Tag: diabetes

Studies Show Similarities Between Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease

Ever since low carb diets became popular, there have been many studies completed to try to dispute their validity and make claims that they are an unhealthy way to eat. Although these efforts have turned some against the traditional low carb diet, there are many people who have tried the diet themselves and have seen a positive health impact. New studies are being done all the time to try to determine all the health effects of a low carb diet, both good and bad. One of the newest of these studies reveals some very promising information about positive effects of a low carb diet that were not known until now. Read on to learn more.

According to an article in USA Today, the Mayo Clinic recently released its findings of a study to determine the link between a high carbohydrate diet and Alzheimer’s Disease. Among this study, there were several findings that lead researchers to believe that a low carb diet can help reduce the risk for later developing the cognitive impairment that is associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. 

For decades, proponents of low carb, high protein diets have claimed that there are many health benefits obtained through this type of lifestyle, with one of them being brain function. The study published in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease seems to offer proof of this claim. Among study participants, those with a diet highest in healthy fats were 42% less likely to show impairment in brain function, and those with the highest protein intake were 21% less likely to show these symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease. 
This isn’t the first time there has been a claim of low carb diets being a possible prevention method. In 2005, Dr. Suzanne DeLaMonte did autopsies on Alzheimer’s patients as a Brown Medical School Researcher, and released findings that the brains of these patients showed signs of insulin resistance. At the time, she even began referring to Alzheimer’s Disease as virtually a Type 3 Diabetes. 
These findings go hand in hand with the belief that Alzheimer’s may be caused in part by a buildup of beta amyloid plaques, which can potentially be caused by the excessive glucose in the brain. An excess of glucose can occur when the body is unable to produce insulin to process these sugars the way it should. 
Studies have begun recently on patients already diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in which patients are given medications designed for diabetics. The results have not shown a lot of promise, but this is thought to be because once deterioration of the brain occurs it cannot be reversed. 
Although it has not been stated for a fact yet that Alzheimer’s is similar to diabetes in cause, it is always best to employ every prevention method possible. And now it looks like a low carb diet might just be one of those methods.
Stock up on low carb and sugar free foods today to begin your healthy lifestyle and possibly hinder or prevent the onset of a variety of illnesses by visiting us at Linda’s Diet Delites!

 


Extra Low Calorie, Low Carb Diet found Successful at Reversing Type 2 Diabetes

A British University study has found that patients with Type 2 diabetes were able to completely reverse the disorder through diet alone. The Newcastle University ran a study with just 11 patients and put them on a low carb and 600 calorie a day diet for eight weeks.

The research found that the extremely low calorie diet removed fat from the pancreas which then allowed normal insulin levels to be secreted. The researchers at the Northern England based university also discovered that 7 of the 11 patients remained free from diabetes 3 months after the diet had finished.

The diet consisted mainly of non-starchy vegetables and diet drinks, and over the eight week period the volunteers had the amount of fat in their livers monitored, along with the insulin in their pancreas. These results were then compared to a group of individuals who did not suffer from diabetes.

The results were astonishing; with pre-breakfast blood sugar levels at normal after just one week of the trial. MRI scans showed that the fat levels in the pancreas had dropped, allowing the organ to produce more insulin.

Professor Rob Taylor, who led the trial, said: “To have people free of diabetes after years with the condition is remarkable – and all because of an eight week diet.”

Professor Taylor, who is director of Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, continued:
“We believe this shows that type 2 diabetes is all about energy balance in the body. If you are eating more than you burn, then the excess is stored in the liver and pancreas as fat, which can lead to type 2 diabetes in some people. What we need to examine further is why some people are more susceptible to developing diabetes than others.”

The disease, also referred to as adult-onset diabetes, develops when the pancreas cannot make enough insulin to regulate the blood sugar levels and fat metabolism. It differs from Type 1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes), which is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the cells that produce insulin.

Gordon Parmley from Newcastle, was one of the patients on the trial, the 67 year old ate only vegetables and salads and drank 3 diet shakes a day. He said that he found the diet incredibly difficult: “At first the hunger was quite severe and I had to distract myself with something else – walking the dog, playing golf – or doing anything to occupy myself and take my mind off food. But I lost an astounding amount of weight in a short space of time … after six years, I no longer needed my diabetes tablets.”

Indeed Professor Taylor himself warned that only a minority of people, perhaps 5% or 10%, would be able to stick to the harsh diet necessary to get rid of diabetes, and that diabetes sufferers should not undergo such a drastic diet without full medical support from their doctor.
Scientists at Diabetes UK, who commissioned the study said that although the trial was with a very small number of people they were looking forward to future results. Particularly if those results showed that diabetes could be completely reversed in the long term.