Diabetes Expert Preaches La Vida Low-Carb

In 2004, Dr. Mary C. Vernon co-authored the book Atkins Diabetes Revolution. Her specialty is working with diabetes patients and introducing them to a low-carb diet that is touted to be highly beneficial.

In December 2006 she became more widely known as she was featured in Men’s Health magazine. It was then that her efforts were brought to the forefront and she is now receiving the recognition earned for being at the forefront of the cutting edge advances being made in diabetes treatment.

According to Dr. Vernon, incorporating a low-carb diet in everyday life is the best way to keep diabetes in check. As she says, “Carbohydrate control is the best way to manage both types of diabetes -- the type with high levels of insulin secretion (usually called Type 2) and the type with no insulin secretion (usually called Type 1). In the case of high insulin secretion, low levels of dietary carbs bring the insulin levels down, which stops your body from storing fat and allows your body to begin to burn fat. This allows your body to begin to return to normal levels of blood sugar.” She has seen tremendous improvement in her patients once they make the change to the low-carb lifestyle.

Dr. Vernon further contends, “Giving [patients] control over their diabetes by giving them the tools to eat in such a way that they require less medication”.

For more information about diabetes and services for diabetics, please visit American Diabetes Services.

Tokyo Team Uncovers Possible Diabetes Cure

A Tokyo University team, led by Professor Takashi Kadowaki, might have found a link behind visceral fat-induced diabetes which might also uncover a cure for the disease. They published their findings in the U.S. medical magazine Nature Medicine.

Visceral fat (also known as internal fat) was long suspected a culprit for the onset of Type-II diabetes. When it accumulates (most often in overweight older adults), adiponectin decreases. Adiponectin is a protein hormone responsible for several metabolic processes including glucose regulation and the breakdown of fatty acid. Adiponectin works to lower blood sugar and neutral fat levels. A decline in this hormone can cause metabolic syndrome; resulting in diseases such as diabetes.

This study has revealed the inner workings of this process that were previously unclear. In tests involving mice, the researchers found two types of protein on the surface of the liver cells. Blood sugar and neutral fat levels fall when proteins and adiponectin join – which boosts fat-burning functions. Obese mice however, have visceral fat accumulated and fewer proteins on the surface of their liver cells. So when the researchers found increased proteins, the blood sugar levels would decline. The research team found that even if the quantity of adiponectin decreased in obese people, diabetes could be cured if the proteins increased.

If you or someone you know has Type-II diabetes , you may qualify for free diabetes supplies. Visit American Diabetes Services to find out.

Oral Insulin Tested to Prevent Type I Diabetes

It’s possible that oral insulin can delay or prevent Type I Diabetes. Studies are undererway now per the U.S. National Institutes of Health. More than 100 centers from the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia are included in the study. The goal from the research is to prevent the onset of type I diabetes. Researchers feel that if the disease can be delayed even by a few years it can alleviate the challenges that diabetics face of having to constantly keep their insulin in balance. The end result will be that complications arising from diabetes also will be delayed much longer.

The study tests a group of individuals most likely to develop the condition by administering an oral dose of insulin to see if it will prevent or delay its onset.

A pilot study called “The Nutritional Intervention to Prevent Type 1 Diabetes (NIP) Trial” is also being conducted on docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, to see whether it could be used to prevent the disease in infants less than five months old.

Diabetes is a disorder characterized by high blood sugar. Type I diabetes creates an autoimmune response that destroys the insulin producing cells while type 2 is a general insulin resistance. For more information about diabetes, related services and links, visit American Diabetes Services.