The Diabetes Pro

Chances are it’s a frog! Generally, we don’t talk too much about amphibians and diabetes prevention here, but today’s news is just too good to be ignored. It seems that a small, nocturnal frog, who lives in the Amazon, might just hold the secret to increased insulin production!

The frog is unique in more than one way. Known as the Paradoxical Frog, the small green peeper is actually larger as a tadpole than it is as an adult. However, while that’s cool, that’s not what’s exciting.

The little frog is making big medicine, there in the jungle. Secretions in the frog skin have been found to boost insulin production. I, for one, have no idea how they even thought to figure that out, but it appears to be true.

Researchers at the University of Ulster and the University of the United Arab Emirates have made a synthetic copy of the insulin boosting element found in the frog’s skin. This element, known as pseudin-2, may be able to encourage Type 2 Diabetics to produce insulin. Pseudin-2 would be considered an incretin mimetic, which means it would be the course of treatment AFTER lifestyle changes, dietary alterations, and other medications were used in an attempt to regulate blood sugar. It’s one more tool in an ever-growing cabinet of treatment strategies.

At this point, no human testing has been conducted with the pseudin-2, although it’s reasonable to expect that that would happen in the relatively near future. Until then, don’t be so quick to dismiss any frogs that might cross your path. A kiss might turn one into a prince — and another into a life saver!

Does having diabetes make men moody? Research says yes, confirming what generations of women have long held: As men age, their hormonal health changes dramatically.

(It’s not just women going through the Change, apparently! Who knew?)

Testosterone levels drop and estrogen levels rise, a condition known as Andropause. This generally occurs between the ages of 40 and 55. Unlike women, however, who can tie menopause to the cessation of the menstrual cycle, there’s no tangible physical symptom associated with andropause.

However, when these hormonal changes are coupled with the blood sugar fluctuations that are part and parcel of diabetes (especially poorly controlled diabetes) wild mood swings can occur. Men report having unusually strong or uncharacteristic emotional reactions to situations that would normally not bother them at all.

So if you’re a man who’s diabetic and between the ages of 40-55, you might want to keep an eye on your moods. Sudden changes in your emotional health can be a sign of andropause. Hormone replacement therapy has worked successfully for many men and may be well worth exploring with your doctor.

Don’t be shy about talking with your doctor! Andropause remains an underdiagnosed condition for a number of reasons. One of the most common is that some men find it difficult, nearly impossible, to admit that there’s a problem. Men in our culture are socialized to ignore their feelings — yet paying attention to those same feelings can play a critical role in one’s quality of life.

According to this article in Science News , research on one treatment method being considered by the ACCORD project (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) has been stopped by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. This reasearch, which ended 18 months early, ceased due to safety concerns.

To quote from the article: The ACCORD trial was designed to determine whether intensively lowering blood sugar would reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular disease, specifically in people with type 2 diabetes who are at particularly high risk for a cardiovascular event. Prior studies suggested that reducing blood sugar to levels found in non-diabetic adults may reduce the rate of cardiovascular diseases among those with diabetes. However, a randomized clinical trial was needed to determine whether that hypothesis is accurate.

However, participants who underwent the most intensive treatment and achieved the lowest overall blood sugars also experienced higher levels of mortality — obviously never good news! After review, the patients who were receiving intensive treatment have been switched over to less intensive regimes, and the ACCORD study continues.

Peppermint will soothe your tummy. Ginseng will give you energy, save your memory, and make you the coolest kid on the block. And apparently, cinnamon might be just the thing for diabetics.

Everyone has their own opinion on complementary and alternative medicine. It’s important to work with your doctor, and be honest with them about what supplements, herbal or otherwise, that you’re taking. Some alternative therapies are very powerful, and if you keep your physician in the dark about what you’re doing, you can contribute to some very big health problems.

The latest on cinnamon is that when used in a concentrated liquid extract, it can help promote healthy blood sugar levels. A Pakistani study, in which participants took between one and six grams of cinnamon daily for forty days, details that the cinnamon taking participants saw significant improvements in blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides.

The next paragraph in the study, however, is what I find to be very telling:

The survey, which asked participants to describe what they had eaten in the last twenty-four hours, found more than 40% had not eaten a single piece of fruit, 20% had not eaten one vegetable, 55% had eaten red meat, and more than 44% had eaten at least one serving of luncheon meat or bacon that day.

Before you run out to buy cinnamon supplements, consider that. In diabetes, perhaps more than almost any other condition, we really are what we eat. Addressing proper nutrition (and getting away from the bologna!) may be far more critical to controlling blood sugar than cinnamon supplements — or what ever else the supplement flavor of the month may be.

Do you know why today’s important? It’s the 86^th anniversary of the first insulin injection. I realize this isn’t the type of holiday you’ve got marked on the calendar — and good luck getting the boss to give you the day off! — but it is kind of cool.

Fred Banting, a Canadian who served with distinction during World War 1, spent his life dedicated to diabetes research. A talented physician, he pioneered the treatment of diabetes with injectable insulin. The first insulin injection was given to Leonard Thompson, in 1922. Thompson lived 13 years under Banting’s care — at a time when diabetes was a far more fatal condition than it is today.

We’ve come a long way since that first shot! Banting, with his hypodermic, would have been astonished to see today’s insulin pens and jets, not to mention external insulin pumps! The fact that inhaled insulin — where insulin is delivered via inhaler, similar to the way asthmatics take their medication — is on the horizon is even better.

Still, Banting’s work was absolutely groundbreaking, and laid the foundation for the convenient treatment options we have available to us today. He, along with colleague J.J.R. MacLeod, were awarded the Nobel Price for Medicine in 1923 in recognition of their achievement.

So today, when you reach for your pen, or your pump is quietly working along, take a moment to smile and say “Thanks, Fred!”

“Oh, you’re a diabetic?” The hostess smiles, obviously mentally reviewing what non-alcoholics she’s got in the fridge. “Let me see if I’ve got something you can drink.”

Sound familiar? Almost everyone knows that diabetes and alcohol don’t go well together. Some even assume, sometimes incorrectly, sometimes not, that a mixed drink will kill a diabetic. That’s not always true. However, there is a relationship between diabetes and negative reactions to alcohol. What isn’t as well known is why.

That mystery might be resolving, thanks to a group of scientists at the Karolinska Institute. This leading Swedish medical university may have discovered how consuming alcohol impacts insulin secretion, which often results in diabetics experiencing severe hypoglycemia.

That’s a mouthful of a sentence, isn’t it? Pared down, we all know how it goes: a diabetic takes a drink, and chances are they’re going to go into shock. It’s ugly, it’s nasty, and it’s scary. But why does it happen?

The problem might be in the pancreas. In the study, scientists measured pancreatic function in diabetic and non-diabetic patients alike. There was a marked change in pancreatic activity, prompting the organ to produce excess amounts of insulin. There may also be a relationship between medication and treatment protocols used to treat Type 2 diabetes and the hypoglycemic reaction to alcohol. Additionally, the study pointed out that people who could be classified as alcoholics tend to have other health issues — poor nutrition, liver and pancreatic damage — that contribute to the reaction.

This is a very individual situation: some diabetics can drink moderate amounts of alcohol safely, while others experience very negative health consequences after even the smallest drink. You know your body better than anyone: talk with your physician about what amount of alcohol is safe for you.

A relationship between sleep and type two diabetes?

Is there a relationship between the number of hours of sleep someone enjoys and the likelihood of them developing type two diabetes? The answer could be yes, according to this story (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080101093903.htm) in Science Daily.

In case you don’t want to click the link, let me just give you some highlights: Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered that suppressing the amount of sleep otherwise healthy young adults get increases their likelihood of developing type two diabetes. Depriving these individuals of two or three day’s worth of deep sleep was found to lead to a decrease in insulin sensitivity — a decrease that was comparable to gaining twenty to thirty pounds!

This is the first study to conclusively link sleep deprivation and type two diabetes. Previous studies had linked poor sleep patterns to obesity and other risk factors. From this research, it is clear that slow-wave sleep plays a role in maintaining normal glucose control.

Sleep patterns tend to change as we age (just like everything else, alas!) which could play part of the role in the relationship between insulin sensitivity and increasing age. Subjects in this study were all in their twenties, and slept for over 8 hours — yet their sleep was interrupted repeatedly throughout the evening. At the end of each study, the researchers gave intravenous glucose (a sugar solution) to each subject, then took blood samples every few minutes to measure the levels of glucose and insulin, the hormone that controls glucose uptake.

I think the results are fascinating, especially as we have some measure of control over how much sleep we get. Go check it out for yourself, and let me know what you think!

What does a good diabetic diet mean? Surprisingly, it’s not what many people think. Being a diabetic does not mean an austere life of hardship, where you can’t enjoy any good stuff. Instead, what constitutes a sensible diet for a diabetic is, in large part, what’s a sensible diet for everyone else.

Eating a variety of foods is a good starting point: selecting from all four food groups is essential. The average American diet doesn’t include enough fruits and vegetables, relying instead on too much meat and grains. Achieving balance will help anyone’s diet.

Incorporating more fruits and vegetables is a wise nutritional choice. These items are low in fat — provided you don’t drench your green beans with half a stick of butter! — and also low in calories. Both help provide much needed fiber.

Food selection is one part of the equation: you want nutrient-dense, high-fiber foods. The amount you eat is also important. Pineapple might be a really healthy choice — but if you sit down and eat six cups of chopped pineapple, you’re going to be in real trouble. Not only are you going to send your sugar through the roof, you’re going to have the queen mother of all stomachaches! Moderation is key. If you’re working with a nutritionist or diet specialist, they can advise you on appropriate serving sizes to meet your dietary needs. Otherwise, you may want to start by reading the information here.

If there’s one piece of medical information everybody and their best friend is sure they’re an expert on, it’s what the symptoms of diabetes are. It’s well known that frequent urination and a constant thirst are common diabetes symptoms.

However, running to the bathroom six times a day doesn’t necessarily mean you’re diabetic. There are other causes for frequent urination, from drinking too much coffee to pregnancy and far beyond.

What you should look for, if you’re concerned about diabetes, is the following behaviors:

• frequent urination
• strong, constant thirst
• being very hungry
• a sense of tiredness or fatigue
• a sense of being irritable or ‘cranky’
• blurry vision
• unusual weight loss — you haven’t been eating less or doing more, and still, the pounds come off!

The key here is that none of these items, one time or in isolation, is necessarily a symptom of diabetes. You could be very hungry because you didn’t eat the day before — but as soon as you have a sandwich, you’re fine. What we’re talking about is a prolonged, repeating pattern of these symptoms.

This is information you need to share with your doctor. They’ll do tests, including an analysis of your blood sugar levels, to see if what appears to be the symptoms of diabetes is in fact that — or if the symptoms are related to another, unrelated condition.

Diabetes is in the news again — did you see? Two recent studies on people who are considered ‘pre-diabetic’ — exhibiting a tendency toward diabetes, yet without fully manifesting the disease — established that there are simple lifestyle changes one could make to stop or slow the progression toward diabetes.

Note that I said simple. Not easy. Nothing here is impossible, but some of it is challenging.

Still, when you consider the possibility of forestalling Type 2 Diabetes, it might be worth it to:

• Cut your fat intake. No more than 30% of your daily calories should be fat. In an average diet, that’s 50-60 grams of fat.
• Cut saturated fat intake down to less than 10% of your daily calories. This is the tough one: we’re looking at 15-20 grams of saturated fat. That’s not very much at all.
• Exercise! You knew that was coming. The goal is 2 ½ hours of moderately intensive exercise: get up and get moving. Playing video games is not exercising — and I don’t want to hear how fit your thumbs are!
• Eat more fiber. This is your fruits and veggies. Your mom was right: some stuff is good for you. You want at least 25 grams of fiber every day. Nuts, legumes and whole grains also offer fiber.
• Whole grains are your friend. Eat at least three servings every day (which will also help you achieve that whole eat more fiber thing). Whole grain intake helps with blood sugar control.
• Lose weight. Now, if you’re doing all this other stuff, the weight grain won’t be too tricky. Exercise more, a healthy diet, and increased fiber intake can help the pounds drop off. Even a small lose can have a huge positive effect.

The researchers found that individuals who followed these steps and received support from family members, friends, and study staffers were able to reduce their risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes by almost 60%. That’s the type of news we like to read about!