Only half of Americans with prediabetes take steps to avoid progression to diabetes, according to a recent report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Prediabetes is defined as: fasting blood sugar between 100 and 125 mg/dl (5.56–6.94 mmol/l) or blood sugar level 140–199 mg/dl (7.78–11.06 mmol/l) two hours after drinking 75 grams of glucose Prediabetes [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘Prevention of T2 Diabetes’
March 15, 2010
Review: Gestational Diabetes
Ever heard of gestational diabetes? It’s when a when a woman develops diabetes during pregnancy. It usually goes away soon after the baby is born. All pregnancies are characterized by some degree of insulin resistance and high insulin levels: they are necessary for the baby. Nevertheless, healthy pregnant women run blood sugars 20% lower than [...]
January 10, 2010
Diabetes + Overweight and Obesity = Diabesity
Mark Hyman, M.D., blogged about diabesity at the Huffington Post December 24, 2009. He defines diabesity as a problem with glucose regulation associated with overweight and obesity. The glucose physiology problem ranges from metabolic syndrome to prediabetes to full-blown type 2 diabetes. “Diabesity” has been in circulation for a few years, but hasn’t caught on [...]
January 6, 2010
Legumes and Whole Grains: Any Role in Diabetes?
Expert nutrition panels consistently recommend whole grains and legumes for people with diabetes. Why? And do these foods affect development of diabetes? I found a pertinent scientific review article on the subject from 2004 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Here are some pertinent quotes from the summary: Epidemiological studies strongly support the suggestion that [...]
January 5, 2010
One of Every Three Born in 2000 Will Develop Diabetes
The U.S. already has 24 million people with diabetes and another 54 million with prediabetes. Approximately one of every three persons born in the U.S. in 2000 will develop diabetes in his or her lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Incredible. And largely preventable if we have the will. Steve Parker, [...]
December 18, 2009
Low-Carb Killing Spree Continues
Low-fat and low-carb diets produce equal weight loss and improvements in insulin resistance but the low-carb diet may be detrimental to vascular health, according to a new study in Diabetes. Methodology Researchers in the the UK studied 24 obese subjects—15 female and 9 male—randomized to eat either a low-fat (20% fat, 60% carbohydrate) or low-carb (20% carb, 60% fat) diet [...]
December 14, 2009
More Coffee, Less Diabetes
Coffee drinking is associated with lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. Tea and decaffeinated coffee seem to have the same effect. Each additional daily cup of coffee reduced the risk by seven percent. These beverages may have one or more phytochemicals that that alter blood sugar physiology. [...]
November 18, 2009
Do Beans and Peas Affect Glucose Control in Diabetics?
Beans and peas improve control of blood sugar in diabetics and others, according to a recent report from Canadian researchers. The effect is modest. Dietary pulses are dried leguminous seeds, including beans, chickpeas, lentils, and peas. Pulses fed to healthy volunteers have a very low glycemic index, meaning they don’t cause much of a rise in [...]
November 2, 2009
Lower My Risk of Diabetes? I’ll Drink to That!
How many grams of alcohol are in this wine? Judicious alcohol consumption is linked to lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes: 40% lower risk in women, 13% lower in men. The latest issue of Diabetes Care reports the comparison of lifetime abstainers with alcohol drinkers. The protective “dose” of alcohol is 22–24 grams a day. [...]
October 28, 2009
THIS Week, Fish Consumption is Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk
Salmon, one of the oily fish Just weeks after I reported about fish consumption being linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes, a different study reports the opposite. The Norfolk, England, wing of the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer found a 25% lower risk of developing diabetes in adults who ate one or more [...]
