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Posts with tag diabetes risk
Posted Aug 30th 2007 4:51PM by Diane Rixon
Filed under: Diet, Research, Opinion, Products
Yesterday I posted on the latest indicator that high fructose corn syrup is harmful and
maybe even linked to diabetes risk. Naturally, the American Beverage Association
vigorously rejects the report.
In the interest of balance, here's the opposing argument courtesy of the ABA's website. "There is absolutely no unique link between soft drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and diabetes, in children or adults. In fact, it is a stretch of the imagination to link the laboratory findings of this unpublished in vitro study with the occurrence of diabetes in humans." Ooh, "unpublished." Ouch. Nice veiled barb, there.
The statement goes on in some detail, basically saying if the harmful reactive carbonyls occur naturally in a number of foods, why single out HFCS?
Well, you can't blame them for defending themselves. But I laughed at the following: "Singling out any one food, beverage or ingredient as a unique cause or contributor to diabetes is simply not supported by science." I dunno. A study led by a
professor of food science at Rutgers. Sure sounds like science to me...
Posted Aug 28th 2007 3:41PM by Diane Rixon
Filed under: Type 2, Diet, Research, Products
A lot of people I know avoid foods that list high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as an ingredient. Apart from the calories they add to foods, there's a growing belief that lab-devised products like HFCS are simply unnatural and may be harmful. Wikipedia has an interesting article on
the origins and controversy surrounding HFCS, if you want to learn more.
Not surprisingly, the food industry has always defended HFCS against claims that it is harmful. But here's the latest contradiction of that claim: a recent study found that
HFCS is "astonishingly" high in reactive carbonyls, which are thought to contribute to the development of diabetes. The study was led by Dr. Chi-tang Ho, head of Rutgers University's Department of Food Science, and colleagues. They concluded that one can of HFCS-sweetened soda contains five times the reactive carbonyls that are normally found in the blood of a person with diabetes.
A news release by the American Chemical Society, announcing Dr. Ho's findings, notes that previous studies have already linked HFCS to cell and tissue damage. They suggest that HFCS consumption may raise the risk of diabetes, not to mention obesity. Say's Dr. Ho: "People consume too much high-fructose corn syrup in this country. It's in way too many food and drink products and there's growing evidence that it's bad for you."
Posted Jul 24th 2007 4:43PM by Diane Rixon
Filed under: Type 1, Childhood, Research, Daily News
A new study, a report of which has been
published in Nature, has identified gene flaws that increase the risk for type 1 diabetes in children. By examining the genetic codes of thousands of children, some with and some without diabetes, as well as those of parents of diabetics, the researchers identified three changes on one specific gene present in those with diabetes. They then looked at 1600 additional diabetes patients' genetic codes and again found the very same marks, sometimes called "flavors" or "flaws." Two of these variations increase a person's odds of developing diabetes by fifty percent, say the researchers. However, the third seems to decrease risk for the disease.
Type 1, says lead author Hakon Hakonarson, is a complex genetic disorder "involving mutations in several genes acting in concert to predispose someone to the condition." Important? Very. Best case scenario: understanding how these genes operate is the kind of knowledge that could lead to a cure. At the very least, such knowledge could help medical caregivers identify at-risk children - a step that could eventually precede the standard diagnosis procedure as we know it today.
Click here for more details about this study.
Posted Feb 21st 2007 12:56PM by Allie Beatty
Filed under: Type 2, Adult Onset, Lifestyle, Events
New research shows that snoring doesn't have to be loud to cause health problems especially in women. Although women generally snore less and more softly than men, recent studies have shown women have a greater risk of some of the adverse effects of sleep apnoea and may not know they have type 2 diabetes.
Sleep apnoea historically has been a problem most associated with men. However, this new research reveals that women who experience sleep apnoea may have a greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Both, men and women, with sleep apnoea also tend to have risk factors for the metabolic syndrome, a condition characterized by abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, raised blood pressure and insulin resistance, which causes high levels of blood glucose and can lead to diabetes.
Here comes the rude awakening -- partners of men who snore seem to be more affected by the sleep apnoea. This is due to the fact that a man's snoring is characterized by louder gasps and snorts This keeps him awake, as well as anybody within earshot. However, because women's snoring is often much quieter and they tend to have partial or incomplete obstructions, their partner's sleep may not be disturbed and the sleep disorder may go unchecked. Now I lay me down to sleep, I beg of You the silence keeps!!
Posted Feb 12th 2007 8:07AM by Allie Beatty
Filed under: Type 2, Adult Onset, Diet, Lifestyle, Research, Daily News
Scientists have mapped the genes responsible for causing type 2 diabetes. This new research is giving hope to new tests that can predict an individuals risk for developing the disease and future treatments.
The study compared the genetic make-up of 700 people with type 2 diabetes and a family history of the condition, with 700 diabetes-free people. Four points on the gene map linked to a person's diabetes risk and were confirmed with another group of 5,000 type 2 diabetics. The findings of this research could explain up to 70% of the genetics related to developing diabetes. A particular zinc transporter, known as SLC30A8, which regulates insulin secretion, was shown to have a mutation. Researchers feel they may be able to treat some cases of diabetes by correcting this mutation.
These findings will allow for the creation of a genetic test to predict people's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as better treatments for the presiding cause of their diabetes. Nary a day passes that I am not motivated for the future of all diabetics. This is the type of research that strengthens my faith in the coming of a cure. Identify the nature of the problem and nip it in the bud.
Posted Nov 13th 2006 9:36AM by Allie Beatty
Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Childhood, Adult Onset, Research, Products
Can a fluorescent light actually detect diabetes risk? Well, according to the Holland-based company DiagnOptics, it can. They have developed a new device that may be able to identify diabetes risk simply by shining a fluorescent light on a patch of skin below the elbow.
Apparently, the tool illuminates advanced glycation end products (AGEs) -- blood-vessel-damaging sugar byproducts caused by the body's inability to burn sugar efficiently -- which provides a more "long-term memory" of blood sugar control. DiagnOptics says the AGE Reader can perform its duty quickly, easily and non-invasively by using a spectrometer to detect the light emitted by the fluorescent AGEs. Throughout the course of a three- to five-year study, an AGE Reader detected a 35 percent increase in autofluorescence in diabetes patients, and a more marked increase in patients with renal failure. A study of type 2 diabetes patients found that the subjects had much more fluorescent skin than people who did not have diabetes, reported Lutgers and colleagues, two of whom are DiagnOptics co-founders. They added that the more severe the complications from diabetes, the more fluorescent the patient's skin.
"With this tool, doctors could easily check people with diabetes in an outpatient clinic setting to see whether they may already be developing dangerous complications," Lutgers said in a statement. "The sooner complications are detected, the better the chance of preventing progression of damage." I can see it now, my endogrinologist appointments will soon take place in the setting of a crime scene investigation. This discovery could add a whole new level of role playing to the amusement of my checkups. Allie, put your hands on the table please - palms up.
Posted Sep 13th 2006 12:16PM by Diane Rixon
Filed under: Diet, Events
Gadding about with a gigantically-sized tape measure. Hmm. What does this have to do with diabetes? It's part of Diabetes UK's latest attempt to educate Brits about the disease. Specifically, the organization is devoted to spreading the word that overweight, and especially wide waistlines, ups your ((Type 2) diabetes risk. 37 inches for men and 31.5 inches for women is the max you should measure around the waist, says Diabetes UK. The exception is South Asian men, who should measure no more than 35 inches.
The four-week-long Measure Up campaign, as it's known, involves a huge marketing and awareness effort - its biggest ever, says Diabetes UK, which called upon the help of a big advertising and communications agency to help coordinate the job and make sure the message gets across to ordinary folks. The giant tape measure (pictured) was used in a big PR event at Trafalgar Square. It was hosted by some blimmin' well-known UK celebrities, including musician Mike Rutherford, formerly of Genesis, and the actor Brian Cox, who appeared in the movies
Troy and
X-Men 2. Other fun, yet informative, events include a big, bright pink bus, which will be touring all around the country to spread the message.
Diabetes UK has more info on its excellent website.Posted Sep 6th 2006 4:10PM by Diane Rixon
Filed under: Type 1
More interesting science news: researchers at the University of Colorado have been looking into possible indicators of Type 1 diabetes risk in kids. When I say "looking into," I mean
really looking! This was a thirteen-year-long study, which followed the progress of 30,000 newborns. The findings suggest that genetic markers can be identified that highlight certain children as being at risk for diabetes. Not only that. It was also found that these genetic differences represent a
three to four-fold increase in diabetes risk, which is pretty darn substantial. According to the researchers involved, a particular gene may be tested for the presence of antibodies that, if found, indicate as much as an eighty percent chance of developing diabetes. The researchers declined, however, to reveal the exact gene involved. They are calling it - I kid you not - "gene X" for now. Why the secrecy? I have no idea.
Still, there's a limit to what the new knowledge represents for now. Says Barbara David, an author of the study, "We have an unusual state now - we can predict diabetes, but we don't know how to prevent it." On the bright side, however, if a vaccine for Type 1 diabetes does eventually become available, knowing which children are already at risk will obviously be invaluable. Also, even without a vaccine or "cure," knowing which children are high risk could help with early diagnosis.
Posted Aug 31st 2006 12:45PM by Diane Rixon
Filed under: Type 2, Diet, Lifestyle
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has begun gathering data that will be very useful in the future. The data relates to the health of hundreds of kids who are just beginning sixth grade. Researchers want to find out whether or not Type 2 diabetes risk declines when children have access to healthy school lunches and also spend more time working on physical education.
The NIH says that participating schools - forty-two in total - will be randomly assigned to either a program group, which implements the food and exercise changes, or to a control group, which will continue to offer the usual public school lunch fare and phys-ed classes. For those in the program group, out go the fatty favorites and in come healthier (and presumably less processed?) items, both in cafeterias and in the vending machines. (I didn't know you could
get healthy vending machine foods...) They'll also be getting more physical activity in the form of longer phys-ed sessions of greater intensity. After two and a half years, lucky things, they'll be dragged in for measuring, weighing etc. (Aww, as if middle school isn't tough enough already!) Then we'll find out if healthier school environments can counteract unhealthy family/cultural/social influences.
Posted Jul 21st 2006 3:19PM by Diane Rixon
Filed under: Type 2, Lifestyle
Genetics affects diabetes risk...but lifestyle is still the most important factor at play. That's the conclusion of a new study, which showed that a certain gene variant gives people a substantially increased risk for developing Type 2 - an eighty percent higher risk, in fact.
But before you throw up your hands and say "I can't fight Mother Nature," bear this in mind: the researcher also said that a healthy lifestyle is enough to pretty much cancel out that genetic risk. In essence, lifestyle trumps genetics, says study author Dr. Jose C. Florez, from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. And the lifestyle changes required are nothing too major: just losing a little weight and exgaging in moderate daily exercise is enough to do the trick. "Environment can overcome the genetics you have received," says Florez.
The gene in question is known as TCF7L2 and had been identified with Type 2 diabetes by a previous study. This latest study aimed to see if variants in the gene could be usued to predict who would have Type 2 diabetes. Health information was gathered for nearly 3,500 people and, for those people, the researchers gathered genetic information along with a check on insulin secretion and sensitivity. This was repeated one year later. This data was used to calculate risk in each participant.
