Tea lovers may also rejoice. The same diabetes-reducing association was found for tea drinkers as well. The study results were published recently in Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers found that coffee drinkers enjoyed a 7% reduction in the excess risk of diabetes for each additional cup of coffee consumed in a day. Those who had three to four cups per day experienced 25% lower risk than those who consumed between zero and two cups of coffee each day.

For decaffeinated coffee drinkers who drank more than three to four cups per day, there was a one-third lower risk of diabetes compared to people who never consumed decaf. People who had more than three to four cups of tea had a one-fifth lower risk compared to non-tea drinkers.

Since decaf also curbed diabetes risk, researchers believe that the link probably isn’t solely related to caffeine. The study authors commented that other compounds in coffee and tea, such as magnesium, lignans or chlorogenic acids, may also play a role.

This study is timely as University of Chicago researchers recently projected that diabetes cases could double by 2034.

While this news sounds exciting, further research is needed before docs start prescribing coffee and tea. Plus, some people are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine and would need to consult with their physicians before increasing intake of coffee or tea.

What do you think of the association between reduced diabetes risk and coffee, decaf and tea?

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Post from: Blisstree

Coffee, Decaf & Tea May Lower Diabetes Risk

Researchers looked at the records of 2,923 adults, none of whom had yet been diagnosed with diabetes. The researchers collected data that could indicate that the subjects could be at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, such as age, weight, and other diabetes risk factors (family history, for example). They took this information and compared the subjects with those who had been diagnosed with periodontitis, gum disease.

What was found that 62.9% of subjects who did not have periodontitis and 93.4% of those with periodontitis met guidelines set by the American Diabetes Asssociation for needing diabetic screening.

Interestingly, only 33.9% of those who were at risk and who had periodontitis had seen a dentist within the previous six months, half within the past year, and 60.4% within the past two years.

The study findings, published in the most recent issue of Journal of Public Health Dentistry, gives the medical profession another tool to help find people who may otherwise not be diagnosed. Diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes, is predicted to possible reach epidemic proportions in countries like the United States. Yet, it’s one of the most preventable diseases in most cases. Teamwork could help reduce the effects of such a serious disease.

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Post from: Blisstree

Gum Disease and Diabetes Connection

As the population ages in the more developed countries, there is also an increase in illness, many of which could be prevented to a certain extent, like type 2 diabetes and some types of heart disease. While some risk factors have been identified and are being targeted, researchers are reaching as far back as they can to perhaps stop the diseases before the risk factors even begin, rather than stopping the risks once they have started.

To do this, researchers in the United Kingdom studied 1,037 people from New Zealand who were born during a one-year period between April 1972 and March 1973.

The researchers monitored the subjects for their first 10 years of life, specifically looking at three particular issues:

• poor socioeconomics
• maltreatment
• social isolation

The subjects were then assessed again when they turned 32 years old. At this time, the researchers were looking for:

• depression
• high inflammation levels in the blood (which could indicate heart disease, for example)
• high blood pressure
• abnormal cholesterol levels
• obesity

What the researchers found was that the subjects who had had more difficult childhoods also had higher levels of depression and high inflammation levels, as well as high cholesterol,  high blood pressure and obesity.

“The effects of adverse childhood experiences on age-related disease risks in adulthood were non-redundant, cumulative and independent of the influence of established developmental and concurrent risk factors,” such as family history, low birth weight or high childhood body mass index, the authors write.

Of course, parents don’t usually want their children to grow up disadvantaged and usually do what they can to raise their children’s standard of living. But this type of finding may help doctors and other healthcare professionals take these issues to heart and be more aware of the long-term impact. Other professionals may work on interventions that could help minimize the impact of a difficult childhood on adults.

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Post from: Blisstree

Hard Childhood May Lead to Adult Illness

Insulin or medications, like metformin or glucophage are not a cures for diabetes, although that is a common belief. Insulin and medications merely manage the disease, allowing the person with diabetes to continue living as normally as possible. Unfortunately, the disease still can cause significant damage to the body, as the sugar levels fluctuate.

People with diabetes who manage to keep their blood glucose (sugar) under strict control have a better chance of avoiding complications. However, avoiding the development of diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, is even better. Type 1, what used to be called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, cannot be prevented. But how best to do this? Here are some tips from Dr. Melina Jampolis a board certified internist and the newest addition to the CNN Health team:

Healthy Eating

By eating three servings (48 grams) of whole grains a day, you could decrease your chances of developing diabetes by up to 30%. According to Dr. Melina: “Cereal fiber has been found to be more effective than other types of fiber due to the combination of antioxidants and soluble and insoluble fiber included.”

Replace your junk food. If you enjoy chips, you may enjoy the crunchiness of omega-3 rich nuts, instead. Fruits can be very sweet tasting and are much healthier than snacks made with processed sugar.

Fill up. If you don’t feel hungry, chances are you won’t search for a snack, which is most likely laden with sugar and fat. Vegetables and proteins will keep you fuller than junky meals or ones that have a lot of carbohydrates.

Get Moving

Exercise is an important part of any healthy lifestyle, but is even more important for people with diabetes. However, exercise doesn’t have to be going to the gym and working out – you can find activity that pushes you in many of your every day activites. Dr. Melina asks, “Did you know doing 30 minutes of vacuuming is the equivalent of 15 minutes walking on the treadmill?”

It’s not often we can actually prevent a chronic and life-affecting disease such as type 2 diabetes, but the reality is, it’s often a lifestyle disease. Of course, there are people who develop diabetes and they have none of the traditional risk factors, but this is the exception more than the rule.

It’s time we start taking better care of ourselves, isn’t it?

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Post from: Blisstree

More on National Diabetes Month – Tips

According to the American Diabetes Association:

• 24 million children and adults in the United States live with diabetes
• 57 million Americans are at risk for type 2 diabetes
• 1 out of every 3 children born today will face a future with diabetes if current trends continue

Unfortunately, not everyone who is diagnosed with diabetes takes it seriously. Diabetes is a disease that is more than just high blood sugar (glucose) levels. It’s a chronic illness that can cause blindness, kidney disease, nerve problems, even sores on the feet that may become bad enough to need amputation.

Diabetes is a very serious illness.

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes used to be called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes. Both these names didn’t describe the disease properly and now it is called type 1.

This type of diabetes is not caused by bad eating habits or lifestyles. Usually, it shows up only in children but young adults may be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as well.

People with type 1 diabetes cannot make insulin, which is needed to help break down the sugar in your body. Without the insulin, the blood sugar level rises dangerously and can cause death.

You can’t take insulin by mouth; it must be injected into the body. Someone with type 1 diabetes must take daily injections for the rest of their life.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset or non insulin-dependent diabetes. As with type 1 diabetes, neither of these names adequately described the disease, so now it is known as type 2.

It used to be that only adults developed type 2 diabetes. For some, it is inevitable and they develop it because of their body make up. However, a huge number of people with type 2 diabetes developed it because of poor lifestyle choices. These include unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles, and generally not caring for their health.

Usually, type 2 diabetes can be controlled with oral medications (pills) because the body is still making insulin, it just can’t use it properly. However, many people with type 2 diabetes do end up taking insulin eventually.

Gestational Diabetes

Sometimes, pregnant women develop diabetes during their pregnancy. Although this is true diabetes (not enough insulin to care for the blood sugar), it usually goes away after the baby is delivered.

There is some research that shows women who had gestational diabetes may be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on in life.

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Post from: Blisstree

November Is Diabetes Month

Researchers looked at the effect of tai chi (also spelled t’ai chi) on 62 senior Koreans. Their research was published earlier this year in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. The group, which was made up of mostly women, was divided in half and one group participated in supervised hour-long sessions of tai chi once a week and at home three days per week. The other half did not participate in the tai chi session.

At the end of six months, the researchers found that the group that participated in the tai chi not only had better blood glucose (sugar) control, they were more active and had more energy than the other group.

According to this University of Florida article, UF study: tai chi can help people with diabetes lower glucose levels,

“Tai chi provides a great alternative for people who may want the benefits of exercise on diabetic control but may be physically unable to complete strenuous activities due to age, condition or injury,” [Beverly] Roberts [Ph.D., R.N., the Annabel Davis Jenks endowed professor at the UF College of Nursing] said. “Future studies could examine if tai chi could similarly benefit conditions such as osteoporosis or heart disease.”

Since tai chi is an exercise that involves so many parts of the body and also helps to relax the mind, it is more likely participants will adhere to the exercise, said Paul Lam, M.B.B.S., a lecturer with the University of South Wales School of Public Health and Community Medicine and a practicing family physician in Sydney, Australia.

What is tai chi?

Tai chi has been compared to a combination of medication, yoga and gentle movement. The actions of tai chi moves many muscles in the body but in a deliberate and slow fashion, forcing the practitioner to think about the movements.

Tai chi is often called the perfect exercise for seniors because, not only are you moving so many muscles, the exercise works on improving coordination and balance, which decreases the risk of falls. The mental aspect helps people relax and achieve a mental balance, reducing tension and stress.

If you don’t like traditional exercise or are unable to for various reasons, perhaps tai chi is something you could consider.

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Post from: Blisstree

Tai Chi Can Help with Type 2 Diabetes

Unfortunately, not everyone does well in arithmetic or math in school, or may  be educated. This can prove to be a significant stumbling block for proper control of diabetes. Interestingly, much has been said lately about health literacy, being able to read the instructions from a doctor or how to take medications,. Not as much information has been placed on health numeracy, which is the ability to work with basic numbers.

Study Group

Researchers, who published their findings in the September 2009 issue of the journal Diabetes Care, were from Nashville, TN. They studied 398 adults adults who were receiving treatment for type 2 diabetes; 383 were analyzed for the study. To participate in the study, patients had to be African American or white. Sixty-two percent were taking insulin to help manage their diabetes.

The average age was 56 years; the group was split evening, 50/50 between men and women, and 35% of the group was African American. Fifty-six percent of all patients had higher than high school education, 31% less than grade 9 reading level, and 69% had less than a grade 9 numeracy level.

Tasks

The patients were asked to do the different tasks they needed to do to help regulate their blood glucose at home. This included knowing how to read food labels and interpreting them for calories and carbohydrates, as well a keeping of their blood glucose and the amount of insulin they would have to give themselves.

It’s already known that being older may contribute to lower education levels because of the way our society functioned a few generations ago. Lower income areas also have lower education rates and, as a result, this may happen within certain ethnic groups. This is what raised the interest among the researchers.

Special issues for African Americans

Doctors know that many African Americans have difficult-to-control diabetes. Because there are some illnesses that are worse in some races, such as hypertension in African Americans, the researchers wondered if this was the case with diabetes or if there could be other factors that played a role.

By investigating the race (African American and white), ages, education levels, reading levels and math levels, the researchers were able to find that there was a difference between ability to control the blood sugar and education. And, because the white group tended to be more educated, the African Americans, especially older ones, had poor blood sugar control. And, not surprisingly, they had the lowest literacy and numeracy scores.

Why are such studies important? Because if researchers can pinpoint these factors, programs can be developed to address the weaknesses in healthcare delivery. If what is needed is a push for education, then the researchers know where this education may be most important.

It’s no surprise that low literacy skills and low numeracy skills would make it more difficult to manage a chronic disease like diabetes. The trick is to now help work around that.

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Post from: Blisstree

Arithmetic Ability May Affect Diabetes

I received an email from one such service, Fit4D, a personalized diabetes coaching service. In it, they announce a free 2-day On-Line Open House:

Fit4D, a personalized diabetes coaching service, is offering the unique opportunity for all who are diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes with a free two day Online Open House giving them an opportunity to speak with Fit4D’s team of Certified Diabetes Educators including dietitians, fitness coaches, registered nurses, pharmacists and physiologists. Visitors will be able to ask questions about weight loss, nutrition and meal planning, training and fitness, health and wellness, as well as learn about newly diagnosed support and diabetes prevention via web-based presentations.

The dates: Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009 from 1 to 3 P.M. (EST) and again at 7:30 to 9:30 PM (EST). There will be another session on Thursday, the 17, from 7:30 to 9:30 P.M. (EST).

To participate, go to their Open House.

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Post from: Blisstree

Open House: Online Diabetes Coaching

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is different from type 2 – it’s caused by the pancreas’ inability to produce insulin. On the other hand, in type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does produce insulin but either not enough or the body can’t properly use the insulin that’s being produced.

It used to be that type 1 diabetes was called juvenile diabetes and then the name changed to insulin-dependent diabetes. Originally, it was thought that only children developed type 1 diabetes but now we know that people as old as their late 20s can develop it. Then, it was insulin-dependent because insulin is the only treatment for type 1 diabetes. This was changed eventually too, because insulin is sometimes used to treat type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes and then that name changed to non-insulin dependent. While it was true that mostly adults developed type 2 diabetes, people who were being diagnosed were getting younger and younger. In fact, now teens are developing type 2 diabetes. Non-insulin dependent was also a misnomer. Although people with type 2 diabetes usually start off by taking oral hypoglycemics, or pills to lower blood glucose levels, many end up taking insulin at some point because the medications stop being effective.

Insulin

Insulin is a life saver for people with diabetes. Without it, type 1 diabetics would die. It’s also considered the last resort for people with type 2 diabetes. Many people with type 2 fight being put on insulin because they feel that it means that they’re “really” diabetic, that they’ve failed, or that they’re getting worse.

Now, researchers are saying that insulin may not be a good idea for last resort for type 2 diabetes but, rather, as a first line treatment. Researchers wanted to know if using insulin early in type 2 diabetes could improve blood glucose levels, so they studied patients with type 2 diabetes who had not yet begun treatment for up to three years. The results of the study were published in the most recent onlin issue of Diabetes Care.

The researchers found that although the results (lower blood glucose) were similar between the two groups, more patients (83%) in the insulin group stayed with the treatment than the ones who took only pills (72%).

If the results are similar in terms of blood sugar control, but compliance is better with insulin, researchers suggest that insulin may be the best way to begin managing type 2 diabetes, rather than waiting to use it.

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Post from: Blisstree

Insulin 1st-Line for Type 2 Diabetes?

The researchers didn’t, however, find the same results that American researchers found two years earlier, which suggested that Avandia also increased the risk of heart attacks. The Canadian researchers found no difference between patients who took Avandia and another type of medication, Actos (pioglitazone), and the rate of heart attacks among them

The researchers studied 40,000 patients over the age of 65 who took Avandia or Actos. For every 93 patients, there was one more heart “event” or death each year among those who took Avandia.

This being said, this doesn’t mean that Avandia shouldn’t be used to treat type 2 diabetes. The results show that perhaps it shouldn’t be prescribed for people who are in high risk groups or who have heart disease already.

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Post from: Blisstree

Avandia, Diabetes Drug, May Cause Problems