Monthly Archives: March 2017

A diet that mimics fasting temporarily put mice in a starvation state, reversing diabetes in the animals, according to a new study. The diet was also shown to reduce the risk factors in people with pre-diabetes

Research by investigators at the University of Southern California showed the special, fasting-mimicking diet triggers the development of insulin-producing cells in mice with diabetes. The study was published in the journal Cell.

In humans, an earlier study of the diet reduced the risk factors of diabetes, such as elevated blood sugar, in people who were headed toward development of the disease. An article on the diet in humans appeared in Science Translational Medicine.

In both Type 1 diabetes and in the later stages of Type 2 diabetes, the beta cells of the pancreas are destroyed. But the authors said the diet appears to "reboot" the body, switching on genes that trigger the release of stem cells, master cells responsible for organ development.

More than fasting required

However, fasting alone is not the key to restoring insulin levels. Scientists said refeeding after the brief starvation diet, with specially calibrated nutrients, is critical to kickstarting the production of new beta cells.

FILE - A woman fills a syringe as she prepares to give herself an injection of insulin.

The process of stem cell activation is the same as seen in embryos to stimulate organ growth, according to gerontology professor Valter Longo, the director of USC's Longevity Institute and senior author of both studies. He said the fasting-mimicking diet can be used to reprogram cells without any genetic alterations.

"So basically the system is using some of the same program that we use during embryonic and fetal development to regenerate the pancreas once the food comes back around," he said. "And that's the trick. It's not so much the starvation. It's really the combination of the starvation and the refeeding." And, he stressed, "the refeeding's got to be a high-nourishment one."

Study participants put on the high-fat, low-calorie, low-protein diet consumed between 800 and 1,100 calories daily for five days in a row each month for three months. After each fast, they were refed with nutrient-rich foods.

Researchers found fasting triggered the production of a protein called Ngn3, which generated new, healthy beta cells that secreted insulin. They saw production of insulin in a dish in pancreatic cells extracted from mice and from healthy human donors and patients with both types of diabetes.

Scientists found the diet replaced damaged insulin-producing cells with new functioning ones in mice placed on the diet for four days.

Heart disease, cancer risks

The investigators have also amassed evidence that the fasting-mimicking diet reduces the risk of age-related diseases, including heart disease and cancer. It may also hold benefits for people with multiple sclerosis, said researchers.

FILE - A woman who suffers from diabetes is seen walking on a treadmill as part of an exercise program to help control the disease.

But Longo said people with diabetes should not try the diet at home yet because it can drop blood sugar to perilously low levels if they don't know what they are doing. "We warn people that, particularly [for people with] Type 1 or patients that inject themselves with insulin, it can be very risky or even lethal," Longo cautioned.

He said investigators were poised to begin larger human clinical trials of the fasting-mimicking diet in the next six months.

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Fasting Diet Reverses Diabetes in Mice - Voice of America

BENGALURU:There is growing burden of diabetes in India. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) estimated that the country already had around 65.1 million diabetes patients.

As per a survey by National Center for Biotechnology Information in Bangalore, the prevalence of diabetes was 12.33 per cent and of pre-diabetes was 11.57 per cent of the total population.

Increasing age, being overweight and obese, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy and untimely dietary habits have well proven association with prevalence of diabetesPre-diabetes is a condition that predates diabetes mellitus. In pre-diabetes stage the levels of blood glucose are higher than normal but, remain below diabetic range.

The condition is very common among Asians, especially Indians and data from different sources across the countries showed that nearly 20 per cent of urban Indians are prone to it. Certain lifestyle changes taken in pre-diabetes stage can prevent diabetes.

Symptoms

Diabetic patients with uncontrolled sugars usually suffer from increased frequency of urination, weight loss and extreme fatigue, but in pre-diabetes stage, the patient normally does not have any symptoms. A regular monitoring referred to as screening test would be the only way to diagnose the condition.

Causes and Risk factors

Insulin is an essential element to transport glucose that the body produces to convert into energy. In pre-diabetes, the body is not able to produce enough insulin or is not able to function efficiently, also called insulin resistance leading to a higher-than-normal blood sugar level and possibly pre-diabetes. Prevention and treatment

Pre-diabetes is the warning sign before it progresses to become type 2 diabetes. It is complex, multi-factorial, hugely influenced by genetic predisposition, lifestyle factors and excessive calorie intake. Eating well, eating healthy and regular exercise helps prevent progression of pre-diabetic patients to Type 2 diabetes. It is observed that consumption of vegetables had a significant connection with diabetes.

People who consumed more than two servings of vegetable had lesser prevalence of diabetes. Many studies have shown that use of consuming high water soluble fibers present in vegetable and fruits and polyunsaturated fat in fish, help in preventing diabetes.

Similarly, people at risk of and also those identified with pre-diabetes would benefit from lifestyle a change that includes weight loss and exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. This can improve insulin resistance and can lower elevated blood sugar levels diabetes.

The author is a Consultant Diabetologist & Endocrinologist, Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road

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Before diabetes strikes - The New Indian Express

March 1, 2017 Patients with fatty liver disease may need a more intense dose of exercise. Credit: University of Queensland

Short bursts of high-intensity exercise could help people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes.

A trial led by University of Queensland School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences researcher Dr Shelley Keating will investigate if high intensity interval training (HIIT) can improve insulin sensitivity, fitness and other cardiovascular disease risk factors.

"Other than weight loss, there is no accepted therapy for improving non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) a type of fatty liver disease which is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease," Dr Keating said.

"We have recently demonstrated that exercise therapy reduces liver fat in adults with obesity, but patients with NASH may need a more intense 'dose' of exercise.

"We hope to establish that high-intensity exercise is a safe, feasible and effective therapy for improving insulin resistance and other cardio-metabolic risk factors.

"Given that up to one-third of Australians have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and the subsequent rate of progression to NASH is around 30 per cent, the impact on the community is significant."

Study participants will complete 12 weeks of HIIT supervised by an accredited exercise physiologist at UQ's St Lucia campus in Brisbane, followed by 12 weeks of HIIT at home.

"The sessions will involve short, intense bursts of exercise around four minutes on a treadmill or exercise bike at near maximum capacity - interspersed with more moderate exercise," Dr Keating said.

"Health measures including insulin sensitivity, body composition, vascular function, and fitness will be assessed before and after the supervised and home-based phases.

"It is very important that individuals can continue on with HIIT in the long-term so that the health benefits can be sustained," Dr Keating said.

People with biopsy-proven NASH, or their clinicians, should contact Dr Keating (see below) for details on how to take part in the trial.

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Can fast and furious exercise prevent diabetes? - Medical Xpress