Fighting Diabetes, Proactively!

A new study suggests that the Mediterranean diet may help ward of Diabetes Type 2. It is all over the news[Follow the links below].

The Mediterranean diet consisting mainly of Vegetables, Fruits, Olive Oil, Fish and less animal products, and as you see the food items you can see that it is actually very healthy, and the particular diet is long known to be good for fighting cardiovascular diseases, but the recent study suggest that it can ward of diabetes.

I would say that this diet would actually prevent Diabetes, and this is something that I have been been trying follow religiously, not knowing that it could be the Mediterranean diet.

I have always espoused the following of a healthy diet plan, and a healthy lifestyle to ward of Diabetes. When your food mainly comprises of Fruits, vegetables, Olive Oils and Fish (with Omega-3 fatty acids), this will actually help you control your weight as well, and if you can fight obesity, that is half the battle won against the fight for Diabetes.

And this study has strengthened my belief in a healthy lifestyle for the prevention of Diabetes.

My thought is reflected by some other expert here,

“This study reminds me of a comment I once heard someone else say — ‘Research simply confirms what we already know or suspect,’ ” said Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

And yes, switch to Olive Oil.
Taste great and it is healthy, what more can you ask for?
Take a packet of mixed vegetables, the frozen kind that you get in supermarkets, with peas, beans, Broccolli, carrots and such like. Defrost the whole Packet.

Heat a table spoon of olive oil.
Chop a small onion and add it to the oil.
Add two cloves of crushed garlic.
Add the vegetables and stir fry for 5 minutes.
Add pepper and salt to taste.

I absolutely love this.

More:
[US news]
[CTV]
[AFP]
[Science Daily]
[Reuters]
[BBC News]
[The Independent]

Gastric bypass surgery can actually prevent diabetes, says doctors. Gastric surgery or Bariatrics, popularly known as obesity surgery just adjust the size of your stomach by using various techniques. This treatment which is a very popular treatment for weightloss helps in the reduction of blood glucose levels, and thus helps fight diabetes in turn.

Doctors say weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, works because it leads to long-term weight loss, which helps lower blood sugar levels. Some of the latest research shows that diabetes goes away in many patients who undergo gastric bypass even before they start losing significant amounts of weight.[Via]

I never thought of this, but Diabetes can actually be controlled by a strict diet plan. and by doing a bariatic bypass, you are actually enforcing a strict diet, and yes this can actually work.

The doctor goes on to say that 89 percent of his patients were cured. He calls it suppression rather than cure.
Even though this can be a very effective cure for Diabetes, problem is that not every one can undergo this surgery. The NIH has some eligibility criteria on who actually can go for this surgery. Looks like, ONLY the morbidly obese should undergo this surgery.

A new study has found that cocoa could help prevent Diabetes. The study is based on the fact that a compound found in Cocoa has helped in the repair of of vessels, and can help diabetics who usually have the risk of cardiovascular problems. The study didn’t mention direct benefit of cocoa in the prevention of diabetes though.[via]

Says this article.

Probiotic drinks containing certain kinds of “friendly bacteria” could help prevent adult diabetes according to a new study. Now a new insight into the disease has come from scientists focusing on the microbes in the gut, which outnumber the cells in the body and play a crucial role in extracting calories, vitamins and nutrients from food.

These are the friendly bacteria that recides in our intestines, they are talking about. The friendly bacteria in our gut that helps in the digestion of our food could also be beneficial in preventing Diabetes. The idea here is to find the right bacteria that might change the way glucose is processed and in turn help in preventing Diabetes. Like all reports, they are still in the study mode, and this doesn’t mean they have a break through. Lets just hope for the best.

There is report that an anti-inflammatory drug called Salsalate might help in the treatment of Type - II diabetes. Earlier, the researchers the Joslin Diabetes Center had reported that Salsalate might prevent Diabetes, and tests are still going on. Now, this is really good news for millions of patients, if the test were successful and if this medicine would actually reverse Diabetes Type II.

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center who reported earlier this year that an inexpensive, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug called salsalate might prevent type 2 diabetes are now reporting that the drug may also be beneficial in the treatment of the disease.[source]

Salsalate is similar to salicylate, which is found in the common aspirin. Salicylates have been known for sometime to reduce blood glucose levels, but it cannot be used in the treatment of diabetes since it is harmful to the stomach when taken in excess. Salsalate seems to have the Blood Glucose lowering capacity similar to Salicylates, and is not harmful to the stomach.

There are currently Clinical Trails going on to see if these can prove to be an affordable treatment of the Diabetes Type II. I sure hope it is successful.