Many people are walking around unaware that they have diabetes or are at a much greater risk than others. Some have been tested, and because their glucose levels are still within the normal range, feel that they are going to be OK. Still, if we continue to live in a manner that promotes this condition, symptoms may come upon us some day. That is why we are reporting a risk of this condition, even though someone may have tested negative.
People who have family members with diabetes (especially NIDDM), who are overweight, or who are African American, Hispanic, or Native American are all at greater risk of developing diabetes. IDDM occurs equally among males and females. NIDDM is more common in older people, especially older women who are overweight. Native Americans have the highest rates of diabetes in the world. Among Pima Indians living in the United States, for example, half of all adults have NIDDM. Interestingly, women who have given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds are at increased risk, as are women who have had diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes).
Signs, symptoms & indicators of Increased Risk of Diabetes ll
Frequent/constant thirst
Unexplained nausea
Constant fatigue
(Very) dry mouth
Difficulty losing weight
Long menstrual cycles
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have found that women who have long or very irregular menstrual cycles may have an increased risk for developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus. According to the results, women whose menstrual cycles were at least 40 days long were twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, compared with women whose cycles lasted 26 to 31 days, regardless of body weight. However, the risk was even greater for obese women. “These findings … Suggest that women with this history might particularly benefit from lifestyle approaches to reduce risk, such as weight control and exercise.” [JAMA, Nov 21, 2001]
Conditions that suggest Increased Risk of Diabetes ll
Hypertension
Statistical analyses showed that the relationship between blood pressure and the onset of type 2 diabetes was similar among women who were normal weight, overweight or obese. There was a three-fold increase in risk from the lowest to the highest BP category within all three weight categories. This analysis showed that the association between blood pressure and diabetes was not explained by weight alone.
Women who had an increase in BP during the study also had an increased risk of developing diabetes. Those whose BP rose but who remained within the range of normal BP had an increased risk of 26% compared to women who had stable or decreasing BP. Women who progressed to hypertension had a 64% increased risk. [European Heart Journal Oct 2007]
Minimal sitting or doesn't sit
Scientists have determined that after an hour or more of sitting, the production of enzymes that burn fat in the body declines by as much as 90%. Extended sitting, they add, slows the body’s metabolism of glucose and lowers the levels of good (HDL) cholesterol in the blood. Those are risk factors toward developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. [American Journal of Epidemiology (Aug. 15, 2010)]
Over a 14-year period, women who spent six or more hours per day sitting had a 37% increased risk of dying, compared with women who sat for three hours or less. The excess risk was independent of other health factors, including the amount of exercise they got. When overall activity was taken into account, the women who sat the longest and exercised the least were almost twice as likely to die as those who sat the least and exercised the most.
More research is needed to determine how much activity you need to compensate for the effects of sitting. In the meantime, try treating yourself to regular exercise and periodic breaks while watching television or using the computer. Elevated workstations, with and without treadmills are becoming more popular.
Gestational Diabetes Tendency
Previous gestational diabetes has been established as an additional risk factor for developing adult onset diabetes.
Risk factors for Increased Risk of Diabetes ll
Diabetes in family members
(Slightly) elevated fasting glucose
Counter Indicators
Having/having mildly elevated HbA1c
Normal fasting glucose
Sitting/sitting way too much or average sitting
Scientists have determined that after an hour or more of sitting, the production of enzymes that burn fat in the body declines by as much as 90%. Extended sitting, they add, slows the body’s metabolism of glucose and lowers the levels of good (HDL) cholesterol in the blood. Those are risk factors toward developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. [American Journal of Epidemiology (Aug. 15, 2010)]
Over a 14-year period, women who spent six or more hours per day sitting had a 37% increased risk of dying, compared with women who sat for three hours or less. The excess risk was independent of other health factors, including the amount of exercise they got. When overall activity was taken into account, the women who sat the longest and exercised the least were almost twice as likely to die as those who sat the least and exercised the most.
More research is needed to determine how much activity you need to compensate for the effects of sitting. In the meantime, try treating yourself to regular exercise and periodic breaks while watching television or using the computer. Elevated workstations, with and without treadmills are becoming more popular.
Anticoagulant Use
The link between osteocalcin, type 2 diabetes, and the full metabolic syndrome has just been confirmed in the medical literature. It will only be a matter of time before research shows that disrupting osteocalcin activity with warfarin either causes type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome or makes it worse.
Problem Caused By Being Overweight
Scientists have discovered a hormone that may explain the link between diabetes and obesity – a tantalizing finding that could someday lead to new treatments for the disease. The hormone, dubbed resistin, is produced by fat cells and prompts tissues to resist insulin, the substance the body needs to process blood sugar, researchers reported in the scientific journal Nature. Diabetics produce too little insulin or cannot use it efficiently. This will probably result in new drug treatments, but emphasizes the need for weight reduction.
Latin / Hispanic/African ethnicity
African-Americans have higher rates of diabetes, prostate cancer, hypertension and coronary heart disease than whites.
Prednisone use
A side-effect of treatment with prednisone can be high blood sugar levels.
Sugared soft drink consumption
HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), a liquid sweetener commonly used in soft drinks that contains both fructose and glucose, has been accused of causing diabetes, particularly in children, and a recent study further supported this theory.
The study investigated 11 different soft drinks and found “astonishingly high” levels of reactive carbonyls, which are thought to cause cell and tissue damage.
Reactive carbonyls are associated with diabetes, as they’re found in higher levels in the bloodstreams of people with the disease. Reactive carbonyls are linked with the unbound structure of fructose and glucose molecules in HFCS, and are not found in table sugar. [American Chemical Society’s 234th National Meeting August 23, 2007, Boston, MA
]
Counter Indicators
(High) coffee consumption
Postmenopausal women who drink coffee regularly have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes when compared to women who never drink coffee, say researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Apparently, the health benefit is even more marked if the coffee is decaffeinated. According to Mark Pereira, Ph.D. and team, postmenopausal women who consumed six cups of coffee or more each day lowered their chances of developing type 2 diabetes by 22%. The scientists found that the diabetes risk continued to drop as regular consumption increased. [Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:1311-1316.]
(High) processed meat consumption
In this study, researchers found that eating processed meat five or more times per week increased a man’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes by nearly 50%. The investigators base their conclusions on data from a long-running study of male health professionals in the US, who were between the ages of 40 and 75 at the study’s outset.
Those who ate processed meats two to four times per week had 35% increased risk and those who ate processed meats five times or more had almost 50% increased risk of diabetes. [Diabetes Care March 2002;25: pp.417-42]
Although this study only looked at men, one would expect to find the same results with women.
Eating a high glycemic diet
Reasonably controlled diabetes
The gold standard for diagnosing diabetes is an elevated blood sugar level after an overnight fast (not eating anything after midnight). A value above 140 mg/dl on at least two occasions typically means a person has diabetes. Normal people have fasting sugar levels that generally run between 70-110 mg/dl.
Short/long term history of obesity or moderate history of obesity
Pancreas mostly removed
Recent unexplained weight gain
While weight loss can indicate uncontrolled diabetes, weight gain suggests an increased risk of developing it.
Increased Risk of Diabetes ll suggests the following may be present
Problem Caused By Being Overweight
Scientists have discovered a hormone that may explain the link between diabetes and obesity – a tantalizing finding that could someday lead to new treatments for the disease. The hormone, dubbed resistin, is produced by fat cells and prompts tissues to resist insulin, the substance the body needs to process blood sugar, researchers reported in the scientific journal Nature. Diabetics produce too little insulin or cannot use it efficiently. This will probably result in new drug treatments, but emphasizes the need for weight reduction.
Recommendations for Increased Risk of Diabetes ll
Grape Seed Extract / Resveratrol
A study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a journal of The Endocrine Society, shows that the brain plays a key role in mediating resveratrol’s anti-diabetic actions, potentially paving the way for future orally-delivered diabetes medications that target the brain – for those who are interested. [ScienceDaily Oct. 9, 2009]
Cinnamon (Cinnamonum zeylanicum)
A US Department of Agriculture study of 60 type 2 diabetics revealed that one gram of cinnamon taken daily, over a
course of 40 days, improved management of blood sugar levels, as well as triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Some
of the subjects took three grams of cinnamon per day, and others took six grams per day, but none of the subjects in
these two groups showed an increased benefit over the group that took one gram per day. One gram of cinnamon is less than half a teaspoon.
Researchers continued to monitor the study participants after the 40-day trial, and found that the subjects’ overall
blood sugar levels began rising when the cinnamon intake was discontinued.
Cinnamon not only lowers blood glucose levels if you eat if for at least 6 weeks but it keeps lowering your fasting glucose levels for 20 days after that. The cinnamon spice that works is the common form of powder found in every grocery
store and kitchen, and the cinnamon pills but not the cinnamon oil.
Prior to 2003, researchers believed that the active ingredient in cinnamon that lowered blood sugar was a compound called
“methylhydroxychalcone polymer” or MHCP. Predictably, companies rushed to a sell MHCP pills. However, one of the
original cinnamon study’s researchers (Dr. Richard Anerdson of the a US Department of Agriculture affliated lab, conducted a further study in 2004 which showed that MHCP was in fact not the active ingredient producing the beneficial effects on blood sugar. The true active agent that gives cinnamon its power to lower blood sugar and cholesterol is “polyphenol type-A polymer”.
Green / Oolong / BlackTea (Camellia sinensis)
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound found in tea, may reduce the association between high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and diabetes, according to researchers from Rutgers University. Stopping the intake of HFCS would be best, but consuming tea does seem to provide a protective effect, if one continues to use HFCS. [Beverage Daily August 28, 2007]
Ginseng, American (Panax quinquefolium)
American ginseng may help control the blood sugar surge that generally occurs after eating. Researchers tested the effects of American ginseng on 10 non-diabetic adults and nine adults with type 2 diabetes. Diabetics experienced a significant reduction (20 percent) in blood glucose two hours after treatments, regardless of whether they took the herb before or during the meal.
Weight Loss
Being overweight or obese is a leading risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Being overweight can keep your body from making and using insulin properly, and can also cause high blood pressure. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a major federally funded study of 3,234 people at high risk for diabetes, showed that moderate diet and exercise of about 30 minutes or more, 5 or more days per week, or of 150 or more minutes per week, resulting in a 5% to 7% weight loss can delay and possibly prevent type 2 diabetes.
Processed Foods Avoidance
Many doctors and researchers agree that the regular consumption of tasty, mostly modern, commercially processed foods is the primary cause of adult-onset diabetes. Consuming anything sweet, regardless of its calorific content, may be sending a signal from the mouth to the brain that more insulin is needed. Refined and overly processed foods, convenience foods, and foods that are high in refined carbohydrates, high Glycemic Index foods, excessive salt and other additives should all be avoided for good health.
Sugars Avoidance / Reduction
Sweets should be limited except for fresh fruit, which is best when eaten whole. Fruit juices and dried fruit should be limited even further.
High/Increased Fiber Diet
Any form of fiber will be beneficial, so choose those that you most easily tolerate. Dietary fiber helps prevent and moderate diabetes through its effects on glucose and, subsequently, insulin levels. A diet high in complex carbohydrates and fiber helps prevent excess blood-sugar levels following meals and increases tissue sensitivity to insulin. This is achieved mainly by slowing the emptying of the stomach and thereby reducing insulin secretion.
When soluble fiber ferments during digestion it produces ‘short chain fatty acids’ that increase the metabolism of glucose and thus may add to the beneficial effects of dietary fiber on diabetes. Guar and other water-soluble fibers in beans, oats, barley, and fruit are important and are present in large quantities in a plant-based diet.
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have determined that those who eat the certain grains for breakfast have lower, well-regulated blood sugar throughout the day, even up to and beyond dinner.
Here are the right grains someone with diabetes should eat:
1. Whole-grain barley (this grain worked best)
2. Whole grain rye
3. Other whole grains such as oats.
Dairy Products Avoidance
When milk consumption patterns were examined across various nations, there was a very strong correlation with the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes. It may be that milk proteins cause an autoimmune reaction in which the body mistakenly attacks its own insulin-producing cells.
Increased Fruit/Vegetable Consumption
Eating carbohydrate-containing foods, including some fruits, temporarily raises blood sugar and insulin levels. On the other hand, a diet rich in the soluble fiber found in fruit may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, despite the high carbohydrate content of most fruit.
High-fiber supplements, such as pectin from fruit, have been found to improve glucose tolerance in some studies. A review of the research revealed that the extent to which moderate amounts of fiber help people with diabetes in the long term is still unknown, and the lack of many long-term studies has led some researchers to question the importance of fiber in improving diabetes. Nonetheless, most doctors advise people with diabetes to eat a diet high in fiber. Focus should be placed on fruits, vegetables, seeds, oats and whole-grain products.
The diet plan to reverse diabetes and enable patients to eliminate their dependence on drugs is one derived from vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes. The diabetic, who is even more sensitive to the harmful effects of the modern diet, should take care to consume a natural plant-based diet with an abundance of raw vegetables in the form of large salads every day.
Nut and Seed Consumption
In a study of 84,000 female nurses in the U.S., women who ate about 5 ounces of nuts a week had a 27% lower risk of developing diabetes than those who rarely or never ate nuts. In women who ate 1 to 4 ounces of nuts a week, the risk was 16% lower, and for those who ate less than 1 ounce per week the risk was eight % lower. [JAMA November 26, 2002;288: pp.2554-2560]
This benefit was probably due to the content of essential fatty acids in nuts and the frequency of EFA deficiency in the general population. Since consuming too many nuts can lead to weight gain and thus an increasing diabetes risk, moderation in their use is recommended.
Artificial Sweetener Avoidance
Excitotoxins such as that found in aspartame can precipitate diabetes in persons who are genetically susceptible to the disease. [Dr. Russell Blaylock, neurosurgeon, and author of Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills]
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of diabetes and improves the diabetic condition through several different mechanisms.
Test Urinalysis
A test for sugar is included in a standard urinalysis. If found, it is likely due to diabetes.
Tests, General Diagnostic
Determination of hemoglobin A1c is valuable for the follow-up of diabetic patients and useful for measuring a diabetic tendency. While blood glucose monitoring is like a snapshot, hemoglobin A1c testing is more like a full length movie – it provides a view of how your blood glucose level has been doing over a period of two to three months. For people who have not undergone any major changes in their lifestyle or diabetes regimen, hemoglobin A1c tests provide a good assessment of long-term blood glucose control.
For monitoring diabetes, a satisfactory interval for test taking is every third month. It has been shown that well controlled diabetics have a lower incidence of complications. Since costs for treatment of diabetics are high, hemoglobin A1c testing is very cost effective.
Chromium
The research team, which included scientists from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., tested chromium’s effects in humans by adding chromium chloride to the diet of 17 men and women, eight of whom had mild glucose intolerance, a condition that precedes diabetes.
During the 14-week study, all participants ate a baseline, chromium-poor diet containing less than 20 micrograms of the metal per day. This is similar to the amount consumed by 25 percent of Americans, Anderson says, noting that the recommended daily allowance ranges from 50 to 200 micrograms.
After four weeks, the researchers divided the volunteers into two groups. One group continued to eat the low-chromium diet, supplemented with daily doses of 200 micrograms of chromium; the other group stayed on the diet but received only placebo pills. Five weeks later, the groups were switched.
In seven of the eight people with glucose intolerance, tests taken an hour after they drank a sugary liquid showed that blood sugar levels rose nearly 50 percent less during chromium supplemention than at the outset of the study or during the unsupplemented baseline diet. In the 11 glucose-tolerant patients, the varying consumption of chromium had no effect on blood glucose levels
, Anderson notes. This selective reduction, he says, indicates “chromium can reverse glucose intolerance.”
Glucose-intolerant participants also showed lower circulating levels of insulin and glucagon
— a pancreas-secreted compound that opposes insulin’s action — during chromium supplementation than at any other point in the study.
Reading List
In his latest book, The Diabetes Improvement Program: A Doctor’s Handbook for Using Foods and Supplements to Slow and Reverse the Complications of Diabetes, Dr. Patrick Quillin shows you how to use 10 super foods to conquer diabetes naturally…without the use of drugs or needles. With his 7-step program, you too can feel better in just three weeks.
You’ll learn how to:
Vitamin K1/K2
In a published study of 38,094 Dutch men and women ages 20 – 70 it was found that vitamin K2 intake had a statistically significant inverse relationship to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Vitamin K1 intake also trended in the preventive direction, though the benefit was not enough to be statistically significant. This finding corresponds to the science showing that vitamin K2 is a more potent activator of osteocalcin than vitamin K1.
Key
| Weak or unproven link |
| Strong or generally accepted link |
| Proven definite or direct link |
| Strongly counter-indicative |
| Very strongly or absolutely counter-indicative |
| May do some good |
| Likely to help |
| Highly recommended |
Glossary
Diabetes Mellitus
A disease with increased blood glucose levels due to lack or ineffectiveness of insulin. Diabetes is found in two forms; insulin-dependent diabetes (juvenile-onset) and non-insulin-dependent (adult-onset). Symptoms include increased thirst; increased urination; weight loss in spite of increased appetite; fatigue; nausea; vomiting; frequent infections including bladder, vaginal, and skin; blurred vision; impotence in men; bad breath; cessation of menses; diminished skin fullness. Other symptoms include bleeding gums; ear noise/buzzing; diarrhea; depression; confusion.
Glucose
A sugar that is the simplest form of carbohydrate. It is commonly referred to as blood sugar. The body breaks down carbohydrates in foods into glucose, which serves as the primary fuel for the muscles and the brain.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes is defined as any degree of glucose intolerance with the onset or first recognition occurring during pregnancy. Many pregnant women do not notice any symptoms of diabetes, but urine and blood tests may show that they have it. Symptoms of diabetes may include thirst, weight loss, eating too much, urinating in large quantities and unexplained fatigue.
Hypertension
High blood pressure. Hypertension increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure because it adds to the workload of the heart, causing it to enlarge and, over time, to weaken; in addition, it may damage the walls of the arteries.
Enzymes
Specific protein catalysts produced by the cells that are crucial in chemical reactions and in building up or synthesizing most compounds in the body. Each enzyme performs a specific function without itself being consumed. For example, the digestive enzyme amylase acts on carbohydrates in foods to break them down.
Metabolism
The chemical processes of living cells in which energy is produced in order to replace and repair tissues and maintain a healthy body. Responsible for the production of energy, biosynthesis of important substances, and degradation of various compounds.
High-Density Lipoprotein
(HDL): Also known as "good" cholesterol, HDLs are large, dense, protein-fat particles that circulate in the blood picking up already used and unused cholesterol and taking them back to the liver as part of a recycling process. Higher levels of HDLs are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease because the cholesterol is cleared more readily from the blood.
Cholesterol
A waxy, fat-like substance manufactured in the liver and found in all tissues, it facilitates the transport and absorption of fatty acids. In foods, only animal products contain cholesterol. An excess of cholesterol in the bloodstream can contribute to the development of atherosclerosis.
Epidemiology
The study of the causes and distribution of disease in human populations.
Hormones
Chemical substances secreted by a variety of body organs that are carried by the bloodstream and usually influence cells some distance from the source of production. Hormones signal certain enzymes to perform their functions and, in this way, regulate such body functions as blood sugar levels, insulin levels, the menstrual cycle, and growth. These can be prescription, over-the-counter, synthetic or natural agents. Examples include adrenal hormones such as corticosteroids and aldosterone; glucagon, growth hormone, insulin, testosterone, estrogens, progestins, progesterone, DHEA, melatonin, and thyroid hormones such as thyroxine and calcitonin.
Insulin
A hormone secreted by the pancreas in response to elevated blood glucose levels. Insulin stimulates the liver, muscles, and fat cells to remove glucose from the blood for use or storage.
Prostate
The prostate gland in men that surrounds the neck of the bladder and the urethra and produces a secretion that liquefies coagulated semen.
Cancer
Refers to the various types of malignant neoplasms that contain cells growing out of control and invading adjacent tissues, which may metastasize to distant tissues.
Postmenopause
The postmenopausal phase of a woman's life begins when 12 full months have passed since the last menstrual period and any menopausal symptoms have become milder and/or less frequent.
pH
A measure of an environment's acidity or alkalinity. The more acidic the solution, the lower the pH. For example, a pH of 1 is very acidic; a pH of 7 is neutral; a pH of 14 is very alkaline.
Milligram
(mg): 1/1,000 of a gram by weight.