The GOAL lifestyle implementation trial helped individuals at risk for Type 2 diabetes to maintain a reduction in weight, body mass index (BMI), and serum total cholesterol for 36 months, say researchers.

“The GOAL Lifestyle Implementation Trial was designed to replicate results from efficacy trials such as the Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS), under more ‘real world’ conditions with a more modest program delivered by existing health care personnel,” say Pilvikki Absetz (National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland) and co-investigators.

The team report in the journal Diabetes Care that the statistically significant mean reductions in weight, BMI, and total cholesterol of 1.0 kg, 0.5 kg/m², and 0.40 mmol/l (15.47 mg/dl), respectively, achieved by the participants at 12 months were maintained at 36 months.

Overall, 12% of individuals who had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) at baseline developed Type 2 diabetes at 3 years. This is in line with the DPS, in which 9% of those with IGT in the intervention group converted to Type 2 diabetes at study completion compared with 20% of the control group.

The cohort consisted of 352 men and women aged 50??”65 years with a Type 2 diabetes risk score (FINDRISC) of 16.2 and an average BMI of 32.6 kg/m² at baseline. Of the original 352 participants, 312 attended the measurement session at 1 year and 271 the session at 3 years.

The intervention had the same lifestyle change objectives as the DPS and consisted of six sessions of task oriented sociobehavioral group counseling carried out by nurses over a period of 8 months. There was no other contact with participants apart from follow-up measurements which were taken at 1 and 3 years.

The authors conclude: “Wit

A study of Hispanic African Americans shows that insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction independently predict diabetes.

Central obesity, however, was not significantly associated with diabetes independently of insulin sensitivity or secretion, suggesting “a portion of the association of visceral adipose tissue with diabetes mellitus operates through these disorders,” report the authors.

Anthony Hanley (University of Toronto, Canada) and colleagues investigated the association of directly measured visceral and subcutaneous adiposity, insulin sensitivity, and beta-cell dysfunction with the 5-year incidence of Type 2 diabetes in 1230 Hispanic??” and African??”American participants who were free of diabetes at baseline.

The study cohort was from the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis (IRAS) Family Study, which is assessing three generations of family members to determine how many of the precursors to adult-onset Type 2 diabetes and obesity are inherited.

Fat mass in the abdominal region was measured by computed tomography. Insulin sensitivity and the acute insulin response (AIR), a measure of insulin secretion, were determined from frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance tests.

Incident Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed in 90 participants over 5 years. These individuals had significantly lower baseline insulin sensitivity and AIR, as well as higher glucose and insulin concentrations, and were more likely to have had impaired fasting glucose at baseline than those who did not develop the condition.

In individual models, both insulin sensitivity and AIR were inversely associated with Type 2 diabetes incidence after adjustment for baseline variables including age, gender, ethnicity, center, and impaired fasting glucose, with odds ratios of 0.53 and 0.22, respectively. Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue were both positively associated with Type 2 diabetes, with odds ratios of 1.68 and 1.49, respectively.

The association of visceral adipose tissue with diabetes was notably stronger in women than men.

In models including both visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, only visceral adiposity was a significant risk factor for diabetes.

Finally, in a model examining the joint effects of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue and insulin sensitivity/secretion, insulin sensitivity and AIR were significant predictors of Type 2 diabetes, but associations with visceral and subcutaneous adiposity were no longer significant.

“The detrimental effect of reduced insulin sensitivity and secretion is independent of directly quantified visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, and is present in multiple high-risk populations, including African and Hispanic Americans,” they conclude.

MedWire (www.medwire-news.md) is an independent clinical news service provided by Current Medicine Group, a part of Springer Science+Business Media. © Current Medicine Group Ltd; 2009

Free abstract

Levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol are positively correlated with serum concentration of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), show study results.

AGEs occur naturally in the body, but under certain pathologic conditions, such as hyperglycemia in people with diabetes, their formation can increase beyond normal levels.

“There is accumulating evidence that AGEs elicit oxidative stress generation, vascular inflammation, and thrombosis, thus being involved in the development and progression of atherosclerosis,” explain Sho-ichi Yamagishi and co-workers from Kurume University School of Medicine in Japan.

In this study, the team investigated whether LDL cholesterol levels influenced levels of glyceraldehyde-derived AGEs in a group of 170 men and women, aged 65.4 years on average, from a fishing community in southwestern Japan.

Individuals with diabetes are known to have high AGE levels and were therefore excluded from the study to improve the accuracy of any observed associations.

The mean AGE level was 4.07 U/ml, and fasting plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels were 93.7 mg/dl and 5.2%, respectively.

Both univariate and multivariate analysis showed that LDL cholesterol and fasting plasma glucose levels were significantly and positively associated with serum concentration of AGEs.

“Intake of cholesterol-rich, probably more AGE-containing foods could increase both LDL cholesterol- and glyceraldehyde-derived AGEs levels in nondiabetic subjects, thus providing a positive and independent correlationship between the two markers,” suggest the authors.

They conclude in the journal Clinical Cardiology: “The present study is the first demonstration that LDL cholesterol levels are one of the independent determinants of serum levels of AGEs in a nondiabetic general population.”

MedWire (www.medwire-news.md) is an independent clinical news service provided by Current Medicine Group, a part of Springer Science+Business Media. © Current Medicine Group Ltd; 2009

Free abstract

So many people are still ignorant on diabetes and how it can be acquired. Some think that just because nobody in the family has it, they will not be able to get it. What they fail to realize is that it can be acquired just by eating and drinking too much sugar daily. That is why information is the key to healthy living.

The basic blood sugar facts that you can ever know is that glucose comes from carbohydrates that we eat everyday. It is important because it transforms to energy that we need to function daily. But what we do not know is our blood sugar fluctuates. It is high when we eat and it is at its lowest when we starve ourselves. Problems occur when the blood sugar is too high. This is a common problem now as you can see from all the people who are overweight. People who are overweight are at a risk of insulin resistance. It happens when the body does not have insulin receptors on cells or if they just do not work properly. When that happens and the blood sugar levels rise then you are already pre-diabetic which makes you a high risk for diabetes.

How can you make yourself aware of your own blood sugar facts? Well, you can get tested. You can actually opt for the following tests: fasting plasma glucose test or FPG test, HgbA1C test or the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). It is actually recommended for a person to take the same test twice at different times. This is just to confirm the diagnosis of the results of the tests.

The term metabolic syndrome has been discussed in the news periodically when referring to the health of an individual, but what exactly is it? According to the Mayo Clinic the syndrome has to do with a group of conditions that occur together that increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Despite this definition, there are still disagreements on exactly what the syndrome entails, or whether or not it exists. In fact these risk factors have been referred to by other names such as syndrome X and insulin resistance syndrome.

However, regardless of what the risk factors are called, they have become more common, which explains the need to address them.

Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors List

As it was stated, there are several risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome. The following are the conditions commonly cited.

Obesity or Overweight This condition is the most common symptom of the syndrome. The excess weight is characterized by a apple-shaped body type or a high BMI. More to the point, this is when the excess fat is stored largely around the abdominal area of your body. Even though this is a typical sign of the syndrome, you can still be of normal weight and be diagnosed with the condition.

Age Your age plays a factor in developing the condition, with the risk of the development of the syndrome increasing as you grow older. People over 50 have a higher percentage of risk then the general population, with women having a greater percentage then men.

High Blood Sugar High blood sugar or glucose levels is another major cause in the development of the syndrome. This is because insulin resistance, which can develop out of high blood sugar, is considered a major risk factor to the development of type 2 diabetes.

High Cholesterol High cholesterol can lead to development of plaque on the walls of your arteries. When this happens, early signs of heart problems will be present, which can lead to coronary heart disease.

Sedentary Lifestyle Individuals who abstain from any type of vigorous physical activity shows increase risks for the syndrome. Because of the lack of demands placed on the body, this sedentary lifestyle causes your body to work less efficiently when it comes to metabolizing your food energy, which opens it up to developing problems such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, to name a few.

Preventing Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is largely preventable because the majority of the risk factors can be overcome with changes in your behavior. For instance, eating more fruits and vegetables, and staying away from fatty meats can help you to lose weight and lower your cholesterol levels.

Equally important is staying active by increasing your physical activity. Turning off the television and going for a brisk walk can do wonders for your heart, as well as your mood, and thus help to lower your risk of developing the syndrome.

Even though initially these changes may not be easy, they will in the long run save you from needless suffering and medical expenses.

Eating right is the key to manage diabetes successfully. If at present your food plan includes flavorless filling foods that taste more like some medicine; then today you have reached the right track. Here you’ll get to know about the 10 healthiest foods which will not only lessen the blood sugar level but at the same time will help in treating the warning signs of diabetes. So just dig in?

Vegetables: The benefits of eating vegetables are innumerable. Vegetables are the powerhouse of nutrients; they are low in calories and high in fiber. Filling the plate with plenty of vegetables ensure that you are eating more saturated fats and less simple carbohydrates. One must aim to eat four to five servings of vegetables in one day. One serving means 1 cup raw or ? cup cooked or canned vegetables.

Fruits: Fruits carry lot of calories and natural sugar compared to the vegetables, so they cannot be eaten in abundance. The fruits however contain all the benefits that vegetables have. They are full of these nutrients needed by the body. The best thing about fruits is that they are? jam-packed with antioxidants that aid the body to protect the eyes, nerves and heart. One must strive to get 3 to 4 servings a day. One serving means 1 whole fruit or ? cup canned or cooked fruit.?One must strive to eat the whole fruit instead of juice; as most of the nutrients of the fruit are found in flesh, skin and seed of the fruit. These elements are strained during juicing. The calorie content of the juice is also more concentrated.

Beans: Beans are the best source of fiber. Dietary Fiber slows down the process of digestion and prevents the blood sugar level from rising soon after meal. It even helps to lower down the overall blood sugar level. It not only slows down the digestion but also gives the person fuller feeling. It is good to add canned beans in all types of salads. Black beans, lentil soup or split peas are excellent lunch.

Cereals: The good cereal in breakfast is the best chance of packing the maximum fiber in the day. Studies have proved the people who start their morning with a fiber rich cereal do not feel to eat a lot in the whole day; so one must make a careful choice for the breakfast.?You can also top the cereal with the fruit.

Fish: It is the best source of protein. It is also a better substitute of high fat meats. Fish is a good source of omega fatty acids. Diabetics normally suffer from high-level of triglycerides and lower level of HDL. Omega fatty acids of the fish have the ability to improve theses both values. Diabetics must try to eat fish twice a week. The best source of omega fatty acids is mackerel, tuna and salmon.

Chicken Breast: Chicken breasts are lean, versatile and have low calorie count. A nicely cooked 3 oz serving of chicken breast carries 140 calories and only 3 gram of fats. The turkey breast is also lean and low in calories.

Nuts: Nuts are loaded with healthy fats that have the ability to fight against heart diseases. The healthy fats of nuts aid to reduce insulin resistance and make it simpler to control the level of blood sugar. Nuts are also the best source of vitamin E. It is an antioxidant that aids to prevent nerve damage. They are full of magnesium and dietary fiber. Both these contents aid to control blood sugar level. Studies have suggested that nuts also enable the person to lose weight; in spite of being higher in calories.

Olive oil: Olive oil is full of healthy fats and helps to keep the blood sugar levels in control. It has been proven that olive oil helps o decrease insulin resistance. So it is better to toss the butter and start cooking in olive oil.

Yogurt: Yogurt is a good source of protein and calcium which helps to lose weight. Several studies have revealed that people who intake lots of calcium find an easy time in losing weight. It can also be taken as a breakfast snack by adding the fruit of your own choice.

Cinnamon: It is an amazing spice. By simply sprinkling the cinnamon on your meals, you can start to control the level of blood sugar. The components of cinnamon aids to use insulin more efficiently.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body cannot regulate the amount of glucose in the blood. People who have diabetes either cannot produce insulin or their body cannot properly use the insulin. If your body does not produce insulin and if your body cannot properly use the insulin, the cells in your body are harmed.

Cells need the sugar for fuel and insulin helps the cells to use the sugar more efficiently to convert the sugar to energy. If the sugar is not properly processed by the cells, it stays in the bloodstream and the high blood sugar levels causes problems for the major organs.

In most cases the high blood sugar levels can be controlled by two (2) things: (1) a strict diet, following a regular schedule and (2) exercise.

Are you willing to eat the foods you should eat and avoid the ones you should not eat?

Are you willing to exercise regularly? Those are the two questions you must consider and those are the two things you must change in your life if you want to control your diabetes without medications and insulin shots.

You must give up white sugar, white flour, processed foods, and junk food. You must avoid any food with sugar in it, starchy vegetables, soft drinks, cream and fried foods. Any food that contains harmful preservatives and a lot of salt should be avoided.

Avoiding sugar means you need to avoid eating cake, pie, cobblers, ice-creams and chocolates, including the sugar-free ones. If it has sugar in it, you must avoid it. Even sugar free foods have a lot of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates turn into sugar in the body and sugar cannot be processed properly in your body because of the diabetes. This will cause your blood sugar to rise within 30 minutes after eating it.

Besides watching what you eat, you must increase your physical activity daily. It is essential to your health to start a regular exercise program. Exercise will help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight as well to reduce the risk of the complications of diabetes.

Remember also that alcohol can cause blood sugar levels to spike. It should be drank in moderation. Too much alcohol can increase triglyceride levels as well as increase blood sugar levels.

Another product you have to watch is cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes or using other forms of tobacco can have an adverse effect on your body and raise the risks of your having complications from diabetes. Smoking damages blood vessels and definitely makes your risk for heart disease, stroke and circulation problems greater.

Complications from diabetes can be severe. If blood sugar levels remain high and are not controlled by diet, exercise and/or medications you could be faced with heart disease, circulation and cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, eye disease, stroke, amputation and even death.

It is in your best interest to control your diabetes and keep your blood sugar levels low. Do not become a victim of diabetes. Fight back and beat this terrible disease. Stop it so you can live a long healthy life!

Take care until next time.

Coming from a family with a history of diabetes (it claimed the life of my grandmother while she was only in her 60’s), I find it necessary to check my food intake and the ingredients of supplements I would want to take. With little concrete data pointing out the true cause of diabetes, I have to exercise vigilance in choosing products to consume.

The medical research available shows that diabetes is mainly thought to be derived from a combination of two factors - genetics and chemical imbalance. While I can do nothing about my genetic heritage, I could do much to maintain chemical equilibrium through my diet.

The Acai berry, one of the “superfoods” of renowned nutritionist Dr. Perricone, has developed international recognition because of its long list of health benefits, which include cancer prevention, anti-aging effects, and sustained weight loss.

What makes this particular miracle fruit ideal for diabetics is that the Acai berry has a very low glycemic index. In general, foods or supplements that possess a low glycemic index contribute to a slow release of blood sugar and insulin in your system, which diabetics know is very important to manage. Even among non-diabetics, a low glycemic index diet allows your body to release energy more gradually, avoiding energy surges and crashes that come with high sugar consumption.

Acai berries also help diabetics by cleansing their digestive tracts, helping them maintain relative balance and absorb nutrients properly, which will strengthen their bodies against the debilitating effects of the disease.

Lastly, Acai berries improve one’s metabolic rate and energy levels, allowing diabetics to combat one of the biggest culprits of diabetes complications - obesity. Through proper Acai consumption, I am confident that diabetics will enjoy a higher quality of life, and those that have to worry about it, like me, can live with greater confidence that we will not become afflicted.

Type 2 Diabetes has adverse effect on the sugar levels of our body. The sugar levels need to be kept within a certain range and a condition where it is well above the permissible limit or below it can become a cause of worry. Eating healthy snacks can minimize the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

In this form of diabetes, the insulin generated in the body is either insufficient or is rejected by the cells. Insulin helps in utilizing the glucose for producing energy. Insulin helps to carry the glucose to the cells. If it does not reach the cells, then the body cannot make use of it for generating energy. In case, the cells cannot utilize the glucose, it remains in the blood. An excessive amount of glucose in the blood can cause diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes occurs as a result of insulin resistance and obesity.

The conditions, which lead to the occurrence of Type 2 Diabetes, include snacking, excessive eating, consumption of high calorie drinks, and foods high on carbohydrate content. All these shoot up the sugar levels in the body. Since the sugar cannot reach the tissues, its levels rise in the blood. Obese people are more prone to insulin resistance as the fat in the body acts as a barrier to the optimum utilization of the insulin. In the United States of America almost one-third of the total population are obese and it is expected that 30% of the children who are born after 2000 are prone to get diabetes.

When it comes to kids it is necessary to inculcate in them correct food habits. They are not aware of what is good and nutritional food for them. The onus here lies with the schools and the parents of the kids. In the past schools organized fundraising events and the selling of chocolate bars was an integral part of them. With the introduction of California SB 12 and other similar laws in other US states, chocolate fundraising was banned.

Searching for healthy fundraising solutions can solve this problem. Schools can now order healthy fundraising snacks that are low on calories. To be healthy, they would comprise less that 35% fat, 10% less saturated fats, 25% less sugar. All in all, your child can have all these sumptuous snacks and even then consume less that 250 calories. If the snacks are healthy, there will be no harmful trans-fats as these need to be completely avoided by obese people.

Healthy fundraising does not mean that the food served is bland. They are equally tasty as fries, burgers and pizzas and the kids are definitely going to love them. It is important to make decisions to look for healthy fundraising alternatives, and contribute to better health in America.

Do I have to lose weight to prevent diabetes? How can I lose weight so I do not become a diabetic?

If your doctor has told you that you are overweight then yes you need to lose weight because weight gain is a factor in turning into a diabetic. To lose weight is to reverse what you did to get where you are? If you eat too much pizza then stop the pizza. If you watch too much television then stop watching so much television. If you stopped riding your bike and walking then you need to start back riding the bike and walking.

Take the word diet out of your mind and think of this as getting back to where you were at the age of 10.

When you were 10 years old you played outside, ate when you hungry only and enjoyed the little things like a walk down a water stream. Just because you are an adult doesn’t mean you stop being you. Buy a nice pair of tennis shoes and plan to wear them out. Pick a park and walk it and explore as you go. If you enjoy photography take your camera with you and look for opportunities to take pictures of nature.

As far as food goes eat what is healthy. Change the white bread to whole wheat bread. Try a 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter with ? tsp of jelly on whole wheat bread for lunch and see if that doesn’t hold you until supper.

If you like everything organized then consider a diabetic meal plan so you know what you can and cannot eat.

It is the little choices like riding by the ice cream shop instead of stopping and walking the long way around the mall.

Get up in the morning and walk around the neighborhood, explore like you did when you were a kid. Enjoy this journey called life and stay healthy and make some friends along the way.