We've all heard the news about the enormous, world-wide epidemic of type
2 diabetes. Not only is this form of diabetes (which results from the
body's inability to effectively use insulin) soaring among adults, it is
now hitting children and teens as well. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the cause is primarily excess body weight and weight physical inactivity.
But breakthrough research just published in the journal Nature strongly indicates another, bottom line cause has been discovered - an imbalance of "good" versus "bad" bacteria in the intestinal tract appears to trigger type 2 diabetes.
Sound
familiar? Natural health advocates have long insisted that a healthy
digestive tract is crucial to preventing and treating diseases and that
making sure there's a healthy balance between the "good" bacteria and
the disease-promoting kind is key. In recent years, this concept has
been backed up by numerous studies linking the overuse of antibiotics,
which wipe out the "good" germs in the gut, to serious ills. Researchers
have also found that promoting a healthy internal flora rich in the
"good" kind of bacteria is beneficial in a myriad of ways - including
boosting the immune system to fight flu and treating Crohn's disease and
ulcerative colitis. And research recently published by Austrian
scientists in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests an unhealthy balance of gut flora could cause obesity and metabolic syndrome which have long been linked to type 2 diabetes.
"We
have demonstrated that people with type 2 diabetes have a high level of
pathogens in their intestines," lead researcher for the Nature study, Jun Wang from the University of Copenhagen's Department of Biology and Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, said in a media statement.
The research team pointed out the 1.5 kilograms of bacteria
that each of us carries around in our intestines have a huge impact on
our well-being. If the equilibrium of what is known as this "microflora"
in the gut is disrupted, health can suffer. For their study, the
scientists zeroed in on the intestinal bacteria of 345 people from
China. The 171 research subjects who had type 2 diabetes were found to
have "a more hostile bacterial environment in their intestines" than
those not suffering from the disease. The study suggests this kind of
out-of-balance gut
flora could increase resistance to different medicines as well as likely
be the trigger for type 2 diabetes. The scientists identified specific
biological indicators in the gut flora that could eventually be used to
identify those at risk of type 2 diabetes as well as to diagnose the
disease.
"We are going to transplant gut bacteria
from people that suffer from type 2 diabetes into mice and examine
whether the mice then develop diabetes," another of the lead scientists
behind the project, professor Oluf Borbye Pedersen from the University of Copenhagen, stated.
What
can you do to keep your internal flora healthy and balanced? For
starters, avoid antibiotics as much as possible. Also, eat a healthy
diet that includes prebiotics (naturally occurring substances found in
thousands of plants species that foster a healthy environment in the
colon that's hostile to the "bad" bacteria) and probiotics (the "good"
bacteria that is found in fermented foods like kefir, yogurt and
sauerkraut that can crowd out bad bacteria and replenish the "good" kind
that can be wiped out by antibiotics).
Sources:
http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2012-09/uoc-gbc092512.php
http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2012-09/bs-bpa092612.php
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/58109
http://www.naturalnews.com/026265.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/031260_probiotics_Crohns_disease.html
About the author:
Sherry
Baker is a widely published writer whose work has appeared in Newsweek,
Health, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Yoga Journal, Optometry,
Atlanta, Arthritis Today, Natural Healing Newsletter, OMNI, UCLA's
"Healthy Years" newsletter, Mount Sinai School of Medicine's "Focus on
Health Aging" newsletter, the Cleveland Clinic's "Men's Health Advisor"
newsletter and many others.
Showing posts with label type 2 diabetes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label type 2 diabetes. Show all posts
Friday, September 28, 2012
Monday, June 04, 2012
Eat a gluten-free diet for type 2 diabetes and celiac disease
New research finds that almost one in four adolescents in the United States have diabetes or pre-diabetes, according to The New York Times.
These are not children with juvenile diabetes but full-on type 2
diabetes. More than 25 million adults already have diabetes and 79
million may have prediabetes, yet few people consider a diabetes diet.
There is a definite correlation between diet and diabetes symptoms.
Studies suggest that eating a gluten-free diet without dairy could be
good for diabetes and celiac disease, a condition characterized by an
allergy to gluten.
Diabetes and celiac
The only treatment for celiac disease is following a gluten-free diet. Gluten is a protein found in most grains, including wheat, barely and rye. Adopting a gluten-free diet relieves symptoms in people with celiac and those who are sensitive to gluten, yet a study published in Diabetologia journal reports that diabetics should consider a gluten-free diet too.The study observed people with type 2 diabetes on the Paleo diet versus the Mediterranean diet. The Paleo diet calls for no grains, no dairy, no salt. It recommends fruits, vegetables, nuts, seafood and lean meats. The diet is based on how early man ate and discourages any processed foods. The Mediterranean diet also allows fruits, vegetables, seafood and lean meats. The main difference is that the Mediterranean diet recommends unrefined grains, such as whole grain products. A little dairy is also acceptable on the diet.
The results of this study found that people on the Mediterranean diet had very little, if any, improvement in diabetes symptoms. The group who followed the Paleo diet experienced a reverse in diabetes symptoms, showing a clear correlation between a gluten-free diet and diabetes.
The Mediterranean group experienced a 7 percent lower rise in glucose in response to carbohydrate intake whereas the Paleolithic group saw a 26 percent reduction. The group who ate the gluten-free diet Paleo diet had normal glucose levels at the conclusion of the study.
Diet and diabetes
Only a decade ago the prevalence of type 2 diabetes among children aged 12 to 19 was low. Now it is growing at an alarming rate. Also, experts are finding that diabetes progresses more quickly in children than adults, plus is more difficult to treat.Adopting a diabetes diet without grains or dairy could help many of the children and adults who are at risk for developing diabetes. It would also benefit people with celiac disease, many of whom have no idea that they have the condition. Experts estimate that around 15 percent of people in the US have some form of gluten sensitivity.
Perhaps the people who could most benefit from a gluten-free diet are people with type 1 diabetes. Experts estimate that around 10 percent of people with type 1 diabetes also have celiac disease. This does not account for how many diabetics may also have a mild to moderate gluten intolerance.
Diabetes diet
Eliminating dairy as part of a diabetes diet is fairly easy. With the exception of whey, casein and a few other ingredients that do not sound like they are dairy-derived, gluten-containing ingredients and products with hidden gluten are much harder to identify. Many salad dressings, broths, candies, condiments, sauces, soy products and mixes have gluten.Adopting a gluten-free diet comes with the price of time to learn all the possible gluten foods and alternatives. However, a gluten-free diet may be the best thing for someone with diabetes and celiac disease.
Sources for this article include:
http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/
http://www.staffanlindeberg.com/DiabetesStudy.html
http://www.diabetes.org
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com
http://glutenfreenetwork.com
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/
About the author:
Sarka-Jonae Miller is a health writer and novelist. She was certified as a personal fitness trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. She also worked as a massage therapist, group exercise instructor and assistant martial arts instructor.
Miller's premiere novel, "Between Boyfriends," was recently published http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006Q6TSCS/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img
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