Type II Diabetes Reversal
TYPE 2 DIABETES REVERSED WITH EXTREME DIET
A small but landmark study has found that type 2 diabetes patients who followed for two months, an extreme but tightly supervised diet that restricted calories to just 600 a day experienced a return to normal pre-breakfast blood sugar levels after one week and that 70 percent of those patients remained completely free of diabetes a month after returning to their regular, but newly portion-controlled, diet.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are too high due to insufficient insulin or the inability to use insulin effectively. The researchers believe excess calories eventually cause fat buildup in the liver and pancreas, triggering type 2 diabetes. MRI scans of study subjects showed the pancreas returns quickly to normal fat levels and regains its ability to produce insulin.
This suggests type 2 diabetes may be reversed by calorie restriction alone.
A 600-calorie diet is a drastic, starvation diet that should only be followed temporarily and only under close practitioner supervision.
Presented June 24, 2011 at the American Diabetes Association conference, this study will appear in a future issue of the journal Diabetologia, but is now accessible online at http://bit.ly/mDicGp without cost.
Vitamin D & Type II Diabetes
ADEQUATE VITAMIN D LEVELS PROTECT AGAINST TYPE 2 DIABETES
A study has concluded that avoidance of vitamin D deficiency may protect against type 2 diabetes, at least for elderly people, but that further research will be required to assess whether supplementation might help prevent this disorder.
Vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for developing diabetes type 2, suggesting that elderly people in northern latitudes may be at risk.
Researchers followed 668 people who were 70 to 74 years of age to determine their blood levels of vitamin D and glycated hemoglobin and whether they had or developed diabetes 2. They allowed for potentially confounding factors, including gender, body mass index (BMI), blood levels of triglycerides and cholesterol, PCB levels, smoking status, and month of sampling.
The team still found that those with lower blood levels of vitamin D (below 50 nmol/L) had double the risk of being diagnosed with diabetes 2; they also had increased glycated hemoglobin concentrations, which indicate poorer control of blood glucose levels and greater cardiovascular risk. Released April 22, 2011, this study will appear in a future print issue of Diabetes Care and is available online now at http://bit.ly/fY36Ld.
ATTN: Low Carb Dieters
ANIMAL FAT & PROTEIN LINKED TO DIABETES
People who adhere long-term to a diet low in carbohydrates and high in protein and fat can get the fat-and-protein portion of their diet from animal sources or vegetable sources. Researchers have found that those low-carbohydrate dieters who get their fat and protein primarily from animal sources have a 37 percent greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Generally, there was no greater risk of diabetes 2 among those low-carb dieters with a high intake of vegetable sourced protein and fat; in fact, there was a 22 percent lower diabetes risk among those in this group who were over age 65. The finding in this 20-year study of 40,475 diabetes-free individuals held true even after allowing for various other factors such as age, smoking, physical activity, coffee intake, alcohol intake, family history of T2D, total energy intake, and body mass index.
The researchers suggested that low-carb dieters get their protein and fat from foods other than red and processed meat. Released February 10, 2011 by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, this study will not appear in print until a future issue. It is available online now at http://bit.ly/efzaQn.
Adversity in Childhood Can Weaken Immune Response & Longevity
A study found that the pain people suffer in childhood, such as abuse or other adversities, can lead to weakened immune systems much later in life and for some more serious cases, can shorten lifespan by seven to fifteen years.
The research on 132 healthy adults, averaging 70 years of age, looked at childhood adversities such as the loss of a parent, serious marital problems between parents, or mental illness or alcoholism within the family. It also assessed the length of telomeres – shortened telomeres are often seen as an indicator of biological aging – and the level of inflammatory indicators, with higher levels linked to various health problems such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.
Abuse had a greater effect than adversities but generally, those who had suffered significantly during childhood had shorter telomeres and higher inflammatory levels.
Those who experienced several kinds of hardship as kids had the shortest telomeres, suggesting a shortened life expectancy.
The study was presented Saturday evening, August 14, 2010, at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in San Diego. It has not yet been published and is not available online.
Link Between Car Exhaust & Diabetes?
Long-term exposure to the inflammatory pollutants from automobile traffic may be a risk factor for development of Type II diabetes later in life. A handful of past studies have suggested some potential link between inflammation from vehicle pollution and diabetes and cardiovascular risk. But German research on middle-aged women, released in 2010 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, was the first to follow subjects over many years and – although not substantially proving a cause-and-effect relationship – adds weight to the overall evidence.
The study suggested that the risk of diabetes might increase by 15-42% for every 25% increase in traffic exposure. The greatest risk stemmed from nitrogen dioxide, a major byproduct of car exhaust. The mechanism for pollution’s effect on disease risk may involve one of two effects: the pollutant could contribute to disease by stimulating an inflammatory response in the body; or those who already have high levels of inflammation may be unable to handle the effects of pollution. The linkage between pollution, inflammation and diabetes is unclear. Further study is needed to pinpoint this mechanism and to determine whether the link holds true for men and children as well.
Metformin Increases Risk of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Long term use of metformin, the commonly prescribed “cornerstone” type 2 diabetes drug, increases the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency.
A deficiency of this vitamin raises levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood; higher levels are considered a risk factor for heart disease.
Metformin causes malabsorption of vitamin B12 and this negative effect increases over time. The study establishing this link was posted online at the site of the British Medical Journal on May 20, 2010 and the full-text version is now available at: http://bit.ly/aml8wr.
Can Brown Rice Decrease Diabetes Risk?
A new study shows a greater risk of type II diabetes in men and women who eat white rice compared to those who do not.
Surprisingly, the study also found a reduced risk of type II diabetes in those who eat brown rice compared to those who do not regularly eat rice. 
Specifically, the risk of diabetes increased with five or more servings of rice per week; and the risk of diabetes was reduced with consumption of two or more servings of brown rice per week. Researchers estimated that replacing just one third of a daily serving of white rice with an equal amount of brown rice would decrease type II diabetes risk by 16 percent; replacing one third of the white rice with other whole grains such as barley or whole wheat could decrease the risk by 36 percent.
This brief abstract, or summary, was released June 14, 2010 by the Archives of Internal Medicine; the full-text version of the study is available with journal subscription at: http://bit.ly/cT5kvt.
What Do Diabetes, B-12 Deficiency & Heart Disease Have in Common?
Long term use of Metformin, commonly prescribed for treating type II diabetes, increases the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency.
A deficiency of Vitamin B-12 raises levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood; higher levels are considered a risk factor for heart disease.
Metformin causes malabsorption of vitamin B12 and this negative effect increases over time.
The study establishing this link was posted online at the site of the British Medical Journal on May 20, 2010; the full-text version is now available at: http://bit.ly/aml8wr.
Type II Diabetes Raises Risk Of Various Cancers
A large study of Type II diabetes patients – so large that it involved half of all type II diabetics in Sweden – has found them to be at increased risk of many types of cancer.
The reason for the higher risk is still not clear but may result, conclude researchers, from “the profound metabolic disturbances of the underlying disease.” The highest risks were found for liver and pancreatic cancers, which occurred six times and four times more often, respectively, among Type II diabetics. Risks were also greater for upper aero-digestive tract, esophageal, colon, rectal, lung, cervical, endometrial, ovarian and kidney cancers.
Interestingly, there was a lower risk of prostate cancer. This brief summary was released early online, but the full-text version of this study will be published in the June, 2010 issue of The Oncologist.