tested an SGLT-1/2 dual inhibitor, sotagliflozin, also a once-daily pill that has not yet been approved. While these studies are not meant to be compared to each other given the general lack of standardization in the world of trial design, they both add to the excitement about the possibility of adjunct therapies for people with type 1. Both studies reported A1c reductions and weight loss – great for the push to approve add-on therapies for type 1 – along with continued discussion about diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). With these phase 3 trial results, the companies may now choose to submit the drugs to the FDA and pursue an “indication” for use in type 1 diabetes.
The pills are taken once daily and work independent of insulin, meaning they won’t require complicated dosing. Glucose is only excreted through the urine when blood sugars are high, and then the drugs stop working when glucose levels come down.
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DEPICT 1
DEPICT 1 f Continue reading

Are You at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes?

Xiidra is a prescription eye drop used to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease.
The most common side effects of Xiidra include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when the drops are applied to the eyes, and an unusual taste sensation. To help avoid eye injury or contamination of the solution, do not touch the container tip to your eye or any surface. If you wear contact lenses, remove them before using Xiidra and wait for at least 15 minutes before placing them back in your eyes.
It is not known if Xiidra is safe and effective in children under 17 years of age.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit http://www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
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MTHFR, Diabetes, and Heart Disease

Dr. Doni, author of The Stress Remedy, explains the connections between MTHFR mutations, diabetes, and heart disease, and offers tips for optimizing your health.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death (above cancer), and diabetes is known to increase risk of heart disease. That amounts to over 600,000 deaths per year from heart disease1 and over $100 billion spent each year to address diabetes and heart disease, both of which are preventable conditions. That means that by understanding your genes and by making diet and lifestyle changes, you can prevent heart disease and diabetes.
It was previously thought that cholesterol in our diet was the main cause of heart disease and, in fact, that has been (and is still) the basis of most of the work of the medical establishment and of government guidelines on prevention of heart disease. However, research now shows something very different and is beginning to change the way we think of heart disease risk.
We now know that sugar rather than cholesterol and fat, is more of a concern when it comes to heart disease and diabetes risk.
This means that cereals (and other high carb, high sugar foods) are more likely to cause heart disease than eggs, nuts, and bacon. A study from 2014 clearly showed that most adults in the U.S. are consuming an increasing number of calories from sugar2. That same study also found that eating more sugar is associated with an increased risk of death from heart disease.
So the real culprit is sugar, not cholesterol. And that is why, when patients ask me how to decrease their risk of heart disease and diab Continue reading

Foods to Eat to Help Prevent Diabetes

Why is meat consumption a risk factor for diabetes? Why does there appear to be a stepwise reduction in diabetes rates as meat consumption drops? Instead of avoiding something in meat, it may be that people are getting something protective from plants. Free radicals may be an important trigger for insulin resistance, and antioxidants in plant foods may help. Put people on a plant-based diet, and their antioxidant enzymes shoot up. So, not only do plants provide antioxidants, but they may boost our own anti-endogenous antioxidant defenses, whereas, on the conventional diabetic diet, they get worse.
In my video, How May Plants Protect Against Diabetes, I discuss how there are phytonutrients in plant foods that may help lower chronic disease prevalence by acting as antioxidants and anti-cancer agents, and by lowering cholesterol and blood sugar. Some, we’re now theorizing, may even be lipotropes, which have the capacity to hasten the removal of fat from our liver and other organs, counteracting the inflammatory cascade believed to be directly initiated by saturated-fat-containing foods. Fat in the bloodstream—from the fat in our bodies or the fat we eat—not only causes insulin resistance, but also produces a low-grade inflammation that can contribute to heart disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Fiber may also decrease insulin resistance. One of the ways it may do so is by helping to rid the body of excess estrogen. There is strong evidence for a direct role of estrogens in the cause of diabetes, and it’s been demonstrated that certain gut bacteria can produc Continue reading