40% of Americans now expected to develop type 2 diabetes during lifetime

Type 2 diabetes is increasing among Americans at an alarming pace. Researchers have been tracking the number of confirmed cases over the last 26 years, combining data from death certificates and interviews for a population of 600,000 adults.

The accelerated rate of the disease's occurrence suggests that two out of five average adults in the United States can expect to have type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives.

Over the lengthy course of the research, the lifetime risk of type 2 diabetes for the average American 20-year-old was 20% for men and 27% for women from 1985 to 1989. It rose to a staggering 40% for men and 39% for women in 2000-2011.

The staggering numbers are not exclusive to the United States. Almost every developed country in the world is seeing a dramatic increase in the number of reported cases of type 2 diabetes. While the life expectancy of persons diagnosed with diabetes is increasing, the treatment costs are already overwhelming health systems around the world.

Grapefruit and helichrysum extract combat diabetes and obesity

In the Nutrition Department at the University of Navarra in Spain, Professor Alfredo Martinez and lecturer Fermin Milagro made a clinical breakthrough. They found out that both grapefruit and helichrysum extract can effectively combat diabetes and obesity. The work was presented by Ana Laura de la Garza in a PhD thesis titled "Anti-obesity and anti-diabetic properties of two natural extracts rich in flavonoids (Helichrysum and Grapefruit): physiological and molecular

mechanisms."

The research, carried out in three models -- in vitro, ex vivo and in animals -- has drawn three major conclusions about the natural flavonoid-rich extracts. For one, they both exhibit hypoglycemic properties in the intestines. Secondly, they efficiently regulate glucose metabolism in the liver, improving hyperglycemia. Lastly, they both give the body anti-inflammatory and antioxidant powers to protect against diabetes and obesity. The research was the first of its kind to investigate the physiological and molecular mechanisms of the popular Mediterranean fruit and plant, and the findings were additionally published in both the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and Food & Function.

Antipsychotic medications double diabetes risk in children

They told him to take the pills, on time, every day, promising that his depression would go away, but all is not the same as before...

His impulses are now sudden, sharp and cutting, like the razor gripped tight in his hand. Every thought that comes to mind aches with pulses of retaliation -- some kind of violence triggered within. The chemicals in his mind seem to be overflowing like a hemorrhaging wound, spilling out and pouring through the cracks in his brain. Nothing felt the same as it had before. He couldn't tell if he was still depressed or if he was going into a state of pure mania. He walked the fine line. At night, intense sweating woke him from sleep. On some days, lethargy walked around in his shadow, like some kind of haunting ghost trying to take control, making him stumble through the day.

Key antioxidant and trace mineral compounds that improve blood sugar stability

When we eat sugar or carbohydrates our digestive system converts these larger molecules into glucose, which is then absorbed into the bloodstream and taken to cells throughout the body. Blood sugar fuels cells, keeping them healthy, making it critical to maintain stable blood sugar levels. Key antioxidant and trace mineral compounds have been shown to improve blood sugar stability.

When blood sugar is elevated the sugar molecules connect to protein enzymes in the body producing sticky enzymes in a process called glycation. These glycation products are named advanced glycolytic enzymes (AGE's) and they produce rampant amounts of oxidative stress, inflammation and tissue damage.

Processed food industry pushing America toward 'perfect storm' of runaway diabetes and death

If the land of the free and home of the brave looked in the mirror today, they'd see a diseased and docile figure in the reflection -- a whimpering fragment of what men and women used to be. Setting the shovel and hoe aside, Americans have run for cover, hiding under the wings of a food system that only smothers and controls their health.

Have you ever experienced the freedom of growing even a little of your own food? Replacing sugars, preservatives and dyes from the grocery store with fresh produce from the garden can make all the difference in your happiness and health. Mixing your hands in the dirt brings a hearty, healthy connection with Earth that you cannot get walking around like a zombie under fluorescent supermarket lights.

Leptin can reverse uncontrolled diabetes, types 1 and 2

The appetite-regulating hormone leptin may actually be able to reverse the high blood sugar that characterizes type 1 and type 2 diabetes, according to a study conducted by researchers from Yale University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks the cells that produce the blood-sugar-lowering hormone insulin. Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which the body becomes less sensitive to insulin. Both conditions result in elevated blood glucose levels.

The researchers found that leptin suppressed neuroendocrine pathways responsible for causing blood sugar levels to rise in the first place. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Diabetes Association and the Novo Nordisk Foundation for Metabolic Research.

Maintaining proper magnesium levels lower diabetes risk by 37%

Sufficient magnesium intake may help deter the onset of diabetes, particularly in those exhibiting precursor symptoms, according to a new study conducted by researchers at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

One of the most overlooked minerals, magnesium is essential for good health, as its versatility meets a variety of the body's needs. It's responsible for over 300 different chemical reactions, including keeping your energy levels up, assisting with relaxation, providing optimal heart health and digesting proteins, carbs and fats.

Led by Adela Hruby, Ph.D., new research found that healthy people with the highest magnesium intake were 37 percent less likely to develop high blood sugar or excess circulating insulin, a precursor for diabetes.

Mediterranean diet can reverse metabolic disorder, lower risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease

The Mediterranean diet doesn't just protect against heart disease: It may actually reverse metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms linked to heart disease and diabetes.

The findings came from a study conducted by researchers from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili and the Hospital Universitari de Sant Joan de Reus in Reus, Spain.

"In this large, multicentre, randomized clinical trial involving people with high cardiovascular risk, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil was associated with a smaller increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared with advice on following a low-fat diet," the researchers wrote.

"Because there were no between-group differences in weight loss or energy expenditure, the change is likely attributable to the difference in dietary patterns."

Blueberry phenol pterostilbene reduces body fat, could lower diabetes risk

You may have heard about the miracle antioxidant resveratrol, found in blueberries, grapes and red wine. But did you know that these same foods also contain another phenolic compound, pterostilbene, which may help lower body fat and reduce diabetes risk? That was the finding of a study conducted by researchers from the Spanish Biomedical Research Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn) of the Carlos III Institute of Health, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Pterostilbene is in the same chemical family as resveratrol and is found in many of the same foods, such as grapes, blueberries, cranberries and peanuts. Pterostilbene is much less well studied than resveratrol, and most studies to date have focused on its cancer-fighting benefits. Because of its small size, pterostilbene is able to penetrate the cell membranes of cancer cells, inducing cell death. It has also been shown to suppress the ability of cancer cells to produce the energy they need to function.

Chinese licorice used in traditional medicine can prevent diabetes

For more than 4,000 years around the globe, parts of Glycyrrhiza plants (licorice) have been used as a natural sweetener as well as an herbal medicine to treat a range of health conditions. Its effectiveness is once again reinforced in findings recently published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, where researchers note that components of the plant have the ability to potentially help stop metabolic disorders in their tracks.

In particular, they found that the compound isoliquiritigenin (ILG) in Glycyrrhiza uralensis is able to help prevent high-fat, diet-related obesity, fatty liver disease (hepatic steatosis) and type 2 diabetes by stopping activation of NLRP3, a protein involved in such diseases.

Leafy green vegetables improve heart function and reduce diabetes and obesity risk

Three independent studies have linked leafy green vegetables to reduced health risks associated with obesity, diabetes and heart complications, reinforcing the benefits of consuming a diet rich in such foods.

In particular, the scientists involved in these University of Southampton and Cambridge studies point to nitrate as a key factor that makes these vegetables so effective.

According to Dr. Andrew Murray of the University of Cambridge, "There have been a great many findings demonstrating a role for nitrate in reducing blood pressure and regulating the body's metabolism. These studies represent three further ways in which simple changes in the diet can modify people's risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity as well as potentially alleviating symptoms of existing cardiovascular conditions to achieve an overall healthier life."

Whole grains can increase your lifespan, decrease diabetes, heart disease risk and more

From every angle, the general population is starving, in desperate need of more than just food and empty, nutritionless calories. The supermarkets are full of empty-calorie food products that have been stripped of their nutrition. The void is real. It can be seen in the people's faces, passing by one another in the grocery aisles with blank stares. The nutrition just isn't there. It's hard to come by. You have to know where to look. For the most part, today's grains are commercially stripped of their nutrition, refined down to starchy remains.

The protective outer layer of the grain (the bran) is removed during the refining process, taking the fiber out along with it -- the fiber which humans need for proper digestion.

Use these 17 herbs and spices to fight diabetes

According to the most recent American Diabetes Association report, 29.1 million Americans are diabetic. Additionally, the disease still held the rank of being the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Over 8 million of that 29.1 are undiagnosed, unaware that they have the condition.

Therefore, it's wise for everyone to take a closer look at their dietary lifestyle and eat foods that help fight diabetes.

Fight diabetes with these 17 herbs and spices

Several kinds of herbs and spices exist that keep the disease at bay. Here's a look at what Dr. Alexa Fleckenstein, author of The Diabetes Cure, swears by.

The list of herbs, spices and information below are derived from her book. Supporting details and their sources are noted, if used.

Watching TV increases Americans' diabetes risk by nearly 18 percent, study shows

Television watching increases diabetes risk, scientists have now confirmed. By studying over 3,000 overweight Americans, a research study demonstrated that risk for type 2 diabetes increased over 14 percent in those watching four hours of television a day. The average American watches 5.11 hours of television per day. The diabetes risk increased by 3.4 percent for each hour of television watching. Other seated activities, such as computer use, may have a similar detrimental effect, but the study only investigated the impact of television watching.

The research study was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and published in the journal, Diabetologia. Lead author Dr. Bonny Rockette-Wagner found "...a significantly increased risk of developing diabetes with increased television watching (3.4 percent per hour spent watching television)."

GMO soybean oil causes obesity, diabetes, fatty liver, but propagandists say it's 'healthier' than non-GMO soybean oil

Of all the seed oil produced in the US, 90 percent comes from soybeans. The shelf life and temperature stability of soybean oil is increased through the process of hydrogenation, which also generates unhealthy trans fats in the oil.

DuPont developed genetically modified soybean oil that has a fatty acid composition that is low in linoleic acid. Linoleic acid was thought of as the unhealthy component of the oil that causes obesity, diabetes and fatty liver in humans; however, new in-depth research has found hardly any health benefits of GM soybean oil over regular soybean oil.

When scientists at the University of California, Riverside, and UC Davis investigated the differences of the soybean oils, they found that the genetically modified soybean oil was not "healthier" at all. The reduced linoleic acid profile does not reduce diabetes, obesity and fatty liver like the industry had promised.

Diabetes and brain calcification: How fake sugar industry science poisoned drinking water with fluoride chemicals

The sugar industry and the federal government have been colluding since the 1960s to boost consumption of the commodity as it knowingly hid the detrimental effects of its product, choosing instead to foist another harmful substance on society.

According to Vocativ, the collusion was laid bare in a new study spanning more than 1,500 pages of correspondence between sugar industry and researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR). The "Sugar Papers," as they are known, indicate that every member but one on a government task force studying tooth decay also happened to sit on the sugar industry's expert panel. Also, the study found that 78 percent of industry recommendations eventually found their way into the 1971 National Caries Program.

Long-Term Benefits, Risks of Newest Diabetes Drugs Still Unclear

New data shows the latest class of diabetes drugs may protect against heart failure, but the long-term health benefits and risks require more study.

New study data shows that the latest class of type 2 diabetes drugs, which includes top-sellers Januvia and Victoza, may offer heart health benefits in addition to managing blood sugars. GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1)-based medications are the fastest-growing category of diabetes drugs, but the long-term benefits — and risks — of these relative newcomers are still not fully understood.

Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit found that people taking GLP-1 medications to control their diabetes were less likely to develop heart failure compared to people taking other drugs to lower blood sugar. These individuals were also at decreased risk of hospitalization and death from all causes. The study, which is being presented today at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting in San Francisco, analyzed medical data from 4,427 people taking medications for diabetes under the hospital's care between 2000 and 2012.

Weight Loss Surgery Can Restore Metabolic Function, Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

A new follow-up study to the STAMPEDE trial, which tested the efficacy of bariatric surgery as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, found that gastric bypass may induce diabetes remission in some people by rehabilitating the pancreas' insulin-secreting cells and reducing belly fat.

When her doctor told her she had type 2 diabetes in 2005, Heather Britton was no stranger to the physical and emotional toll of the disease. Her mom passed away from complications of diabetes, and she had watched grandparents, aunts, and cousins struggle to manage the condition.

Britton, a 54-year-old information analyst from Bay Village, Ohio, developed gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with her daughter in her thirties, foreshadowing her eventual diagnosis with type 2.

Diabetes Drug May Help Obese Teens Shed Pounds

Further research needed to confirm short-term study.

Treatment with a type 2 diabetes drug that suppresses appetite and increases feelings of satiety may offer hope to severely overweight teens, researchers reported.

In a small, placebo-controlled randomized trial, the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist exenatide (Bydureon, Byetta) was associated with both lower body weight and body mass index (BMI), according to Aaron Kelly, PhD, of the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, and colleagues.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists reduce body weight by slowing gastric motility and activating GLP-1 receptors in the hypothalamus in people with and without diabetes.

The "modest" reductions are preliminary evidence that the drug, approved for adults with type 2 diabetes, can be useful in adolescents with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or higher, Kelly and colleagues reported online in JAMA Pediatrics.

But they cautioned that the study was short in duration – just 3 months in the randomized phase followed by a further 3 months of open-label treatment – and included fewer than two dozen teens, ages 12 to 19.

"Larger studies with longer periods of treatment will be needed," they noted, "to evaluate the durability of the weight-loss effect over time."

Moreover, while the results of the trial were statistically significant, their clinical importance remains unclear, commented Jeffrey Schwimmer, MD, of the University of California San Diego, in an accompanying editorial.

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Schwimmer noted that patients in the study were very obese, with an average BMI of 42.5 kg/m2, so that the reductions seen in the study would typically reduce body fat from 50 percent to at most 48.5 percent.

"Is this likely to be clinically meaningful?" Schwimmer asked.

The drug had been shown in a previous nonrandomized study to reduce BMI by about 5 percent. To extend those results, they studied outcomes of 22 adolescents randomly assigned to receive exenatide or placebo twice a day by subcutaneous injection twice daily for 3 months.

The randomized double-blinded part of the trial was followed by an open-label phase in which all patients got the drug. The primary endpoint was the change in BMI from baseline to the end of the randomized part of the study.

Participants in the randomized phase had a baseline BMI of greater than 42 kg/m2, at an average age of 15 g/m2.

Kelly and colleagues found that exenatide patients had an average reduction of 2.7 percent in BMI compared with placebo. They also had a reduction of 1.13 points in absolute BMI, compared with those in the placebo group.

During the open-label extension, those initially randomized to exenatide had a further drop in BMI, leading to cumulative decline of 4 percent. In contrast, those initially randomized to placebo had less than a 0.25 percent decline in BMI during their 3 months on the drug, Kelly and colleagues reported.

The reason for the latter finding remain unclear, Kelly and colleagues noted, adding "perhaps frustration with the lack of weight loss during the first 3 months and/or the unblinded nature of the open-label phase led to altered lifestyle behaviors for the remainder of the study."

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The FDA Flags Diabetes Drug for Kidney Risks

But studies largely dispelled any cardiovascular concerns.

The novel type 2 diabetes drug canagliflozin (Invocana) is effective at lowering blood glucose, but FDA reviewers have raised concerns about renal and fracture risks.

In a review of nine phase II and III trials, FDA reviewers found that both the 300-mg and 100-mg doses of the SGLT2 inhibitor significantly reduced HbA1c compared with placebo, and proved non-inferior to glimepiride (Amaryl) and sitagliptin (Januvia).

But efficacy was more modest in a trial of patients with moderate renal impairment, a population already at risk for adverse effects to the kidney — a concern since the drug was linked with osmotic diuresis and volume depletion events, the reviewers said in briefing documents released Tuesday, ahead of an FDA advisory committee meeting to consider whether to recommend approval of the drug.

Holidays Spell Trouble for Folks Unaware They're Diabetic

High-salt, high-fat foods may put these people at risk for heart attack, stroke.

Holiday eating and drinking could pose a risk for people who do not know that they have type 2 diabetes, an expert says.

"As tempting and tasty as it might be, eating high-fat foods with excess calories, carbohydrates and salt will put people who don't know they have the disease at great risk," Dr. Dale Hamilton, an endocrinologist and diabetes specialist with the Methodist Hospital in Houston, said in a hospital news release.

"The most common cause of death from type 2 diabetes is heart disease and stroke," he noted.

People with type 2 diabetes, by far the most common form of diabetes, have trouble making insulin, which the body needs to convert food to energy. Close to 26 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 7 million of them don't know it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Obese Diabetics Benefit from Gastric Banding

Experts say that weight loss surgery may become another way to treat diabetes.

Obese patients with type 2 diabetes who undergo laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding can see significant improvement in their glucose control, an interim analysis of the APEX study showed.

At 2 years, 95 percent of 47 patients either achieved remission or improvement in their hemoglobin A1c values, according to Ted Okerson, MD, from the University of California at Irvine, and colleagues.

Type 2 Diabetes and Fatty Liver Disease

If you have type 2 diabetes, you are at risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Find out why and what you can do about it.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a group of conditions in which fat builds up in the liver, leading to inflammation of the cells where it is stored and causing the liver to get bigger. It can progress to more serious conditions, including fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver.

Fatty liver disease "is so common. It’s present arguably in a majority of type 2 diabetics,” says Daniel Einhorn, MD, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego and the medical director of the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute. “None of us thought about it more than about 10 years ago, then all of a sudden we discovered it and see it all the time.”

A Life Plan for Type 2 Diabetes

After diagnosis, people with type 2 diabetes must learn to take responsibility for their long-term health.

Diabetes self-management is a crucial part of treating type 2 diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes quickly find that they are largely responsible for protecting their own long-term health and that the best way to prevent complications is to set up a life plan for managing diabetes.

Monique Richard of Nashville, Tenn., was 28 when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Although diabetes runs in her family, she was still shocked by the diagnosis. She decided to tackle her diabetes head-on, voraciously reading anything she could get her hands on about the disease and what she needed to do to keep herself healthy. As Richard, now 31, describes it, her reaction was, “Okay, I've got this — now what do I do?”

A Diabetes Educator for Type 2 Diabetes

This professional is an invaluable addition to your type 2 diabetes management team.

Learning to live with type 2 diabetes can take some time and adjustments. Although they may not know it, people with diabetes usually have a great resource who can be a lifeline: the diabetes educator.

Type 2 Diabetes: What Is a Diabetes Educator?

Kathy Honick, RN, CDE, a diabetes educator at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, explains that a certified diabetes educator can be a registered nurse, registered dietitian, pharmacist, registered nurse-practitioner, or physician's assistant. She says her goal is to help people with diabetes — and also those who are at risk of developing diabetes — learn about the disease and how to live with it successfully.

Type 2 Diabetes: Coping With Your Diagnosis

Living with diabetes means accepting the diagnosis and making the necessary changes to your life.

"Depressed" and "disappointed" are the words used by New Orleans resident Gary Davis to describe his feelings when he received his type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

"I am a nurse, so I knew what was happening, what was coming," recalls the 51-year-old, referring to the long-term damage diabetes can wreak on a person's health and body.

Davis admits that initially, he didn't want to try to make the changes that would improve his health. "At one time, I didn't even try, but I try now. Every day I try harder," he says.

How Is Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosed?

Diagnosing type 2 diabetes involves testing for higher-than-normal levels of blood sugar.

Type 2 diabetes is present when your levels of blood sugar (glucose) are higher than normal. In order to test for diabetes, your doctor will send you to a lab so a blood sample can be tested.

There are three types of tests that can help determine whether you have diabetes.

The Fasting Plasma Glucose Test

This test is conducted on blood drawn after you have not eaten for about eight hours. The blood is normally drawn in the morning before breakfast.

Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

Fatigue, increased thirst, irritability, and hunger – type 2 diabetes causes many symptoms that can be mistaken for other conditions.

Because type 2 diabetes develops slowly, and symptoms generally come on gradually, they may go unnoticed for a long time, or they may be attributed to something else.

For example, increased thirst may be chalked up to a hot summer, or fatigue may be interpreted as a sign of aging or stress.

This is unfortunate, because even short-term high blood sugar diminishes your quality of life. And if high blood sugar persists for a long time, it can eventually cause complications such as eye or kidney disease that cannot be completely reversed with improved blood sugar control.

Coffee May Be Key to Ward Off Diabetes

People who frequently drink coffee may have a lower risk of diabetes, according to new research, but experts say that more research needs to be done.

Many people can’t start the day without a cup of coffee, and that morning cup may be doing much more than giving them a boost of energy – it may also help ward off type 2 diabetes. There is growing evidence that a relatively small amount of coffee can cut your type 2 diabetes risk by nearly a third — as long as you don’t add too much sugar.

Most recently, researchers from Qingdao University in China analyzed 26 studies on coffee and type 2 diabetes, involving a total of more than 1 million participants. They found that those who drank the most coffee were up to 30 percent less likely to develop diabetes than those who drank the least amount. They published the results in the European Journal of Nutrition in October.

Food Labels: Read Them to Manage Your Diabetes

Packaged foods come with handy nutrition labels, but you have to know what you're looking for to make the most of them.

Packaged foods carry nutrition labels with a handy list of ingredients and nutritive values that lets you know what's really inside. But when trying to differentiate the foods that are best for diabetics and those that should be left on the shelves, these panels of information can read like a foreign language. Ultimately, knowing how to translate the lingo on food labels will help you be more successful at managing type 2 diabetes.

Research found that people who read labels tend to choose foods based on their dietary needs, rather than on familiarity. According to a study published in Public Health Nutrition, those who read products’ nutritional information ate more fiber, less saturated fat, few carbohydrates, and less sugar. They also had better control over their calorie intake.

Here’s how you can use nutrition labels to help you control the effects of type 2 diabetes.