A glucosamine-like dietary supplement has been found to suppress the damaging autoimmune response seen in type 1 diabetes, according to University of California, Irvine health sciences researchers.

In studies on mice, researchers found that N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), which is similar but more effective than the widely available glucosamine, inhibited the growth and function of hyperactive T-cells that cause diabetes. GlcNAc increased sugar modifications to the T-cell proteins, preventing the hyperactive immune response. This therapy normalized T-cell functions and prevented development of high blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes.

GlcNAc decreases pain and inflammation, which likens the results of the Irvine study to a study that was conducted in Toronto last December. Researchers found they were able to cure diabetic mice overnight by injecting them with something called Substance P. Substance P is involved in the transmission of pain impulses from peripheral receptors to the central nervous system. Diabetes is like a rat without the ability to feel pain. The naked mole rat lacks Substance P and cannot feel pain when painful stimuli are administered to the skin. Snapple fact, folks!

Overeating can shut down a natural brain function that is key to preventing common cardiovascular and diabetic diseases..

Researchers found that chronic overeating can overwhelm the neural pathway that regulates the amount of fats flowing into the bloodstream from the liver. The liver is partly responsible for regulating fats entering the blood stream. It produces triglyceride fats the body can turn into LDL (bad) cholesterol, which can cause arteriosclerosis and blood vessel blockage. Glucose can enter the brain when levels are elevated in the bloodstream. When glucose enters the brain, it is broken down into an acidic substance known as lactate. Lactate signals the liver to stop making fat. It appears that chronic overeating can overwhelm the brain's ability to metabolize glucose into lactate. When lactate is no longer produced -- the signal to stop the liver from releasing fat into the blood stops, too. As small arteries get clogged, they create the circulatory problems common in type 2 diabetes, linked to overeating, obesity, and limb amputations.

Smaller portions, less glucose in the brain, better traffic flow. After all - nobody likes getting mixed signals. Let's do all we can to keep the lines of communimcation (and our arteries) open.