SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- April 20, 1998 -- Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that the depletion of body chemicals called antioxidants may increase the risk of complications from the most common form of diabetes.
The scientists recommend that diabetics take antioxidants supplements, such as vitamin C or E, to help stave off or even forestall the hallmark complications of diabetes, including blindness, kidney failure, amputation and even death.
antioxidants neutralise oxygen free radicals, highly-reactive chemicals that are the potentially-destructive by-products of the body's process of turning food into energy. Normally, the body produces enough antioxidants of its own to keep the reactive oxygen from causing damage.
"We were able to show that patients with poor control of their diabetes who were beginning to show signs of complications had depleted their store of antioxidants ," said Duke researcher Dr. Emmanuel Opara. "Further, we found a significant correlation between high blood-sugar levels and depletion of antioxidants . It appears that this depletion is a major risk factor for developing complications and that antioxidants supplements could lower this risk."
Opara presented his studies yesterday at Experimental Biology `98, the annual scientific meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).
The researchers studied 50 similar people with Type II diabetes -- also known as non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes. In this form of the disease, insulin produced in the body is unable to trigger the lowering of high blood sugar. Type II diabetes afflicts about 90 percent of the estimated 10.7 million Americans diagnosed with the disease and the 5.4 million believed to have undiagnosed cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Insulin is the hormone that normally regulates the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood and is produced by cells in the pancreas. Insulin is secreted when the level of blood glucose rises -- as after a meal.
All diabetic patients in the study were taking only drugs referred to as sulfonylureas, which increase the sensitivity of receptors to insulin throughout the body. Half the patients exhibited microalbuminuria, the excretion of tiny amounts of protein in the urine that is considered a precursor of kidney disease, while the other half did not. T
he researchers took blood samples from all 50 patients, as well as a control group of 20 similar people without diabetes and determined levels of antioxidantsin their blood.
"We found that the non-diabetics' ability to defend against damage from the oxygen free radicals was almost twice that of those patients exhibiting microalbuminuria," Opara explained. "And while the difference between the two diabetic groups was not as pronounced, the difference was still statistically significant. Also, antioxidants depletion correlated with high blood sugar after meals only in the group with microalbuminuria."
The researchers determined antioxidants levels by a new chemical assay developed at King's College in England that enabled them to measure all known antioxidants in the blood and to obtain a more global picture of the body's total antioxidants capacity, Opara said. Other assays are only specific for individual antioxidants.
Using the newly-developed assay, the scientists rated the ability of the non-diabetics to defend against Free radicals damage at 2.7, compared with 1.4 for those with microalbuminuria and 1.7 for the diabetics without microalbuminuria.
Though the exact mechanism of action of the oxygen Free radicals is not yet clear, these findings confirm in humans earlier animal studies of the chemicals' role in damage in diabetes, Opara said. Previous Duke studies by Opara have shown that vitamin E can delay the development of diabetes in obese rats with Type II diabetes and that the depletion of the antioxidants Glutathione caused diabetes in another rat model.
Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.
"The results we've been seeing in our animal studies are now being borne out in humans,” Opara said. "I recommend that since the body has many antioxidants , diabetics should take a number of these agents, including vitamins C and E and Glutathione."
The diabetic patients involved in the current study come from Egypt, and their samples were brought to Duke by E. Abdel-Rahman, one of Opara's collaborators.
Showing posts with label blood glucose level. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blood glucose level. Show all posts
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Diabetes & Diet
Diet Guidelines:
The following guidelines assume that you don't have special physical needs which may be unrelated to Diabetes.
***For example, if you have kidney problems, you may have to limit the amount of protein in your diet.
***In any case, always seek the advice of your doctor, registered nutritionist or dietician before initiating any major change in your eating habits.
1. Start a Food Diary. Record when and what you eat and drink throughout the day. Eat small meals at least every 4 to 5 hours (and preferably more frequently).
Record how you feel during the day. Record you blood glucose level immediately before and two hours after each meal. Set premeal and postmeal blood glucose target levels (see Using your meter).
2. Estimate your daily protein requirement based on your weight, percentage body fat, and physical activity level. Record your height, weight, waist, hip, and wrist measurements and then use the Zone Body Fat Calculator.
3. Reset your metabolism using the method suggested in the Protein Diet. Eat your protein requirement plus 50g/day of low-glycemic carboydrates, spread throughout the day;
continue this until you have reached your desired weight and fat percentages, and your blood glucose levels have been normalized and stable for at least 4 weeks.
4. Increase your carbohydrate intake in 10g increments/week until every meal and snack calories are balanced in the ratio 30% fat/ 30% protein/ 40% carbohydrate (1g/2g/3g ratio).
If you are taking insulin, you may find it easier to control and predict blood glucose swings due to carbohydrates, so you might want to consider increasing your carbohydrate percentage.
5. Consider using vitamin and food supplements (probably needed to minimize future diabetic complications); as a minimum add B6, B12, folic acid to lower your homocysteine level and your risk of heart disease; a multivitamin; at least 30g/day of Whey Protein Isolate to improve your immune system; and 1 tbsp/day of EFA.
Click here to demonstrate to you why glutathione is so important to your health and well-being.
Why is Glutathione Essential to Health?
Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.
- Anti-oxidant
- Blood Booster
- Cell Detoxifier
6. Limit carbohydrates to foods with a low glycemic index.
7. Limit your food intake to between 1500 to 2000 calories per day, if you aren't expending large amounts of energy!
8. Minimize your intake of processed grains and refined foods. Eat organically grown whole foods and as much raw food as you can (I mean fruit and vegetables; not raw meat!)
9. Minimize your intake of all sugar and high-sugar foods; this means candy, cookies, cakes, pastries, ice cream, frozen yogurt, fruit juices, and soda. Minimize your use of artificial sweeteners (Aspartame: NutraSweet, Equal, Canderel, Neotame; Sucralose: Splenda; Acesulfame-K: Sunette, Sweet & Safe, Sweet One; Saccharin; Cyclamates).
10. Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine.
11. Maximize your intake of fish, chicken and turkey (without skin); mimimize your intake of low-fat red meats.
12. Always eat your minimum daily protein requirement
13. Use fats rich in Omega 3-6-9 EFA (Essential Fatty Acids) found in nuts, meats, fish, and dairy products. Use cold-pressed unrefined vegetable oils; try Grapeseed and Flaxseed oils. Use a balanced EFA supplement (at least 5g/day, about 1 teaspoon/day; I use 1 tablespoon/day of Udo's Choice Ultimate Oil Blend).
14. Choose a high-fiber diet (whole-grain cereals, brown rice, bran, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, fresh fruit, and vegetables).
15. Eat as many fresh raw vegetables as you want.
16. Drink water all day. Sip at least 8 glasses (64oz/2 litres) every day
The following guidelines assume that you don't have special physical needs which may be unrelated to Diabetes.
***For example, if you have kidney problems, you may have to limit the amount of protein in your diet.
***In any case, always seek the advice of your doctor, registered nutritionist or dietician before initiating any major change in your eating habits.
1. Start a Food Diary. Record when and what you eat and drink throughout the day. Eat small meals at least every 4 to 5 hours (and preferably more frequently).
Record how you feel during the day. Record you blood glucose level immediately before and two hours after each meal. Set premeal and postmeal blood glucose target levels (see Using your meter).
2. Estimate your daily protein requirement based on your weight, percentage body fat, and physical activity level. Record your height, weight, waist, hip, and wrist measurements and then use the Zone Body Fat Calculator.
3. Reset your metabolism using the method suggested in the Protein Diet. Eat your protein requirement plus 50g/day of low-glycemic carboydrates, spread throughout the day;
continue this until you have reached your desired weight and fat percentages, and your blood glucose levels have been normalized and stable for at least 4 weeks.
4. Increase your carbohydrate intake in 10g increments/week until every meal and snack calories are balanced in the ratio 30% fat/ 30% protein/ 40% carbohydrate (1g/2g/3g ratio).
If you are taking insulin, you may find it easier to control and predict blood glucose swings due to carbohydrates, so you might want to consider increasing your carbohydrate percentage.
5. Consider using vitamin and food supplements (probably needed to minimize future diabetic complications); as a minimum add B6, B12, folic acid to lower your homocysteine level and your risk of heart disease; a multivitamin; at least 30g/day of Whey Protein Isolate to improve your immune system; and 1 tbsp/day of EFA.
Click here to demonstrate to you why glutathione is so important to your health and well-being.
Why is Glutathione Essential to Health?
Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.
- Anti-oxidant
- Blood Booster
- Cell Detoxifier
6. Limit carbohydrates to foods with a low glycemic index.
7. Limit your food intake to between 1500 to 2000 calories per day, if you aren't expending large amounts of energy!
8. Minimize your intake of processed grains and refined foods. Eat organically grown whole foods and as much raw food as you can (I mean fruit and vegetables; not raw meat!)
9. Minimize your intake of all sugar and high-sugar foods; this means candy, cookies, cakes, pastries, ice cream, frozen yogurt, fruit juices, and soda. Minimize your use of artificial sweeteners (Aspartame: NutraSweet, Equal, Canderel, Neotame; Sucralose: Splenda; Acesulfame-K: Sunette, Sweet & Safe, Sweet One; Saccharin; Cyclamates).
10. Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine.
11. Maximize your intake of fish, chicken and turkey (without skin); mimimize your intake of low-fat red meats.
12. Always eat your minimum daily protein requirement
13. Use fats rich in Omega 3-6-9 EFA (Essential Fatty Acids) found in nuts, meats, fish, and dairy products. Use cold-pressed unrefined vegetable oils; try Grapeseed and Flaxseed oils. Use a balanced EFA supplement (at least 5g/day, about 1 teaspoon/day; I use 1 tablespoon/day of Udo's Choice Ultimate Oil Blend).
14. Choose a high-fiber diet (whole-grain cereals, brown rice, bran, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, fresh fruit, and vegetables).
15. Eat as many fresh raw vegetables as you want.
16. Drink water all day. Sip at least 8 glasses (64oz/2 litres) every day
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