Good news for Diabetes patients

New way to cure diabetes

This is my second blog on diabetes. In first blog post we some facts about diabetes, in this blog you will see a new research a good news for diabetes patients.

What is Diabetes?

 

Diabetes, describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Patients with high blood sugar will typically experience polyuria (frequent urination), they will become increasingly thirsty (polydipsia) and hungry (polyphagia).

There are three types of diabetes:

 

1) Type 1 Diabetes

The body does not produce insulin. Some people may refer to this type as insulin-dependent diabetes, juvenile diabetes, or early-onset diabetes. People usually develop type 1 diabetes before their 40th year, often in early adulthood or teenage years.

Type 1 diabetes is nowhere near as common as type 2  diabetes. Approximately 10% of all diabetes cases are type 1.

2) Type 2  Diabetes

The body does not produce enough insulin for proper function, or the cells in the body do not react to insulin (insulin resistance). Approximately 90% of all cases of diabetes worldwide are of this type.

Some people may be able to control their type 2 diabetes symptoms by losing weight, following a healthy diet, doing plenty of exercise, and monitoring their blood glucose levels. However, type 2 diabetes is typically a progressive disease - it gradually gets worse - and the patient will probably end up have to take insulin, usually in tablet form.

3) Gestational Diabetes

This type affects females during pregnancy. Some women have very high levels of glucose in their blood, and their bodies are unable to produce enough insulin to transport all of the glucose into their cells, resulting in progressively rising levels of glucose.

Some Myth Regarding Diabetes

 

People with diabetes should not exercise - NOT TRUE!!

Exercise is important for people with diabetes, as it is for everybody else. Exercise helps manage body weight, improves cardiovascular health, improves mood, helps blood sugar control, and relieves stress. Patients should discuss exercise with their doctor first.

 

Fat people always develop type 2 diabetes eventually - this is not true.

Being overweight or obese raises the risk of becoming diabetic, they are risk factors, but do not mean that an obese person will definitely become diabetic. Many people with type 2 diabetes were never overweight. The majority of overweight people do not develop type 2 diabetes.

 

Diabetes is a nuisance, but not serious - two thirds of diabetes patients die prematurely from stroke or heart disease.

 The life expectancy of a person with diabetes is from five to ten years shorter than other people's. Diabetes is a serious disease.

 

Children can outgrow diabetes - this is not true.

Nearly all children with diabetes have type 1; insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas have been destroyed. These never come back. Children with type 1 diabetes will need to take insulin for the rest of their lives, unless a cure is found one day.

 

Don't eat too much sugar, you will become diabetic - this is not true.

A person with diabetes type 1 developed the disease because their immune system destroyed the insulin-producing beta cells. A diet high in calories, which can make people overweight/obese, raises the risk of developing type 2  diabetes, especially if there is a history of this disease in the family.

I know when my blood sugar levels are high or low - very high or low blood sugar levels may cause some symptoms, such as weakness, fatigue and extreme thirst. However, levels need to be fluctuating a lot for symptoms to be felt. The only way to be sure about your blood sugar levels is to test them regularly. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark showed that even very slight rises in blood-glucose levels significantly raise the risk of ischemic heart disease.

Diabetes diets are different from other people's - the diet doctors and specialized nutritionists recommend for diabetes patients are healthy ones; healthy for everybody, including people without the disease. Meals should contain plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and they should be low in salt and sugar, and saturated or trans-fat. Experts say that there is no need to buy special diabetic foods because they offer no special benefit, compared to the healthy things we can buy in most shops.

High blood sugar levels are fine for some, while for others they are a sign of diabetes - high blood-sugar levels are never normal for anybody. Some illnesses, mental stress and steroids can cause temporary hikes in blood sugar levels in people without diabetes. Anybody with higher-than-normal blood sugar levels or sugar in their urine should be checked for diabetes by a health care professional.

Diabetics cannot eat bread, potatoes or pasta - people with diabetes can eat starchy foods.

However, they must keep an eye on the size of the portions. Whole grain starchy foods are better, as is the case for people without diabetes.

 

One person can transmit diabetes to another person - NOT TRUE.

Just like a broken leg is not infectious or contagious. A parent may pass on, through their genes to their offspring, a higher susceptibility to developing the disease.

 

Only older people develop type 2 diabetes - things are changing.

 A growing number of children and teenagers are developing type 2 diabetes. Experts say that this is linked to the explosion in childhood obesity rates, poor diet, and physical inactivity.

I have to go on insulin, this must mean my diabetes is severe - people take insulin when diet alone or diet with oral or non-insulin injectable diabetes drugs do not provide good-enough diabetes control, that's all. Insulin helps diabetes control. It does not usually have anything to do with the severity of the disease.

If you have diabetes you cannot eat chocolates or sweets - people with diabetes can eat chocolates and sweets if they combine them with exercise or eat them as part of a healthy meal.

Diabetes patients are more susceptible to colds and illnesses in general - a person with diabetes with good diabetes control is no more likely to become ill with a cold or something else than other people. However, when a diabetic catches a cold, their diabetes becomes harder to control, so they have a higher risk of complications.

New research-new way to cure diabetes

Scientists have discovered why a gastric bypass can help cure type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the journal Science. Researchers from Boston Children's Hospital reveal that the small intestine, which they had thought to be a passive organ, is actually a major contributor to the body's metabolism. The researchers say that previous research has already shown that gastric bypass surgery can help resolve type 2 diabetes. However, they add that until now, the reason for this has been unclear. The research team studied the after-effects of gastric bypass surgery in rats over a year and analyzed the way the small intestine processed glucose.

The researchers found that the small intestine uses and disposes of glucose. This regulates blood glucose levels which then helps to resolve type 2 diabetes. Nicholas Stylopoulos of the division of endocrinology at the hospital, says, “We have seen type 2 diabetes resolve in humans after gastric bypass, but have never known why. People have been focusing on hormones, fat and muscle, but we have shown in this study that the answer lies somewhere in the small intestine most of the time."

Gastric bypass surgery is a weight-loss treatment usually reserved for severely obese individuals. It works by redirecting the food into a smaller pouch in the stomach, bypassing the stomach and duodenum - the first section of the small intestine. The researchers discovered that following gastric bypass surgery, the small intestine "reprograms" itself to produce GLUT-1, which is not usually present before surgery. GLUT-1 usually works as a "transporter," responsible for removing glucose from the circulation and using it within the intestine. However, the scientists discovered that after surgery, GLUT-1 takes glucose from the circulation and disposes of it, leading to stabilized glucose levels in the rest of the body. The researchers say that of the rats analyzed after gastric bypass surgery, 100% had been cured of type 2 diabetes. They add that 64% of the diabetes had been cured by the gut surgery alone, while the other 36% could be a result of weight loss or other factors. Nicholas Stylopoulos says this research could lead to investigating ways of "mimicking" the intestine's programming without the need for surgery: "Previously, we had not considered the intestine as a major glucose-utilizing organ. We have found this process is exactly what happens after surgery." Stylopoulos added, With further research, we may find ways to bypass the bypass.

The results of our study are promising because, unlike the brain and other organs, intestines are easily accessible. Furthermore, since cells in the intestine have such a short lifespan, we can easily study and pharmacologically manipulate them to use glucose, without long-term problems."Previous research has suggested that although gastric bypass surgery helps diabetic symptoms disappear for some patients, it is not a long-term cure.

Scientists from the Group Health Research Institute carried out a study revealing that in 4,434 patients who had gastric bypass surgery, their symptoms of type 2 diabetes returned within five years of the operation.

(Source-Journal Science)