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:: DIABETES N EWS
OF THE DAY:
Are you a diabetes timebomb?
27th July 2010
If
you’re slightly overweight, you could be one of a million
Britons with undiagnosed diabetes.
The consultant was an expert in his field, with the air of a
man who knew what he was doing.
So when Robert Carew-Hunt was told his grossly swollen legs
were a sign of lymphedema - a build up of fluid caused by
damage to the lymph system, he accepted the diagnosis and
was discharged from hospital with a packet of support
stockings to reduce the swelling.
Unfortunately, the specialist was wrong. The swelling was,
in fact, a sign of undiagnosed diabetes. and although Robert
went on to display other, classic symptoms - such as an
ulcer on his big toe that wouldn't heal - a succession of
clinicians missed the signs, so that by the time his
diabetes was finally diagnosed eight months later, Robert
had suffered serious tissue damage.
He has since had two toes amputated on his right foot and
has charcot foot in his left - an excruciatingly painful
degenerative bone condition caused by high blood-sugar
levels damaging blood supply and tissues. It ultimately
leads to chronic deformity.
'It has been a long road to be able to walk at all since
losing my toes, and I'm still in a lot of pain,' he says.
'I'm not a vengeful person by nature. But I'm frustrated and
angry that I was seen by so many medics and yet for months
not one suspected diabetes.'
His condition meant that Robert, then in his early 50s, had
to take early retirement from his job in the civil service.
This is by no means an isolated case
- indeed misdiagnosis and misunderstanding about the signs
and risk factors for diabetes mean more people than ever are
undergoing amputation.
And the fear is that the numbers are only going to rise,
with an estimated one million Britons living with
undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, according to a new report just
published by the charity Diabetes UK.
This is twice as many as previously thought, and is largely
due to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles.
Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body's inability to produce
enough of the hormone insulin - or the insulin that is
produced is not working properly (known as 'insulin
resistance').
This is because abdominal fat is thought to release a
protein which prevents insulin from mopping up excess sugar
in the blood.
'It's just not necessary for anyone else to go through
this.'
Read more
Further News:
Controlling diabetes in Summer
26th July 2010
Diabetes
is a topic that is common to a lot of people. Summer
activities may take us away from being mindful of both
controlling diabetes and heart disease. Not being mindful
may result in long term problems that maybe you do not know
about. These can occur when blood sugar is not checked or
kept in balance. Knowing the facts and ways to prevent these
problems can help.
Read more
Predictors of an Asian diabetes
epidemic: A study
14th July 2010
Experts
believe
diabetes will be the
leading disease in Asia mainly because of the rise in
consumption of junk and high calorie foods in this region of
the world.
Read more
Northants
NHS leads diabetes care
13th July 2010
NHS
Northamptonshire has launched a new way of treating
diabetes. It is the first of its kind in the world. It has
put together the experience of patients, doctors, carers and
a range of clinicians to redesign the treatment.
The new treatment focuses on prevention rather than allowing
the condition to take complete control.
It is hoped this will give patients more knowledge of their
condition and support in the community.
It will launch the new treatment at a conference at the
Hilton Hotel in Northampton on 13 July 2010.
NHS Northamptonshire aims to provide more patient education
programmes on diabetes and the types of treatment that it
provides.
Read more
Western fast food fuelling
SE Asia diabetes boom
7th
July 2010
The
growing popularity of Western junk food is fuelling a
diabetes boom across Southeast Asia, Australian researchers
warned on Wednesday.
Studies found about 11 percent of men and 12 percent of
women in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City had type 2 diabetes
without knowing it, on top of the four percent of people who
are diagnosed sufferers.
"Dietary patterns have been changing dramatically in Vietnam
in recent years, particularly in the cities as they become
more Westernised," said Tuan Nguyen of Sydney's Garvan
Institute of Medical Research.
Read more
Pistachios: Welcome to healthy snacking
06th July 2010
Nuts
are excellent foods that deserve a larger
place in our daily diets. Of the many varieties of nuts,
pistachios are especially good, thanks to their high levels
of antioxidants and several other ingredients that are good
for your health.
Native to the Middle East, pistachios are the fruit of the
pistachio tree (Pistacia vera). The tree’s fruit was prized
as far back as 7,000 BC by people in the area that now
includes Syria, Turkey and Persia, and is still one of the
most popular hulled nuts out there. Pistachios more than
deserve their incredible popularity because, on top of their
incredible flavour, they are full of vitamins, minerals and
healthy unsaturated fats.
Read more
Can a Diabetic Eat Fruits?
5th
July 2010
The
commonest question that people who have diabetes ask is `Can
I eat fruit as they are very sweet?`. There is a
misconception that the people who have diabetes should avoid
fruits as they contain, `lots of sugar`. But this is not
true. Fruit is the food that has been enjoyed by mankind
from the very earliest of times. In fact, it is nature`s
gift to man. They contain substantial quantities of
essential nutrients in correct proportions. Fruits contain
substantial quantities of sugar in the process of ripening.
The important fruit sugars are fructose, sucrose, dextrose,
glucose etc.
The people with diabetes generally judge the fruits by
taste; so they tend to avoid the sweeter fruits - such as
mangoes, grapes, pineapple, chickoo etc. Fruits such as
apple, papaya, water melon etc. which are comparatively less
sweet in taste are generally consumed.
Read
more
One million diabetics are undiagnosed
01st July 2010
More
than a million Britons now have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes,
twice as many as previously thought, new figures suggest.
The rise is being blamed largely on growing levels of
obesity and unhealthy lifestyles.
The Diabetes Health Intelligence charity estimates total
sufferers of both the Type 2 form, and of Type 1 diabetes,
which is not linked to unhealthy living, will hit 5.5
million by 2030.
Type 2 diabetes can go undetected for a decade or longer. Up
to half of sufferers show signs of complications by the time
they are diagnosed. Diabetics are at higher risk of heart
disease, strokes and blindness.
Prevention is the key in tackling the “epidemic”.
Read more
Healthier foods and more exercise in schools lower diabetes
risk
29th July 2010
Social
programs are implemented far more often than they're tested.
Here's one that was -- a study to see if improved school
food, more physical activity time and classes about healthy
living actually improved the health of students.
Some might be tempted to say -- "Of course they would. What
a waste of government money." But things don't always turn
out the way one would think: My favorite example of this was
a well-meaning attempt to improve behavior of delinquent
kids by putting them in group therapy together. (The kids'
behaviour, if anything, got worse ... perhaps because they
befriended each other.)
Read more
The Benefits Of Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements
28th June 2010
Fish
аnԁ fish oil аrе considered tο bе very healthy bесаυѕе οf
thе prevalence οf Omega 3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic (DHA)
аnԁ Eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acids. Lіkе everything еƖѕе іn
thе world, fats саn аƖѕο bе categorized іntο ɡοοԁ fats аnԁ
bаԁ fats. Thе fats thаt аrе contained іn fish oil happen tο
bе one οf thе best аnԁ richest. Hence, fish іѕ bу far thе
richest source οf Omega 3 oil.
Omega 3 іѕ a very іmрοrtаnt fatty acid thаt саnnοt bе
produced within thе human body, аnԁ thus Omega mυѕt bе
ingested through ουr diet alone. Lеt υѕ discuss thе benefits
οf taking omega 3 fish oil supplements.
Read more
Tattoo to monitor diabetes
25th June 2010
Scientists
are developing a smart tattoo that could tell diabetics when
their glucose levels are dangerously low.
Once perfected, the tattoo will allow glucose levels to be
monitored round the clock, and could allow an alarm system
that would warn the diabetic if their glucose levels were to
fall dangerously.
It would also mean that diabetics would no longer have to
subject themselves to the finger-prick devices that
currently they must use every day.
Read
more
Diabetes care on hot
days
When
the weather really heats up, people with diabetes must take
extra care: Siski Green reports
We don’t get to complain too often about the heat here in
Britain, but when temperatures do soar, it can cause
problems for people with diabetes, especially if it’s humid
at the same time.
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in the US, working with
scientists from the National Ocean and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), surveyed diabetes patients in
Phoenix, Arizona, an area renowned for its extreme high
temperatures. In summer, the mercury rarely dips below 35
degrees.
Read
more
White rice “raises diabetes risk”
White
rice has a higher glycaemic index than brown rice. Replacing
white rice with brown rice and wholemeal bread could cut the
risk of diabetes by a third, US experts say.
White rice poses a diabetes threat because it causes steep
rises in blood sugar, say Harvard researchers in Archives of
Internal Medicine. Brown rice and other wholegrain foods are
a healthier option as they release glucose more gradually,
they say.
Read more
Caffeine works wonders as an anti-diabetic compound, say
experts
A novel study propounds more benefits of consuming coffee,
saying that it helps reduce type 2
diabetes risks.
Researchers from Nagoya University, Japan established that
caffeine found in coffee can help cut back the risk of type
2 diabetes in coffee drinkers.
Toronto Sun quoted study authors as saying, “Our results
indicated that caffeine is one of the most effective
anti-diabetic compounds in coffee.”
Read more
Palm Fruit
Oil protects
from diabetes?
Many
people are already aware of the fact that vitamin E helps to
rid the body of free radicals and protect it from diabetes,
cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart disease and other
serious illness. However there are two forms of vitamin E
that each serve a unique purpose: tocopherols and
tocotrienols. While tocopherols are the most common form of
vitamin E available on the market, tocotrienols are just now
beginning to emerge in the Western world as a superior
addition to the vitamin E family, particularly in the form
of palm fruit oil where they are most richly found.
Read more
Scientists study if blaeberries could aid diabetes
Volunteers
are being sought to see if the extract of blaeberries could
treat diabetes.
Experts from the University of Aberdeen are exploring if a
concentrated capsule form of the fruit, which is part of the
blueberry family, could help.
They are looking for 60 overweight men, aged 40 to 70 with
type 2 diabetes, to take part in the three-week study.
The volunteers, from the Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire area,
would take the capsule three times a day.
Read more
Vitamin K
linked to lower diabetes
risk 
People
who get plenty of
vitamin K from food may have a lower risk of developing type
2 diabetes than those who get less of the vitamin, a new
study suggests.
Researchers found that among more than 38,000
Dutch adults they followed for a decade, those who got the
most vitamin K in their diets were about 20 percent less
likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes during the study
period.
The findings appear to be the first to show a relationship
between vitamin K and diabetes risk, and do not prove that
the vitamin is the reason for the lower risk, write the
researchers, led by Dr. Joline W.J. Beulens of the
University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Read more
Working overtime is bad for your heart.. and may lead to
depression and diabetes
WORKING
overtime is bad for your heart, say scientists.
People who spend three or more hours extra at the office
have a 60 per cent higher risk of heart attacks and angina,
a Finnish team found.
There could also be a link between long hours and depression
and diabetes.
Scientists from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
studied more than 10,000 Whitehall civil servants for 19
years.
Read more
Lack of bed rest
''linked to diabetes''
The
latest ailment said to affect those hit by a lack of good
sleep on the
mattress at night
is an increase in insulin resistance, which can lead to type
2 diabetes, according to a new study.
Following similar reports in recent days that have blamed
bad
bed rest for
obesity, poor concentration and even premature death,
scientists at Netherlands-based Leiden University Medical
Centre have now linked it to the potentially fatal disease.
Read more
Is it really superfruit?
Can
an apple a day keep the
doctor away? Well, the apple is indeed a storehouse of
vitamins and minerals. Its consumption has been associated with the reduced risk of
cancer particularly lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases,
asthma and type 2 diabetes. There are 7,000 varieties of
apple and all have varying contents of vitamin C and vitamin
E—powerful antioxidants that boost immunity and slow ageing.
Read
more
Importance of regular breakfast
A new study has concluded that a higher fat breakfast may be
healthier for health and help in preventing metabolic
disorders. The study by the researchers at University of
Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) was published online in the
International Journal of
Obesity.
A healthy breakfast help you kick-start the day and skipping
it would lead to several health hazards including
convulsions in stomach. A regular breakfast can protect
against several metabolic disorders like abdominal obesity,
high triglycerides, diabetes and cardiac problems.
Breakfast is the first meal of the day that helps in keeping
the body energized. It provides energy and boosts
metabolism. Breakfast also plays an important role in
maintaining the body’s fitness and body composition.
Read more
Chinese wolfberries could improve vision defects caused by
diabetes
A boffin at Kansas State University is delving
deeper into the use of Chinese wolfberries for improving
vision deficiencies characteristic of type-2 diabetese.
Dingbo "Daniel" Lin is studying wolfberries and their
potential to improve damage to the retina. His findings show
that the fruit can lower the oxidative stress that the eye
undergoes as a result of type-2 diabetes. "I would not say
that wolfberries are a medicine, but they can be used as a
dietary supplement to traditional treatments to improve
vision. Wolfberries have high antioxidant activity and are
very beneficial to protect against oxidative stress caused
by environmental stimuli and genetic mutations," said Lin.
Read more
Maple
syrup can substantially slow the growth of cancerous cells
in several cancers and help reduce the risk of diabetes,
U.S. researchers found.
Navindra
Seeram of the University of Rhode Island found 13 new
antioxidant compounds that were not known to exist in syrup
until now. Several of these antioxidants newly identified in
maple syrup are reported to have anti-cancer, anti-bacterial
and anti-diabetic properties.
Read more
Vitamin D can help fight chronic diseases
A
daily dose of vitamin D may just be what helps you tide over
a long, bleak winter when you are mostly indoors, says new
research.
"Vitamin D deficiency continues to be a problem despite the
nutrient's widely reported health benefits," said Sue
Penckofer, professor, Loyola University Chicago, Marcella
Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON), who led the study.
Read more
Coffee and tea can prevent diabetes
Drinking
tea or coffee reduces the risk of diabetes, according to a
review of 18 studies that covered hundreds of thousands of
people.
Previous research had shown that people who drank the most
coffee were one-third less likely to develop diabetes than
those who drank the least. In the years since then, the
amount of research on coffee and diabetes risk has more than
doubled, and other studies have suggested that tea and
decaffeinated coffee may also be effective in preventing
diabetes.
Read more
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