3 Current Trends in Diabetes Research
According to research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, more than 29 million people in America are diagnosed with diabetes while 86 million were reported to have pre-diabetes. If you’re one of those, then you should keep on reading to know the latest news on diabetes.
1. Sugar Sponges Can Possibly Control Diabetes
As per the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, current trends expect that in every three adults in the US, one of them will acquire diabetes in 2050.
Many patients who have diabetes usually inject themselves with insulin for treatment. Some use insulin injections or some form of insulin every single day. On the other hand, other patients orally take medications so that they can regulate their blood sugar. The side effects along with the injection can be both painful.
According to recent news on diabetes, a professional team of researchers led by Jianzhong Du reported to the Journal of the American Chemical Society that they found an insulin-free treatment for diabetes which could help reduce the injection requirements. Unlike pills, the sugar sponge serves as a lectin-coated polymer vesicle. It also releases sugar according to low sugar concentration. The researchers also experimented this sponge on mice that have Type 1 diabetes. In just two days, they have seen anti-diabetic effects. Therefore, they have concluded that it could be a great treatment method for diabetes in the future.
2. Low Carb Diet Can Fight Diabetes
Journal Annals of Internal Medicine and Diabetes Care strongly emphasized that eating a low carb diet can offer both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients the chance to alleviate and control their blood sugar levels effectively. Not only does a low carb diet help in the reduction of diabetic symptoms, but it also helps greatly in weight loss while keeping your health properly in check. There are hundreds of reasons why a low-carb diet is beneficial for diabetic people with diabetes, and below is just a few of the reasons why it is highly reasonable for one to consider low carb dieting:
Reduce risk and complications
Research has shown that a low carb diet has a significant impact on blood glucose control. By reducing hyperglycemia, several short term symptoms such as thirst and problems with urinating can be minimized for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients. Low carb diets can reduce the bad cholesterol in the body, hence boosting good stuff in the body while good circulation of blood is achieved. If you cut your carbohydrate intake, your blood sugar also goes down, hence regulating the flow of insulin and sugar inside your body.
Increased Energy
Carbohydrates are widely known as the energy giving micronutrients, but this is only the case when the insulin level of the body can keep up. If in case the insulin failed to keep up, there is increased risk of blood sugar levels to go high, thus inducing the risk of diabetes complications and symptoms. This can also trigger the feeling of tiredness and lethargy among diabetes patients. But by starting a low carb diet, you can gradually lower your blood sugar levels by regulating your daily calorie intake. When starting on a low carb diet, you can also experience tiredness and lethargy, but it only lasts for about 2 weeks or less as your body is adapting to the new diet. As a result, it progressively fights the symptoms of diabetes, as well as regulates the sugar in the blood, hence keeping good glucose control.
Gradually Reduce the Reliance on Medication and Insulin Shots
By taking in fewer carbohydrates, you can reduce the body’s demand for needed insulin (insulin shots). This allows for diabetic patients to come off and reduce their expensive medication. Reducing the need and reliance on medication is highly beneficial for those patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, as it saves them from the exposure to the side effects that are inherent from their medication. Furthermore, it can also save a patient from the expensive costs of their medications and insulin shots, which range thousands of dollars every month. However, people taking insulin shots and tablets must be aware that lowering their carbohydrate intake should be done after getting advice from their doctor, and this is a crucial precaution to avoid hypoglycemia. Prior to getting into a low carb diet, make sure to consult your doctor so that you’ll be guided on how to adapt to your medication before you change your carbohydrate intake.
Reduce The Side Effects and Severity of Hypoglycemia
If the medication is properly adjusted to your low carb diet, a diabetic patient can reduce their exposure to hypoglycemia (a deficiency or insufficiency of glucose in the bloodstream). This is highly beneficial, especially for those patients who are taking insulin. A low carb diet means taking decreased amounts of insulin during meals; therefore, the severity of any dips in the blood sugar level is also decreased.
3. Diabetes Is Linked To Alzheimer’s Disease
The latest news on diabetes reveals that roughly 40% of Alzheimer’s reported cases are directly associated with too much secretion of insulin in our body. Alzheimer’s disease is known as a chronic neurodegenerative disease which starts slowly and becomes worse as time passes by. One of the common symptoms that you have with this kind of disease is the patient is not able to remember some very recent events. If this disease becomes severe, it might lead the patient to serious complications like language problems, mood swings, disorientation, and loss of motivation, behavioral issues, and others.
As you all know, one of the characteristics of type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance, and if you are not aware, this is also present in the brain of a patient with Alzheimer's. Meaning, there is a connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. According to Suzanne de la Monte, a well-known researcher, the genes reduced or lessened in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease are the genes. These are responsible for producing the hormones insulin-like growth factor and insulin, as well as the genes which are responsible for the process of encoding for the receptors in your brain. Due to this research, the researchers have come up with the findings that Alzheimer’s disease is also a form of diabetes mellitus which affects the brain selectively.
As a matter of fact, there’s a pilot research published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that says nasal insulin doses can greatly enhance the memories of most individuals that experience early signs of Alzheimer's. A bigger clinical trial is ongoing for this. There are already lots of studies which support that diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease are connected with each other. Specialists have done experiments and tests about the signs and symptoms, insulin resistance, blood sugar level, hormones, and genes, just to prove the connection between these two disorders.
Conclusion
Whether you’ve been diagnosed with this disease or just want to prevent yourself from acquiring it, be updated with the relevant news on diabetes to stay informed. More than reading, always live a healthy and happy lifestyle. It's key to living with diabetes.
