Why Having More Friends Reduces Your Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

Why having more friends reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes

Loneliness has reached epidemic proportions. This year, former U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy wrote that “loneliness and weak social connections are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity.” Social isolation takes a toll on the body, with scientists previously spotting links to the development of hypertension, an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a propensity in general toward premature death.
To add to this growing list, researchers at the Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands found that people with larger social groups receive fewer type 2 diabetes diagnoses compared to socially isolated people. This research, published Monday in the journal BMC Public Health, suggests that promoting social interaction could prevent or treat type 2 diabetes.
“Most diabetes prevention efforts focus on becoming more physically active or modifying one’s diet, which are hard to achieve,” Miranda Schram, an epidemiologist at Maastricht University and study co-author, told PBS NewsHour. “So we wanted to look for effective, alternative strategies that can be used for intervention.”
To look for a connection between social interaction and diabetes, the research team needed to study a large-scale population. Luckily, the ongoing Maastricht Study–a comprehensive search for genetic and environmental risk factors involved in type 2 diabetes –shared 2,861 of its participants. The group, aged 40 to 75, hailed from the southern Netherlands.
Forty-three Continue reading

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Licorice: The Candy That Fights Diabetes

The age-old snack is so good for us, some are calling it "the medicinal plant of 2012."
A new treatment for diabetes may have just been identified from the most unlikely source: the basic ingredient of a candy.
Licorice root, the raw material for licorice candy, has now been hailed as containing substances with an anti-diabetic effect. These molecules reduce blood sugar and possess anti-inflammatory properties.
And even more important: they are extremely well tolerated by the human body.
Because of its beneficial effects, the licorice root has been dubbed the 'Medicinal plant of 2012.'
The licorice root has been used as a traditional healer since ancient times. Certain forms of licorice root have already been shown to calm the digestive system and ameliorate respiratory ailments in humans. Because of its beneficial effects, the licorice root has been dubbed the "Medicinal plant of 2012."
Now scientists have discovered that licorice root from the papilionaceae or leguminous family might also be effective in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. This form of diabetes affects humans who are usually overweight or obese, causing the body becoming resistant to insulin. So far, treatments for type 2 diabetes have been developed but none of them halt disease progression. Many clinicians believe that the best treatment for type 2 diabetes is to prevent it before it starts.
The group that made the discovery is based at the Max Plank Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, Germany. A research team there identified a group of natural substances within licorice root called amorfrutins, Continue reading

Diabetes gene 'raises risk tenfold'

A genetic susceptibility that gives a tenfold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes has been discovered.
The gene mutation, found in the population of Greenland, will give clues to the different causes of the condition, say Danish scientists.
The research, published in Nature, adds to evidence genetics plays a role in the chances of developing diabetes.
Other factors included lifestyle, with obesity and a bad diet increasing risks, said a diabetes charity.
Several susceptibility genes have been linked with diabetes, meaning that if an individual is carrying one of these genes they face a greater risk of developing diabetes.
Studies like this one help us understand the genetic factors that put people at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and work out what is going on inside the body when it developsRichard Elliott, Diabetes UK
Danish researchers say the new mutation is present in almost one in five of Greenlanders.
But Prof Torben Hansen, of the University of Copenhagen, said it was not found in other European, Chinese or African-American populations, suggesting type 2 diabetes has multiple causes.
The gene variation raised the risk of type 2 diabetes by up to ten times, he told BBC News.
"We have identified a new and novel type 2 diabetes gene with a huge increased risk due to insulin resistance in muscle," he added.
"Type 2 diabetes is not just one disease, it's many diseases."
Balanced diet
In the long term, this kind of research could help provide new ways to prevent and treat the condition, said Richard Elliott, research communications manager at Diabetes UK.
" Continue reading

Apple's 12 picks for diabetes management apps, 2017 edition

More than two years ago, when Apple first added a list of diabetes management apps to its app store, we covered the list of 13 top picks. A lot can change in a few years, however. And while a few of those same apps still appear on Apple’s current list of 12 diabetes management apps, there’s plenty of new names — though not all new to MobiHealthNews readers — as well.
Read on for Apple’s current 12 picks for apps for managing diabetes.
One Drop for Diabetes Management: An FDA-cleared app, One Drop has both a free and a pro version, the latter coming with the company’s Chrome Meter lancing device and coaching services. On the companion app, users with type 1, type 2 or pre-diabetes can log a variety of information: glucose, diet, activity and insulin. Users can share that information anonymously with a community of users, and the platform also offers users actionable insights based on their data.
OneTouch Reveal: This companion app for the OneTouch Verio Flex meter, OneTouch Reveal comes from LifeScan, a Johnson and Johnson subsidiary. The meter sends readings wirelessly to the app, and users can use it to see current data and colorful charts depicting 14, 30, and 90-day summaries. Users can also share info with healthcare professionals via email or text.
Dexcom G5 Mobile: The first of two Dexcom apps on Apple’s list, Dexcom G5 Mobile allows users of Dexcom’s G5 continuous glucose monitor to see their readings, which are taken every five minutes, and share them. It also forwards trend alerts when a user’s glucose level goes too high or too low. It connects t Continue reading

If White Rice is Linked to Diabetes, What About China?

“The fact the cohorts used to determine this study’s conclusions (BMJ published meta analysis) failed to consider incredibly relevant diabetes confounders like family history of diabetes, socioeconomic status, and dietary consumption patterns, including the dietary consumption of other categories of refined grains, makes quantifying the effect on diabetes development due to white rice consumption from this data set impossible.
And yet it was published in the BMJ?”
At the end of the press release it says this: “In an accompanying editorial, Dr Bruce Neal from the University of Sydney suggests that more, bigger studies are needed to substantiate the research hypothesis that white rice increases the chances of getting type 2 diabetes.”
But then the title says: “White Rice Increases Risk of Type 2 Diabetes”
Im understandably upset at this. Continue reading