Latest News

An eating plan that encourages people to consume high-fat foods has been criticised for suggesting it can “cure”  diabetes  and  erectile dysfunction . Simple as Fat  – a low-carb, high-fat diet plan which costs £99 a year – has come under fire from the  Advertising Standards Authority  (ASA) for breaching regulations. In a series of  tweets , Simple as Fat stated: “You can cure type 2 diabetes with real food NOT more pills” and insinuated that following the plan would offer “freedom from obesity and type 2 diabetes”. A second post asked followers: “Has your Type 2 diabetes led to erectile dysfunction?” Before suggesting that by adhering to the programme, users could “fix it”. Following the claims, the ASA criticised Simple as Fat for “discouraging essential treatment” for health conditions where medical advice should be sought. Read Complete Article

An international team, including scientists of Indian origin, has  identified 69 drugs  and experimental compounds which may be effective in treating COVD-19. According to the researchers, some of the medications are already used to treat diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, and repurposing them to treat COVID-19 may be faster than trying to invent a new vaccine. In the new study, published on the pre-print website bioRxiv, the scientists investigated 26 of the 29 coronavirus genes, which direct production of the viral proteins. "The team took a different approach, targeting host proteins, not viral proteins. 26 out of 29 SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins were studied in human cells to find out what human proteins they interact with," Gina T Nguyen, Assistant Director of Communications & Events, Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the US, told PTI in an email. Around 332 human proteins were found to ...

High levels of glucose in the blood can damage the peripheral nerves in your body, causing decreased sensation in the feet and hands as well as problems to the urinary tract, digestive system, and heart. With over 60 percent of diabetics eventually developing peripheral neuropathy, it is one of the main secondary complications they face. Mild to moderate symptoms include pain, numbness and tingling sensation in the feet and legs. In severe cases, it can lead to potentially serious complications such as gangrenous wounds that necessitate the amputation of a toe, foot or leg. Fortunately, diabetic neuropathy can be prevented if strict control is maintained on blood sugar levels on a daily basis. Lifestyle changes and complementary therapies derived from natural systems of medicine can help achieve this effectively. Three of the most commonly practiced alternative therapies to help prevent diabetic neuropathy are naturopathy, yoga and acupuncture. Acupuncture Acupuncture is...

Health News : Researchers have developed an algorithm which can predict the risk of gestational diabetes even before pregnancy, an advance that may lead to lifestyle interventions for reducing high blood sugar which affects nearly one in six pregnant women. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, analysed data on nearly 6,00,000 pregnancies available from Israel's largest health organisation, Clalit Health Services. "Our ultimate goal has been to help the health system take measures so as to prevent diabetes from occurring in pregnancy," said study senior author Eran Segal from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. According to the researchers, gestational diabetes is characterised by high blood sugar levels which occur during pregnancy in women with no history of diabetes. Read Complete Article

Diabetes is among the diseases which cannot be cured with medication. High blood sugar can adversely affect any person’s health. But people with diabetes are always at a higher risk. The most important thing for diabetic patients is to keep their blood sugar level under control to avoid hospitalisation. And it’s possible to keep the disease under control. Here are a few ways to manage your blood sugar level. Never skip breakfast People often prioritise work over the morning meal. It’s more harmful than people realise. Breakfast should be had with a good amount of protein to optimum maintain blood sugar level. The power of almonds Almond intake is highly beneficial for patients with type 2 diabetes. A study has revealed that consuming 60 grams of almonds every day keeps blood sugar under control, which also reduces the risk of heart-related diseases. Additionally, the inclusion of almonds in the diet also reduces the serum glucose level by up to 6 per cent. Read Complete a...

Fitness Tracker : Humans, once in constant motion as hunters and gatherers, are moving less than ever. At first, this trend seemed like progress: Transferring our heavy and dangerous work to animals, then machines, enabled more people to live longer. As recently as the 1950s, doctors considered exercise dangerous for people over age 40; for heart disease, which was then killing a record number of Americans, they prescribed bed rest. This was partly based on their concept of what “exercise” was: Early physiologists conducted studies on their (typically young, male) graduate students or on military servicemen — and in order to become more fit than they already were, these subjects needed to work out hard. “The mantra was, you have to go to a gym, you have to do high-intensity physical activity,” says Abby C King, a professor of health research and policy and medicine at Stanford University: “this sort of ‘no pain, no gain’ phenomenon.” That notion began to change with the 1968 ...

Ageing is an experience that comes with different advantages and disadvantages for each human being. For some, they will present themselves sooner rather than later. Few people may not even feel any aches and pains however for few health becomes a major concern. This is probably because exercise has been an important part of their daily routine and with modern lifestyle; people tend to avoid regular exercises. It's no secret that moving more helps us to be fitter and healthier. Few modern research and records show that only 30 minutes of exercise each day can boost one's overall health and well-being for a longer period of time. Exercising regularly has ample of benefits for body, mind and soul especially after 30s'. Different exercises have different impacts on human body; It can reduce fat, stress and cholesterol, improve body functions, prevent diabetes and boost self-confidence. Women are undoubtedly very efficient in comparison with men and they do have...

A diagnosis of prediabetes should be a wake-up call for people to make lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Speaking about it, lead author of the study Michael P. Bancks said, "We know that having diabetes increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, so in our study we wanted to determine what the absolute risk or probability of developing heart disease was for people who were only at a pre-diabetic level of blood sugar." The study is published in the current issue of Diabetes Care . Prediabetes is indicated by a fasting blood sugar level between 100 and 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L), while a fasting blood sugar level of less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) is considered normal. A level of 126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L) and higher is the diagnostic threshold for diabetes, Bancks said. The study saw researchers using data from seven observational studies that included both white...

Business Standard : Want to restore the level of antioxidants -- key to ward off heart disease and Type-2 diabetes -- that you lost due to high consumption of fat rich-food in the holiday season? Eating five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables as well as nuts, seeds, and legumes daily may help. A diet high in saturated fat results in chronic low-grade inflammation in the body that in turn leads to the development of metabolic syndrome -- a serious condition associated with cognitive dysfunction and dementia as well as being a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease and Type-2 diabetes . For such patients, a higher intake of vitamin C is crucial to halt a potentially deadly cycle of antioxidant disruptions, the researchers said. "What these findings are really saying to people as we move out of the rich-food holiday season and into January is eat your fruits and vegetables," said Maret Traber, Professor at the Oregon State Universit...

Business Standard : The findings of a recent study suggest that artificial sweeteners may not help with weight loss. The research, published in the journal The BMJ, also stated that there is not enough evidence on their safety. Growing concerns about health and quality of life have encouraged many people to adopt healthier lifestyles and avoid foods rich in sugars, salt, or fat. Foods and drinks containing non-sugar sweeteners rather than regular ("free") sugars have therefore become increasingly popular. Although several non-sugar sweeteners are approved for use, less is known about their potential benefits and harms within acceptable daily intakes because the evidence is often limited and conflicting. To better understand these potential benefits and harms, a team of European researchers analysed 56 studies comparing no intake or lower intake of non-sugar sweeteners with higher intake in healthy adults and children. Measures included weight, blood sug...

Business Standard : A single workout session consisting of three 20-minute treadmill runs could activate neurons that are important regulators of blood glucose levels and energy balance as well as influence metabolism for up to two days, says a study over mice. The findings showed that a single bout of exercise for mice could boost the activity of energy-burning neurons and inhibit the counterpart one for up to two days and those changes can last longer with more training. "It doesn't take much exercise to alter the activity of these neurons," said Kevin Williams, a neuroscientist at University of Texas Southwestern. "The study predicts that getting out and exercising even once in a semi-intense manner can reap benefits that can last for days, in particular with respect to glucose metabolism," he added. Further, a single workout consisting of three 20-minute treadmill runs caused a decrease in appetite that lasted up to six hours. "Th...

Business Standard : Turns out, alcohol consumption may attenuate long-term weight loss in adults with Type 2 diabetes. It was earlier noted that losing weight can help prevent or delay the onset of diabetes. While the best practice for weight loss often includes decreasing or eliminating calories from alcohol , few studies examined whether people who undergo weight loss treatment report changes in alcohol intake and whether alcohol influences their weight loss. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania suggested that while alcohol consumption is not associated with short-term weight loss during a lifestyle intervention, it is associated with long-term weight loss in people with overweight or obesity and Type 2 diabetes , In the study, close to 5,000 people who were overweight and had diabetes were followed for four years. One group participated in Intensive Lifestyle Intervention (ILI) and the other in a control group consisting of diabetes support and education. D...

Business Standard : Drinking three to four cups of coffee a day can lower your risk of developing Type-2 diabetes by nearly 25 per cent , suggests a study. The effect of coffee consumption on Type-2 diabetes was found in both men and women. The same protective effect applied to consuming the same amount of decaffeinated coffee , the study showed. It was not just caffeine, but a mix of compounds including hydroxycinnamic acids notably chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, diterpenes eg cafestol and kahweol, and caffeic acid, that is said to be the reason behind the link, said Mattias Carlstrom, Associate Professor from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. The results were presented at 2018 Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Germany. For the study, the team reviewed 30 prospective studies, with a total of 1,185,210 participants. Professor Kjeld Hermansen from the Aarhus University in Denmark, suggests that a number of factors m...

Business Standard : You have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast, as the name implies, is to break the fast between dinner and lunch. It is well-established that starting the day with a wholesome breakfast can benefit everyone. If you have type 2 diabetes (T2D), breakfast is necessary and it can have real benefits. Do you think that skipping breakfast can help manage your blood glucose better? Researchers say the opposite is true. In a study, 22 people who controlled their T2D with diet alone or diet plus metformin were studied on two different days. On one, they ate three identical meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. On the other, they ate only lunch and dinner. On the days they skipped breakfast, their peak blood glucose was 36.8 per cent higher after lunch and 26.6 per cent higher after dinner than on the days they ate breakfast. Another study highlighted that a high-energy intake breakfast of around 700 kcals (vs a low energy b...

Business Standard : Here's another reason to stop smoking when pregnant ! A recent study has linked earlier puberty in children with mother's smoking during pregnancy. The Aarhus University study has been published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. "We found that children of mothers who had smoked more than ten cigarettes a day during pregnancy, on average entered puberty three to six months earlier than the children of non-smokers," says Nis Brix, who is one of the researchers behind the study. KidsHealth "Early puberty can be associated with an increased risk of a number of diseases as an adult, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer," said Nis Brix. Brix hopes that the study's results can be used as another motivating factor to stop smoking among women who are planning on becoming pregnant. "It is known that smoking is harmful to the unborn foetus. Smoking is, among other thin...

Diabetics are at an increased risk of cancer , warns a study. It also suggests that diabetes is linked with poorer survival following a cancer diagnosis. For the most common cancers, individuals with diabetes face a 20 percent greater risk of developing colorectal cancer and a five percent higher risk of breast cancer compared with their diabetes-free counterparts. People with diabetes already diagnosed with cancer also fare worse, with a 25 percent and 29 percent higher chance of dying following a breast and prostate cancer diagnosis (respectively) than their peers without diabetes. Hulda Hrund Bjornsdottir, from the Swedish National Diabetes Register (NDR), Sweden, and colleagues found that diabetes was associated with 11 out of the 12 specific types of cancer investigated in the study. Diabetes was clearly linked with higher risk of cancers of the liver (people with diabetes were 231 percent more likely to be diagnosed with liver cancer than those without a history of di...

A new study has found that prior to the onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D) , women with versus without prediabetes experience significantly have larger adverse differences in their cardiometabolic health than men. However, the mechanisms responsible for these sex differences remain a mystery. The research, conducted by the Maastricht University Medical Centre, aimed to evaluate sex-related differences in cardiovascular risk factor levels, both before and after the onset of T2D. T2D is known to reduce or even reverse the protective effect of being female on the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The metabolic changes that eventually lead to T2D can precede the development of hyperglycemia (caused by poorly controlled blood glucose levels) by years or even decades. Despite this, there has been a little investigation into whether women suffer a relatively worse cardiometabolic risk profile before developing the disease. The authors analysed a population-based cohort of indiv...