TAKE CARE OF YOUR BEAUTIFUL BODY
New once-daily diabetes drug launched in UK
Victoza also helps with weight
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A new treatment for Type 2 diabetes has been launched in the UK.
Called Victoza, it's targeted at helping people with Type 2 diabetes who need to start taking insulin injections to control their blood sugar levels. Typically this happens when the current treatment, consisting of a combination of diet, exercise and tablets, no longer works.
Failure to take insulin injections can result in serious complications for diabetics. These can include stroke, blindness, coronary artery disease (heart attack), erectile dysfunction, leg gangrene and kidney failure (which may require dialysis or even a transplant).
However, insulin injections and some tablets can cause side-effects such as hypoglycaemic attacks and weight gain (which is detrimental to diabetics, as they must lose weight).
The new treatment consisits of a once-daily injection which, unlike insulin, can be taken at any time of the day, independent of meals. It works by stimulating insulin when blood glucose levels become too high, and rarely causes hypoglycaemic attacks.
The good news for diabetics is that it also helps with weight reduction as it makes the stomach feel fuller for longer, and slows down the rate at which the stomach empties.
Clinical studies have also shown that it reduces blood pressure which is important in preventing heart attacks.
"Liraglutide widens the choice of treatments for poeple with Type 2 diabetes and that not only offers improved glucose control but also aid weight loss. In addition, research has shown that this treatment has a positive effect on blood pressure levels," said Cathy Moulton, Care Advisor at Diabetes UK (Liraglutide is the active ingredient in Victoza).
Nearly 2.5 million people in the UK suffer from diabetes, including Type1, and an estimated 500,000 others are currently unaware they have it – it is often referred to as the “hidden epidemic”.
Seven million in UK have "pre-diabetes"
Diabetes warning signs
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An estimated seven million people in the UK have pre-diabetes, making them up to 15 times more likely to develop diabetes, according to a new report released today by charity Diabetes UK.
People with pre-diabetes, also known as Impaired Glucose Regulation, have higher than normal blood sugar levels, but not high enough to be diagnosed as Type 2 diabetes.
Recent research has shown pre-diabetes may already be causing long-term damage to the body, especially to the heart and circulatory system.
People with pre-diabetes are often overweight or obese when diagnosed, and 90% will have a family history of the condition or have high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
However, it is possible to reverse pre-diabetes, and the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes can be reduced by 60% by making lifestyle changes such as losing weight, maintaining a healthy balanced diet and doing some sort of physical exercise.
Diabetes UK Chief Executive, Douglas Smallwood, said: “It’s staggering that an estimated seven million people in the UK have pre-diabetes, which is often a precursor to Type 2 diabetes, a serious condition which can lead to long term complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputation and blindness.
“Identifying and educating people with pre-diabetes is vital as it’s not too late for many to make healthy lifestyle changes, reverse the condition completely and reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
“Recent figures show that more than 145,000 new cases of mainly Type 2 diabetes were diagnosed in the past year, bringing the total number of people with diabetes in the UK to 2.6 million.
"It’s time for all of us to get serious about our health if we want to have any chance of defusing the ticking time bomb of Type 2 diabetes.”
The health charity said that it welcomed government plans to identify people at risk of diabetes and heart disease in England, but wants to see this extended throughout the UK.
The report was released to mark the launch of the charity's Get Serious campaign, aimed at involving more people in Diabetes UK activities.
Middle-aged men at risk of diabetes
Men twice as likely as women to develop the disease
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Middle-aged men are more than twice as likely to have diabetes as middle-aged women, according to a new report by Diabetes UK.
The report found that in the 35 to 54 age group, 2.4% (92,960) of men have diabetes compared to 1.2% (47,000) of women. These are figures for England only.
A similar pattern was reported for the 45 to 54 age group, where 6% (197,050) of men have diabetes compared to 3.6% (120, 670) of women.
The figures also show that for the 35 to 44 group, cases have risen four times faster in men than in women over the last 12 years.
An estimated 2.5m people suffer from diabetes in the UK. Of these, 90% have Type 2 diabetes, which is strongly linked to lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity levels. Although it can have genetic causes, many people are overweight when diagnosed with diabetes, suggesting that lifestyle factors are more important in most cases.
"It's very worrying that men of this age are developing diabetes at such an alarming rate compared to their female counterparts. Most of them will have Type 2 diabetes which is strongly linked to lifestyle and can be prevented in many cases by eating a healthy balanced diet and doing regular physical activity, " said Simon O'Neill, Director of Care, Information and Advocacy at Diabetes UK.
"Women should not rest on their laurels, either. They may tend to develop the condition later in life, but the risk of death from heart disease associated with Type 2 diabetes is about 50% greater in women than it is in men - not a statistic to be ignored," he added.
Serious complications due to diabetes such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputation are more likely the later someone is diagnosed. Worryingly, over half a million people in the UK are thought to be unaware they have diabetes.
The charity also urged people to maintain a healthy weight to reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Research has shown that losing weight can reduce the chances of developing Type 2 diabetes in those at high risk by 58% and physical activity can reduce the chances by 64%.
Coconut oil could treat diabetes symptoms
May even help with weight loss!
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Adding coconut oil to your diet could fight "insulin resistance" - a major factor in the development of Type II diabetes.
Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but unlike similar fats from animals it is a "medium chain fatty acid". This means that the body's cells can absorb them directly, converting them to energy.
This is unlike the action of the fats normally found in Western diets - so-called "long chain fatty acids".
One of the leaders of the study, Dr Nigel Turner, explained: "When people eat a high-fat diet, their bodies attempt to compensate by increasing their capacity to oxidise fat. Coconut oil diet was more effective at increasing oxidative capacity of muscle than lard diet, leading to less fat storage in muscle and better insulin action".
In the study, carried out at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, the researchers compared fat metabolism and insulin resistance in mice. They divided the rodents into two groups, feeding one group a diet rich in coconut oil and the other a lard based diet.
Researchers stated that the lard-based diet used in mice was exactly like that followed by people in the Western world.
The researchers then tested the fat metabolism and insulin resistance of the mice. They observed that the group administered coconut oil gained less weight and responded better to insulin as opposed to the one on the lard diet.
A note of caution
Although these results are encouraging, it should be noted that a high intake of medium chain fats such as coconut oil can lead to fat build-up in the liver, which can cause health problems. Alternatives such as fish oil, high in Omega-3, should be considered as they do not have this negative effect.
Dr Turner concluded: "If someone is trying to prevent weight gain, we can see they may benefit from substituting oils containing medium chain fatty acids for other oils in their diet, as long as consideration is given to the potential problem of excess fat in the liver. Other natural dietary alternatives, such as fish oil, might be helpful because the fatty acids in fish oil are thought to exert a lot of their beneficial effects through improving fat oxidation in the liver."
The results of the study were published in the journal Diabetes.
Black tea 'may fight diabetes'
May also help against cancer and rheumatoid arthritis
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As we reported yesterday, white tea contains chemicals that could help slow the appearance of wrinkles.
Now it seems that black tea could play a part in the fight against diabetes.
Note that by white tea and black tea we are talking about the way in which the teas have been processed, rather than meaning tea with or without milk. Black tea is the tea most common in the everyday British cuppa - it has been processed to increase its strength and shelf life.
Researchers from the Tianjin Key Laboratory in China studied the polysaccharide levels of green, oolong and black teas and whether they could be used to treat diabetes. Polysaccharides, a type of carbohydrate that includes starch and cellulose, may benefit people with diabetes because they help retard absorption of glucose.
They found that of the three types of tea studied black tea had the most glucose-inhibiting properties. The Polysaccharides in black tea also had the most effect on free radicals - molecules which are involved in the onset of diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
"Many efforts have been made to search for effective glucose inhibitors from natural materials," says lead researcher Haixia Chen. "There is a potential for exploitation of black tea polysaccharide in managing diabetes."
The study appeared in the Journal of Food Science
Aspirin should not be used preventively
Unless you have artery or heart disease
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Aspirin, which is widely recommended in small doses to prevent heart trouble, should not be taken by healthy people, a new study confirms.
It should only be taken by those who have symptoms of artery disease, such as angina, heart attack or stroke. In those cases a small daily dose of aspirin can reduce ongoing risk.
"The findings of this study agree with our current advice that people who do not have symptomatic or diagnosed artery or heart disease should not take aspirin, because the risks of bleeding may outweigh the benefits," said Professor Peter Weissberg, of the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the Aspirin for Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis trial.
The trial assessed people between the age of 50 and 75 who did not present the symptoms of cardiovascular disease.
The Aspirin Foundation, which offers information to consumers and doctors on the uses of aspirin, said aspirin could be used preventively in small doses if the doctor judged the patient to be at risk due to obesity and other factors that contribute to heart diseas
HEALTH CHECK
